greenhouse gas emissions

Ann Arbor’s Energy Commission has put the brakes on a resolution asking the City Council to pass a carbon pollution impact fee. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert reports.

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, food insecurity is on high in Washtenaw County. Eileen Spring is president and CEO of Food Gatherers, and she says, since the pandemic, the demand for food assistance has skyrocketed and continues to go up. What is being done to address this glaring community need? Part of the solution also provides some rather amazing environmental benefits. Eileen joined WEMU's David Fair for a discussion on dealing with food insecurity and how food rescue also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Tree Town is looking to find new and productive ways to avoid wasting wood. The City of Ann Arbor is partnering with the company “Urban Ashes” to repurpose storm-damaged and diseased trees. We often discuss the ecological benefits of planting and maintaining trees but rarely look at the environmental impact wood can have once it’s down. Urban Ashes CEO Paul Hickman joined WEMU's David Fair to look at the partnership, how it will work and the benefits it can provide.

The group Ann Arbor for Public Power says, as long as the city continues to use DTE as its power utility, it won’t come close to reaching its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert has this report.

The Ann Arbor School District is transitioning away from the use of fossil fuels. The district was the first to sign up for DTE Energy’s MIGreen Power Program to get to 100% use of renewable energy, and the district will add four more all-electric school buses this academic year. WEMU's David Fair spoke with the Ann Arbor Schools' Director of Capital Programs, Jason Bing, about where the district is today and where it’s headed.

Every April brings us another Earth Day. The event aimed at increasing environmental education, awareness and activism is now in its 54th year. How far have we come in more than five decades and what has to happen next? Rosina Bierbaum is a professor and Dean Emerita in the U of M’s School for Environment and Sustainability. She gave an insider's assessment with WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director Lisa Wozniak.

Scientists are both astounded and alarmed. 2023 was the warmest year ever recorded, and it’s not even close. Human-spawned greenhouse gas emissions coupled with a strong El Nino spiked global temperatures. What are the implications and repercussions? And what will 2024 bring? WEMU's David Fair talked it over with the dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, Dr. Jonathan Overpeck.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Tuesday instructing state departments and agencies to accelerate their transition to zero-emission vehicles. We have more from Rick Pluta.

The City of Ann Arbor continues the march toward carbon neutrality, spending millions in the effort to get there. But, since declaring a climate emergency in 2019, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions have decreased only slightly. Now, in an effort to make the public more aware of the issue, the city has launched an emissions dashboard. WEMU's David Fair spoke with Ann Arbor Senior Energy Analyst, Thea Yagerlener to see if the city is on track to hit its targets.

A2Zero is Ann Arbor’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2030. The city’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations just put out their annual report to see if A2Zero is on track. WEMU’s Josh Hakala reports.