climate change

Enbridge Energy's Line 5 pipeline, located beneath the Straits of Mackinac, has been long been a controversial topic. The line has been deteriorating and leaking, yet action to remedy the problem has been slow. Rebekah Warren and Michigan League of Conservation Voters President/CEO Lisa Wozniak were joined by Dr. Mike Shriberg, Director of the University of Michigan Water Center and a Professor of Practice and Engagement at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, to discuss the current state of Line 5.

The City of Ypsilanti is conducting its first tree inventory in 15 years to help guide future tree management. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has the details.

The City of Ann Arbor is changing its approach to its stormwater management to address growing challenges and community needs. WEMU’s Ana Longoria reports.

Since the 1970s, the amount of insects at Canada's Long Point Bird Observatory has plummeted by 60%, according to a new study led by the University of Michigan. Because of this, today's birds are smaller and facing greater challenges to their breeding success compared with previous generations. Charlotte Probst, lead author of the new study and a doctoral student in the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), discussed the findings with WEMU’s Caroline MacGregor.

The march toward carbon neutrality in Ann Arbor continues. In enacting the measures needed to make the A2ZERO plan work by the goal date of 2030, it has to be approached from a variety of angles. That includes boots on the ground. That’s where the Ann Arbor Climate Corps comes in. It helps bridge the gap between city policy and neighborhood level implementation, and it’s been working so far. But now, there is the potential elimination of federal AmeriCorps funding. Maggie Halpern is program manager for Ann Arbor Climate Corps. In her conversation with WEMU's David Fair, she talks about what options are being considered, should that come to pass, and the work the Climate Corps will continue doing in Ann Arbor.

There is a growing local food network in Washtenaw County. As high prices increase food insecurity, more homegrown food can help. Further, local farmers are creating better connections with the general public, and that is helping to combat the climate crisis by helping reduce transportation-related emissions. There is also potential for more local economic impact. WEMU's David Fair talked with Ryan Poe, the founder of The Hungry Locavore, about local agriculture as part of our carbon neutrality and food insecurity solutions.

Climate change has brought more unpredictable weather, and that has resulted in more severe storms and more flooding, more dams at risk and that, of course, puts property and lives in danger. Around here, we depend on the Huron River. The Digital Water Lab at the University of Michigan has set a network of real-time sensors to improve water monitoring, flood response and coordination among dam operators. WEMU's David Fair got a lesson in how that works in a conversation with U-M Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Branko Kerkez.

This year’s Earth Day theme is “Our Power, Our Planet.” A free program offered by the City of Ann Arbor exemplifies that theme by helping residents plant new trees. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has the story.

Ann Arbor’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations will be hosting for the first time the fourth annual A2 Climate Teach-In after taking up the mantle from the previous organizers. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has the story.

The EPA has reversed the so-called "endangerment finding". It is the legal basis for the nation's federal effort to combat climate change. The White House says it led to over-regulation and is costing people money. Scientists and researchers worry about the setbacks it may cause. WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director Lisa Wozniak explored these issues with the Holcim Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, Andy Hoffman.