Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/tag/echo/page/143/)
Proposed legislation in Michigan may encourage the use of small-scale clean-energy devices by exempting them from property taxes.
Local governments say they must weigh clean energy’s impact on economic development against the loss of property tax revenue.
Unseasonable heat and smog are smothering Great Lakes states. Many cities experienced record-breaking temperatures with ground-ozone that are unhealthy for children, older adults and people with lung disease.
This week the farmers begin building a second greenhouse and installing solar panels to support geothermal heat.
They start planning a rain cistern to capture rainfall
Municipalities throughout Michigan are focusing on street lighting to save money and reduce energy consumption.
Some communities may overhaul street light systems to more energy-efficient ones. Others may reduce the time the lamps are lit.
Product stewardship, a concept which puts environmental responsibility on consumers and producers, is one of the focuses of this year’s round of pollution prevention proposals to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which will award $50,000 to the winning community to implement its initiative.
Ahhh, winter in the Great Lakes states – hot cocoa, sledding, cuddling up by the fire and…surfing? Surfing isn’t your go-to activity in 20-degree weather? Well, me neither. But on Friday, Daily Surf Videos chose their Wave of the Week video featuring dedicated surfers trekking out in the winter months to catch some of the Great Lakes best waves. When a large storm crosses, it can make for double overhead surf, compared to 2- or 3-foot waves typical in the calm summer months.
A group of Great Lakes surfers is teaching swimmers to protect themselves from rip currents, the primary reason for 74 Great Lakes drownings in 2010.
Fewer lifeguards means a greater need for such training.
U.S. Army officials propose building a public water supply as an alternative to using private wells threatened by contamination from an old weapons complex near Madison.
More and more bioenergy plants are fueling sustainable energy efforts in Great Lakes states, according to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory BioFuels interactive map. Biofuels and biopower plants, which produce energy from landfill gas, wood and municipal solid wastes, roughly equal the number of power plants run on wind and water, according to the mashup. More than 50 plants in Wisconsin, Illinois and southern Michigan run on gas produced by microorganisms that break down landfill material. Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio each have a handful of biopower plants fueled by wood. And about a dozen Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana plants convert municipal solid waste into ethanol.
Producers of an award-winning video about Flint, karate and urban agriculture are working on an hour-long version.
It will include additional footage – some shot by urban farmers themselves – to create an organically grown storyline about growing food in the city.