By Georgia Hill
Many local governments in Michigan are taking steps to address climate change, but a recent study suggests that their efforts often overlook communities most vulnerable to environmental hazards.
Climate
Hotter temperatures worsen health inequalities in Detroit
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By Ayushya Gautam
Big buildings, concrete and roads paint Detroit, just as they do other cities across the country. As a result, the city’s temperature also tends to be hotter than in nearby communities.
Cities are prone to the heat island effect, a phenomenon in which urban areas experience more heat than rural or even nearby suburban areas due to the concentration of infrastructure.
Climate
Many elderly Ohioans feel unprepared for severe weather, study finds
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By Clara Lincolnhol
Ohio took a beating from a record-breaking 73 tornadoes in 2024. Twisters and other severe weather events are becoming more common in the Midwest due to climate change, and seniors are more at risk. As the threat from major storms grows, roughly one in five older adults living in central Ohio say they feel unprepared or uncertain of their readiness for a severe weather event, according to a recent study conducted by The Ohio State University. The study surveyed more than 1,400 individuals aged 65 and older living in eight counties to gauge their preparedness for a severe weather event. Questions were based on storm-readiness recommendations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Overall, 78% of participants said they felt prepared for severe weather, 13% said they did not and 9% felt unsure.
The study also asked individuals if severe weather caused them significant life disruptions, such as preventing them from getting to doctor’s appointments or from accessing medication or other vital supplies.
Climate
Great Lakes region hit hard by steel industry pollution, report finds
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By Joshua Kim
Pollution from coal-based steel production causes hundreds of premature deaths each year, with people in the Great Lakes region bearing much of the burden, according to a recent report. The nonprofit research group Industrious Labs looked at 17 coal-based steel plants and coke facilities operating in the United States and the health and environmental problems they cause in surrounding communities.
Emissions from these facilities include pollutants linked to significant health and environmental problems, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, fine particulate matter and lead.
Together their pollution is responsible for as many as 892 premature deaths per year, according to Industrious Labs. Those emissions also trigger around 250,000 cases of asthma symptoms annually, are linked to cancer rates 12% to 26% higher than the national average and result in up to $13.2 billion in annual health care costs, the report says.
The group based its results on an Environmental Protection Agency computer model that uses self-reported industry data. “Communities don’t have access to this type of information,” said Hilary Lewis, the steel director at Industrious Labs. “By doing this report, we are giving people who live closest to these facilities, who are most impacted, who are most likely to be experiencing these health harms, a tool in advocating for cleaner alternatives.”
All but one of the country’s coke plants and all of its operating coal-based steel plants are located in Great Lakes states, according to the report.
Climate
Michigan tourism preps for a colder winter
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By Victor Wooddell
Capital News Service
The 2023-24 winter was the warmest on record in the U.S. with average temperatures throughout the state above freezing, with close to average precipitation, according to the National Weather Service. Data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center shows that average daily maximum temperatures in the Midwest were several degrees above normal between December 2023 and February 2024. But this year may be different. The outlook for Michigan for the 2024-25 winter is for increased precipitation and lower average temperatures than last year due to an expected “La Niña” effect, the National Weather Service says. A La Niña is when cold water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean affect the weather across the continental United States.
Climate
Warmer-than-normal fall likely in Michigan
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By Ruth Thornton
Early fall temperatures in Michigan will likely be higher than average, according to the National Weather Service, but are predicted to return to normal for the winter if long-term predictions hold up. Cort Scholten, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said precipitation amounts are expected to be near normal for the next three months. “Right now, this outlook is saying that the odds are favoring overall we’ll see more warmer-than-usual days than we will colder than usual days,” he said. Scholten said temperatures are expected to return to near-average in November through December, but with higher-than-average precipitation expected, which could be in the form of either rain or snow. “We’ll still have plenty of temperature swings during the winter,” he said.
Climate
Experts predict moderate Lake Erie toxic algae bloom
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By Gabrielle Nelson
Lake Erie’s annual algae bloom has begun to form weeks ahead of schedule off the coast of southeast Michigan, but scientists say they expect only a moderate bloom this year. “There was scum off Monroe,” said Richard Stumpf, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oceanographer who leads the federal government’s bloom forecasting effort. “It’s not huge now, about 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles), but it has actually started up in that area.”
Cyanobacteria, known as blue-green algae, fouls hundreds of square miles of western Lake Erie every summer, typically from July to October. The putrid, sometimes toxic, blooms pose a risk to human and animal health and the region’s tourism economy. Under the right conditions, they produce harmful toxins that can sicken humans and kill pets.
Climate
Heat waves are a sign of ‘creeping changes’ in climate, expert says
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By Elinor Epperson
There’s no easy way to say it: The heat is only getting worse. Extreme heat events in the Great Lakes region will only become more frequent as climate change warms the oceans, lakes and air, a University of Michigan climate expert said. And the earlier that heat waves start each season, the more there may be in the months to come. Richard Rood is a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering. He said extreme weather will change what feels “normal” for each season.
Climate
Reporting on climate change impacts on marginalized communities
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Journalists, filmmakers and environmental advocacy groups examined the urgent need for the news media to evolve its approach to reporting environmental justice at a recent Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Philadelphia.
Climate
Unearthing climate change challenges along Delaware Bayshore
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New Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore isn’t called the road less traveled without reason.
Persistent rainfall, exacerbated by global warming, has increased the wetlands in this area of Cumberland County.
Climate
Climate change, other pollutants boost mercury’s Great Lakes health threat
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Mercury levels in the Great Lakes are increasing as temperatures warm and extreme weather becomes more frequent, according to research in Minnesota’s Marcell Experimental Forest.
Mercury is a global pollutant released into the atmosphere through fossil fuel burning. It is then deposited onto land and water.