Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/tag/capital-news-service/page/40/)
Farmers are upbeat about a federal decision to permit the continued use of the Roundup Ready sugar beets, a genetically engineered crop.
GE crops are associated with lower production costs and higher yields. Critics say that they could cause environmental and health risks.
Optimistic plans for biomass plants in the state are largely on hold, leaving the expansion of a highly publicized renewable energy source up in the air.
Proposals to add to the existing seven commercial biomass plants have faced problems ranging from public backlash to funding to concerns about fuel supplies.
As the U.S. Forest Service considers banning snowmobiling and firearm hunting in 70,000 acres of the Huron-Manistee National Forest, one study found they produce considerable economic impact.
Legislation to formally recognize a long-standing farm environmental improvement program is well on its way to Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk for approval.
Climate change impacts songbird breeding and distribution patterns and could potentially lead to health problems in birds. Birds now migrate north earlier and south later. They might also arrive too early or too late to feed on hatching insects due to changes in climate.
Sustainable communities will be a hot topic in the next 50 years, according to a coalition of environmental groups.
That movement will include activities such as the East Stadium Bridges Improvement Project in Ann Arbor, a new master plan in Grand Traverse County and a job training plan in Southeast Michigan.
The long-term vision outlined by the Michigan Environmental Council includes energy, water, great cities, sustainable communities, transportation, agriculture and natural resources.
Plans to increase the import of a raw form of oil piped from Canada through the Midwest are worrying environment groups that say the trend could pose health and environmental dangers in the Great Lakes Basin.
A new report highlights what the groups say are escalating risks of major pipeline spills of the oil.
As the state’s agricultural sector continues to grow, so does the need for young farmers, according to the Michigan Farm Bureau.
While the average age of the state’s farmers was about 54 in 2007, the Department of Agriculture believes that number is currently higher.
The name of the new invader is enough to make people laugh, but its potential peril is serious enough to make fruit growers weep.
The brown marmorated stink bug, which is notorious for wiping out horticultural crops, has been discovered in Southwest and central Michigan.
In 2010, growers in Pennsylvania lost an estimated 40 to 50 percent of their peach crop to the stink bug, according to Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
A proposal to bring wireless Internet service to state parks to boost tourism appears far from certain.
Broadband service could promote agri-tourism to golf courses, fishing docks and state parks.