Posts from the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

True leaders needed to make new Michigan Dream a reality

John Austin and the Michigan Economic Center at Prima Civitas (a new and exciting player in Lansing policy discussions that we jokingly refer to around here as the “other MEC”) recently launched the new “Michigan Dream At Risk” project that’s worth a look. In short, it showcases in images, words and numbers the uncomfortable but unsurprising reality of Michigan’s perpetually beleaguered economy.

Using Michigan’s historic and current state and local budget allocations as proxies for priorities, the Michigan Dream at Risk project’s narrative and four-minute video intro highlight our shared shame—potholed roads and shuttered storefronts, struggling families and failing schools—and prescribe a healthy dose of investment in a few critical areas: education, infrastructure and community services, a clean environment, etc.

Coupled with the new “State Policies Matter” report and accompanying “Tale of Two States” blog series from the team at Michigan Future, Inc., a clear case is made for increasing investment in public goods, rather than cutting our way to prosperity.

The problem is that Michigan voters rarely face that kind of clear-cut choice, and our elected leaders seem unwilling to raise revenue themselves. Instead, we get convoluted ballot initiatives like Proposal 1, in which funding is provided for our communities but only if businesses get (more) tax breaks and the actual revenue burden gets shifted (again) into an unknown future. Or for an even more frustrating example, look at the failure of transportation funding initiatives; despite polling with broad support, the issue of raising the basic revenues needed to fix our existing roads gets tied up in knots in the Legislature and goes nowhere – not even to the ballot. The roads stay the same: bad.

Anyone who watches the news—here or anywhere in the country—knows some version of Michigan’s economic and social struggles. Our decades-long fall from grace is a narrative with easy and all-too memorable icons: Big 3 bailouts, bankrupt Detroit, etc., etc.

But Michigan residents are ready to move out of the past. And we need to put some new icons on the map to do it. Read more

Detroit students pave the way to city’s rebirth

Springtime in a high school student’s senior year is full of exciting rituals: the last day of school, the graduation ceremony, the open house.

Students at Denby High School on Detroit’s northeast side started a new tradition this year: the Pathway to Transformation.

On a late May day under clear blue skies, each senior laid a brick they’d decorated, forming a short walkway on the school lawn. When they were finished, a representative of the junior class added a brick marked “2015.” The path will grow with each graduating class.

The pathway symbolizes changes happening in the neighborhood, in Detroit and in the students themselves, who faced a challenging path of their own to get to the brick-laying ceremony.

“Future classes will be laying bricks until this community has the quality of life you’ve deserved all along,” Denby Principal Tracie McKissic told the seniors. “We are never going to forget you.”

Their work began with a partnership between the school and the team charged with implementing the Detroit Future City (DFC) strategic plan, which aims to stabilize neighborhoods, repurpose vacant land and put more Detroiters to work, among other goals. Read more

Legislation: Toxic industrial fill someone puts on your property is, well, none of your business

Should a property owner know if a contractor is placing a four-foot thick bed of toxic industrial waste below their businesses’ new parking lot? Should a homeowner know if the same industrial waste is going underneath the road in front of their home?  Should you be informed if industrial byproducts are present on a parcel of property you are buying?

Not under bills being considered in the Michigan legislature that allow for expanded use of industrial byproducts  - like fly ash from coal-fired power plant smokestacks, foundry sands, and sludge from pulp and paper mills.

Under these bills, no permission would be needed from property owners before industrial byproducts can be used as construction fill or for road beds or in parking lots.  Current owners would be left in the dark, and future owners may never know of the liability inherent in the properties they purchase.  In many cases, that fill should permanently alter what that property can be used for in the future to protect public health.

The Michigan Environmental Council supports the reuse of industrial by-products when protection of public health can be assured and use of the materials is monitored and tracked in a way that reasonably controls public exposure.  That is not the case with House bills 5400, 5401 and 5402.

A vote in the House Natural Resources Committee is currently scheduled on the legislation this Thursday, April 17. Please contact your local legislator and ask them to oppose HB 5400 through 5402 until these concerns can be addressed. 

Our number one concern is the failure of the bills to require people who use these materials to get permission from property owners.  The bills allow impairment of property rights, without permission from the landowner or compensation for the restrictions on the future uses of the property.

Other issues include:

Read more

Keystone pipeline decision muddied by glaring lack of federal energy roadmap

The Kalamazoo River is still fouled four years after the Enbridge tar sands spill.

The public comment period on the Keystone XL pipeline closes tomorrow, Friday March 7. Secretary of State John Kerry will then make his recommendation to President Obama, who will reject or approve the permit to build the northern leg of this pipeline. If built, it would transport 830,000 barrels of tar sands oil every day from Alberta, Canada to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico.

The decision is about more than just one pipeline. It is about the ecological destruction that will result from expanded development of Alberta tar sands, more risk and intensive use of pipelines that crisscross Michigan, and a perpetuation of American dependence on finite and increasingly expensive fossil fuels.

