MEC and our partners at the Michigan League of Conservation Voters released a report Thursday showing that deep budget cuts proposed in Lansing and Washington put at risk essential programs for protecting the Great Lakes, ensuring safe drinking water and cleaning up toxic contamination.

MEC is proud to announce that Tina Reynolds, our health policy director, has been appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to serve on a new Child Lead Exposure Elimination Commission. Snyder signed an executive order creating the commission on Thursday and said it will be a permanent body.

About 60 environmental advocates, public health professionals, lead-abatement contractors and other citizen-lobbyists gathered in Lansing on Wednesday for the fifth annual Lead Education Day organized by the Michigan Alliance for Lead Safe Homes (MIALSH). MEC Health Policy Director Tina Reynolds is coalition manager for MIALSH.

MEC and our partners at Zero Waste Detroit urge southeast Michigan residents to attend an important public meeting Wednesday night and call on state environmental regulators to get tough on one of the city's worst polluters.

Michigan Environmental Council President Chris Kolb was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder last week to a 24-member Public Health Advisory Commission.

This is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, which aims to raise awareness to reduce childhood exposure to lead.

Editor's note: This post is by MEC intern Matthew McLaughlin

You may have noticed a lot of news stories lately about coal-fired power plants. That's because-with federal regulations kicking in to protect public health-today marks the end of the operating permits for a number of coal plants in Michigan, including Consumers Energy's oldest generating units, sometimes charitably described as the "Classic Seven."

A lot can change in five years.

We've been getting calls in our office lately from people concerned about the Flint water crisis-folks from as far away as West Virginia and New Mexico-who want to know what they can do to help.