Michigan Environmental Report

Ben Stupka is tired. That's no surprise-he and his wife, Laura, have a two-year-old son and a daughter born in August.

Environmentalists have never liked plastic water bottles much, but they became indispensable for Flint families during the city's water crisis.

Michigan Environmental Council President Chris Kolb issued the following statement Wednesday in response to the Senate Natural Resources Committee's approval of Senate Bills 39 and 40:

The Legislature returned to Lansing last week after a summer recess. While there are just 18 House and 20 Senate session days remaining in 2016, our lawmakers have many opportunities this fall to make Michigan a cleaner, safer and more sustainable state.

Last October I received a phone call that would dramatically impact me professionally and personally. It was Gov. Rick Snyder's office calling, asking me to serve as co-chair of the governor's Flint Water Advisory Task Force. The task force's charge was to determine what happened in Flint and why, and to provide recommendations on how to prevent this from ever happening again. The group would meet for five months, release three letters to the governor and issue a final report that contained 36 findings and 44 recommendations.

Our ears perked up when we learned recently that Gov. Rick Snyder and his family took a trip this summer to the Pigeon River Country State Forest.

Looking back on it, things really couldn't have gone much better.In fact, our 18th Annual Environmental Awards Celebration on July 20 may have been the best one yet. Almost 200 sponsors and guests turned out. The atmosphere was festive. Silent auction bidding was competitive. And our honorees were inspiring.

We are grateful to the following individuals and organizations who made financial contributions to the Michigan Environmental Council, December 1, 2015 - July 31, 2016.