This issue also highlights our great nation’s utter lack of a comprehensive, or even coherent, energy strategy – the kind of roadmap that would help us decide which direction to turn at this critical juncture. Read more

Speed limit forum: Smart engineering is best way to ensure safe roadways for all users

Panelists discussed the merits of proposed changes in Michigan’s speed limit laws at Wednesday’s forum hosted at the Michigan Municipal League and moderated by Tim Fischer of Transportation for Michigan and the Michigan Environmental Council. Concerns about restricting methods of setting speed limits to the 85^th percentile rule were expressed by several panelists, while consensus emerged that engineering and planning fixes are the best way to ensure safe and efficient roadways for all users.

Potential legislation being discussed would mandate that the 85th percentile method of setting speed limits is used more uniformly across Michigan (currently, many municipalities are setting limits in response to other factors such as pedestrian volumes on a roadway). The 85th percentile method sets the speed limit at the point which is exceeded by 15% of drivers. If 15% of vehicles in a 25 MPH posted zone were traveling faster than 30 MPH, the method would set the speed limit at 30 MPH. Setting limits based on this method relies on research that shows that car accidents are reduced when the 85th percentile is the posted speed limit, and that drivers respond more to roadway factors such as visibility distance than they do to the posted speed limit.

Legislation is expected to be introduced in the next few weeks.

Tim Fischer moderated the panel

The majority of panelists saw fault with passing rules that would require setting speed limits based on just one of many tools available to planners. Carolyn Grawi, Director of Advocacy and Education at the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living said that while the 85^th percentile tool makes sense for certain roadways, such as restricted-access highways, setting speed limits with the tool across the board ignores local contexts such as roads near school zones and neighborhoods. Grawi also opposed using the tool in residential areas based on the potential that actual speeds may “creep” up if posted speeds are raised. Even slight increases in vehicle speeds decrease survivorship from pedestrian and vehicle accidents and make it more difficult for individuals with disabilities, young children, and seniors to navigate roadways. Read more

Tuesday linkaround: Solar soars while fossil fuels wither without water

Tuesday linkaround!

If it’s links-(not lynx)-you’re after, a good place to start is this piece from Grist, which will connect you to a host of stories about how the solar energy industry is making serious headway.

That’s good news because-as the deepening drought emergency in California attests-the continued availability of the massive amounts of water required for conventional electricity is no sure thing. The Golden State is far from alone in experiencing water scarcity, and a column in Forbes makes a strong case that the water intensity of fuels must be a consideration when planning our energy future:

Recent media coverage has been quick to pin the challenge of reliability as one that only applies to renewables. The logic goes something like this: if the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, we won’t have electricity, making these energy sources unreliable. But if we don’t have reliable access to abundant water resources to produce, move and manage energy that comes from water-intensive energy resources like fossil fuels, this argument against the intermittency of renewables becomes moot.

Of course, the cost of pollution also must be part of the conversation when making decisions about our energy system. Here in Michigan, where we don’t have any coal to mine, we tend to focus on the pollution that leaves power-plant smokestacks. But as a new Associated Press analysis makes clear, the coal industry has inflicted staggering damage to waterways in mining country: Read more

State of the State: Scant mention of critical “Pure Michigan” natural resource issues

Governor Rick Snyder’s fourth State of the State speech Thursday lasted just over an hour. The first two-thirds highlighted what he saw as his accomplishments, leaving only the last third of his time to discuss future initiatives.  In those few minutes, Gov. Snyder made disappointingly sparse mention of the “Pure Michigan” natural resource and public health issues that are so critical to our quality of life.

 What we liked:

1. Snyder vowed stronger action on combating invasive species, promising money in his proposed budget for same. That’s good. Michigan needs to continue to pressure Washington to protect the great lakes. Michigan also needs strong stewardship of the biodiversity that protects our natural assets from invaders. He cited both aquatic and terrestrial invasive species, which is important. Everyone has seen the loathsome Asian carp. But land-based species like the Asian longhorned beetle, which has an appetite for maple and hardwood trees, puts a huge portion of our forests at risk.

2. He applauded the restructuring of Michigan’s hunting and fishing license fees. The fees were increased for the first time in decades and simplified. MEC supported the changes. The bill raises about $20 million for natural resource conservation and management by increasing fees for hunting and fishing licenses. The money will help hires dozens more conservation officers, increasing protection for Michigan’s splendid flora and fauna.

What we had hoped to hear more on:

1. Following a year of public dialogue on energy – which the governor himself initiated – he made only the briefest mention that the discussion would go forward in 2014 and possibly 2015. The state’s hugely successful energy efficiency initiative and renewable energy standard plateaus in 2015. The lack of urgency in the governor’s address was discouraging.  Michigan needs to keep the momentum moving forward. Delay in setting new goals for energy efficiency and renewable energy will potentially cost our state a loss of jobs and much needed investment in our economy.

2. He cited progress, but a lack of “comprehensive reform” to our transportation funding system. He might have been more expansive in reiterating his call for a truly connected transportation system that includes buses, trains, trails and other non-motor vehicle options. Since he has been a leader on public transportation, so we’re not overly concerned with that omission.

3. He suggested that “metal recycling” would be a priority this year, but offered no details. He’s previously called for significant improvements to Michigan’s abysmal recycling rate. We look forward to hearing more about metal recycling and how it might fit in to a comprehensive plan.

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