research

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.

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.

Between 1995 and 2023, the City of Ann Arbor’s Natural Area Preservation (NAP) division coordinated a continuous butterfly monitoring program using trained community science volunteers. Ludovico Behrendt is an environmental data specialist with NAP and conducted a retrospective analysis of this nearly 30-year dataset. He joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss the findings on the health of butterflies in the area and what it says about the health of the local environment.

A trendy species of mushroom could be a new threat to Michigan’s forests. Colin Jackson has more.

Advocates say proposed funding cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could bring devastating consequences to the Great Lakes. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert reports.

The University of Michigan’s Clements Library has recently made available a digital database of photo postcards that depict over 100 years of the state’s history. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert reports.

Eastern Michigan University students were given the opportunity to create a radio reporting project as a final class project. The project was guided and directed by professor Dr. Sadaf Ali in partnership with WEMU. This is the work of Nora Gibson. She chose to take a close look at EMU’s Halle Library.

Scientists, almost unanimously, cite climate change as an existential threat. There are differing opinions as to when we will reach a tipping point of no return. With the new federal administration attempting to roll back climate policies and funding for programs and research, what will happen next? WEMU's David Fair and Michigan Conservation Voters executive director, Lisa Wozniak find out in their conversation with Julia Cole, Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

Michigan will be creating new programs to help with business start-ups and research and development under bills signed into law. Colin Jackson has more.

Clinical psychologists from the University of Michigan are working with local addiction recovery clinics on a form of treatment called "contingency management." The study will determine if positive reinforcement affects recovery outcomes. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has more.