climate change

A lot of folks are about to hit the road or the airports with Christmas right around the corner. Gregory Keoleian is the director of the U-M's Center for Sustainable Systems. He joined WEMU's David Fair to talk about how best to minimize our carbon footprint and still get to where we want to go.

Over this past summer, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy named a new chief climate officer. Alessandra Carreon was named to the position over the summer after serving on the Michigan Public Service commission. It is a challenging time to try and follow through on adaptation and resiliency policies. Alessandra will discuss how EGLE is proceeding and what the goal is by the end of the Whitmer Administration at the end of 2026 with WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director, Lisa Wozniak.

The Department of Energy sent an email to employees directing them to avoid language like “climate change.” WEMU’s Caroline MacGregor spoke to a University of Michigan climate scientist about the implications.

In September, The University of Michigan will hold its first Climate Week. The idea is to create a series of events and activities to further engage the community in climate action and sustainability. It comes against the backdrop of dramatic rollbacks in environmental and climate protections at the federal level. Dr. Shalanda Baker is the school's first-ever Vice Provost for Sustainability and Climate Action. She discussed that and more with WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director, Lisa Wozniak.

Michigan environmental activists say a Trump Administration plan to pull back from clean air regulations would hurt the state. Colin Jackson has more.

The federal administration has laid off hundreds of staff from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the impact is already being felt locally and in region. Moving forward, there is the potential NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab in Ann Arbor could be shut down. WEMU's David Fair spoke with Nicole Rice about where it stands now and where it may be headed. Rice is among those already fired from the lab in Ann Arbor.

Michigan’s air quality has nosedived in recent weeks, due to wildfire smoke from Canada. At one point, Detroit was listed as the third most polluted city in the world. The blanket of haze that has covered the region, including Washtenaw County, has prompted several air quality advisories. WEMU's Caroline MacGregor talks to Dr. MeiLan Han, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Michigan Health, to get a better understanding of how particulate matter from wildfire smoke affects our overall health.

Ann Arbor officials have been improving the city’s ability to mitigate floods caused by increasingly frequent and heavier rainfall. WEMU’s Ana Longoria reports.

You may have noticed there have been some changes in the nature of our weather. Climate change is cited as the reason for some notable changes in precipitation patterns in our corner of the world. What does that tell us about the near- and longer-term future in Washtenaw County? WEMU's David Fair discussed this with Dr. Drew Gronewold, Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability.

Jonathan Taylor Overpeck is an American climate scientist and globally recognized climate researcher. Since 2017, he has served as the Samuel A. Graham Dean and Professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. WEMU’s Caroline MacGregor caught up with Overpeck to discuss where we stand with climate change today.