Echo

Michigan’s recycling rate is lowest in Great Lakes region

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Michigan’s recycling rate is lowest in Great Lakes region by Great Lakes Echo

At 20 percent, Michigan’s recycling rate is 10 percent lower than the regional average.  Many people around the state are hoping to change that.  In 2012, Governor Rick Snyder identified increasing Michigan’s recycling rates as a priority for his administration.  Michigan Recycling Coalition executive director Kerrin O’Brien discusses what a comprehensive recycling plan might include. Also this past March, the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected coalition submitted some 255,000 signatures in a bid to overturn the law passed by the Michigan legislature that put wolves on the list of game species. The Senate

soon passed another law that essentially circumvented the petition.  Now, the group is trying again with a second referendum drive.  This time, the president of the Human Society of the United States was in Michigan earlier this week to lend his support.  We spoke with HSUS president Wayne Pacelle about the issue. This environmental segment of Current State is supported by Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.  For more news of the Great Lakes environment, you can check out GreatLakesEcho.org

 

Wildlife

Scientists across Michigan oppose legislation to limit biodiversity

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Scientists across Michigan oppose legislation to limit biodiversity by Great Lakes Echo

This past spring the Michigan Senate passed Bill 78, which prohibits state agencies from setting aside land to maintain biodiversity.  The bill has drawn strong criticism from various environmental groups. Dr. Brad Cardinale, a professor at the University Of Michigan School of Natural Resources, along with 133 other scientists from around the state, wrote a letter to Governor Snyder requesting he veto the legislation.

Wildlife

Ancient fish of the Great Lakes

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If you’ve been boating on the Great Lakes this summer, it might it surprise you to know that deep below you lives a rare species of fish that’s been around since the dinosaurs. It can live past 100 years old and can be over six feet long. Most of us know next to nothing about the lake sturgeon, but it is a fascinating creature with a stormy history. Nancy Auer is a professor of biology at Michigan Technological University. She recently co-authored a book with environmentalist Dave Dempsey about the fish.

Echo

Research links violence and climate change

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On June 25, President Obama released a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. The plan pointed out that last year was the warmest year on record for our country. While the efforts to fight against climate change continues, researchers seem to have found another reason to prevent climate change: violence. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have found strong linkages between human conflicts and climate change. Joining Current State today to discuss the findings is Solomon Hsiang, the lead author of the research.

Energy

How the wind blows in Michigan

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The state of wind power in Michigan by Great Lakes Echo

Michigan was one of the fastest growing states for wind power in 2012.  That’s according to the American Wind Energy Association’s annual market report. But the nuts and bolts of harnessing wind energy  is a complicated issue, with its fair share of supporters and detractors. Jim Dulzo of the Michigan Land Use Institute in Traverse City joined Current State to explain where the state stands in moving forward on wind power.

Echo

Examining food security in Detroit, Lansing

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Last week, the Michigan-based retailer, Meijer, opened its first Detroit location. MSU associate professor of sociology Craig Harris, an expert in the sociology of food, discusses food security in Detroit and in mid-Michigan.