Michigan Environmental Report

Michigan residents overwhelmingly oppose proposals to allow commercial fish farming in the Great Lakes, poll results released Tuesday show. The EPIC-MRA poll found that nearly 7 in 10 Michiganders are against opening Michigan's Great Lakes waters to commercial net-pen aquaculture. The opposition cut across geographic, political and demographic lines and increased when participants learned more about the issue.

Health advocates today applauded the Legislature's approval of $28 million in state aid for families impacted by the lead poisoning crisis in Flint, recognizing that the appropriation is only a down payment on what must be a continuing commitment of state resources for the city's recovery.

A new year brings new opportunities, and at the Michigan Environmental Council, we're ready to seize them.

After a hesitant beginning, it seems winter is here in earnest. Colder weather might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's great news for the organizers of Michigan Ice Fest.

Editor's note: News of the massive natural gas leak from an underground storage reservoir near Los Angeles made us curious about the implications for Michigan. We knew there were similar storage facilities here, but we've learned that Michigan has more of them than any other state. While state officials say those facilities are held to strict construction and maintenance standards, the California leak raises questions about Michigan's ability to prevent a similar incident here. As we see it, the public safety and climate risks of underground natural gas storage are further cause for Michigan's political leaders to make a strong commitment to clean and increasingly affordable renewable energy sources.

For more than a year MEC has been sounding the alarm about the state's plan to deregulate emissions of some 500 toxic chemicals into Michigan's air.

Nov. 15 is the 18^th annual America Recycles Day, billed by the nonprofit Keep America Beautiful as "the only nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States."

The transportation funding package Gov. Snyder signed into law on Tuesday brought a disappointing end to the years-long debate over how to raise much-needed funding for Michigan's transportation system.