Carbon Neutrality

The City of Ann Arbor is offering a program allowing residents to exchange gas-powered leaf blowers for rebates towards rakes and electric leaf blowers. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has the details.

Ann Arbor’s Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) continues to progress toward implementation. Executive Director Shoshannah Lenski provided an update Thursday to the Washtenaw Economic Club. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert reports.

The sun is helping some local residents identify the quality of the air. The City of Ann Arbor has launched a network of ten solar-powered air quality monitors placed across the city. Residents can now track local conditions through a publicly available online map and subscribe to receive station-specific alerts when air quality reaches "Unhealthy” levels. How does it work and what does it mean for the future? Find out in a conversation between WEMU's David Fair and Sean Reynolds, senior analyst for the city’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations.

The Ann Arbor City Council votes tonight on four resolutions advancing the goal to make the nation’s first carbon neutral neighborhood in the Bryant community. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert has this report.

Early this morning, the Michigan Legislature approved a roughly $80 billion budget for the fiscal year. State Senator Jeff Irwin is chair of the Appropriations Committee for the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. The Ann Arbor Democrat joined WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director Lisa Wozniak to provide a snapshot of the environmental implications of the budget.

2025 marks the 25th year of the Green Fair in Ann Arbor. The event was initially called "The Mayor's Green Fair." Now, it is called the A2Zero Green Fair to reflect the city's initiative aimed at reaching carbon neutrality by the year 2030. WEMU's David Fair and Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor discuss the impact of a quarter-century of Green Fairs and the path forward to a healthier and more sustainable community.

The Ann Arbor Fire Department’s newest fire station is moving on to the next phase of construction as workers begin laying down the foundation. WEMU’s Ana Longoria reports.

The Michigan football season is underway, and excitement and expectations are on high for what the Wolverines can accomplish on the field of play. There are also big expectations for what happens in and around the rest of the "Big House". Work towards making Michigan gamedays a zero-waste event continue, and WEMU's David Fair discussed progress with U-M Senior Project Manager, Alison Richardson.

We’ve had plenty of hot days this summer, but what happens to the environment when concrete and asphalt surface temperatures heat well into the 100’s? Keenan Gibbons and his team at SmithGroup wanted to find out and used drones to study heat patterns along Huron Street in Ann Arbor. The research on heat islands has led to some determinations about how to mitigate impact and help move the city towards its carbon neutrality goals. Gibbons joined WEMU's David Fair to explain the research and its findings.

Ann Arbor’s Bryant neighborhood is moving forward in its goal to become the first in the nation to become fully carbon neutral. The city is also working with other neighborhoods to join them. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert reports.