clean water action

Members of a state board in charge of the safety of pipelines say they’re not alarmed by a recent coolant spill into the Straits of Mackinac.  A coolant spill in the Straits of Mackinac did not harm the Great Lakes.  That’s according to the Coast Guard and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

People from Flint interrupted a state legislative session Wednesday to demand clean drinking water.

53rd District State Representative Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor) has recently introduced three bills and a budget amendment related to protecting Michigan’s water.  In this week’s edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU’s David Fair discusses the bills and the ongoing challenges our Great Lakes State faces when it comes to the health and safety of our greatest natural resource.

Governor Rick Snyder wants to increase the cost of dumping waste in the state’s landfills.  This is part of the governor’s proposal to improve Michigan’s environment.

Usually when medications expire, people pour them down the drain and flush them down the toilet.  But studies have shown that trace elements of those medications end up in our drinking water.  In this week's "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair talks to Washtenaw County Environmental Program Supervisor Jeff Krcmarik about the safest and healthiest ways to dispose of prescription drugs.

It's Earth Day, and there's a Climate Action Rally happening this afternoon on the University of Michigan campus.

Michigan Clean Water Action, Ann Arbor 350 and organizing for Action-Michigan are hosting the rally. 

Clean Water Action Campaigns Director Eric Keller says it's one of many events taking place across the state today.

"People are coming together as individuals and communities to act on climate," Keller says, "and to protect everything that the earth has to offer, and to protect the Great Lakes today."

David talks to Susan Harley, the Michigan Policy Director of Clean Water Action about cleaning up old diesel engines and making new ones more environmentally friendly this week.