Category: Industry, Energy, Economic Development

Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Latest News Michigan News

Energy News Roundup: Federal money pours in to accelerate energy transition
1 min read

Energy News Roundup: Federal money pours in to accelerate energy transition

There’s been plenty of federal attention aimed at the Great Lakes region over the past couple of weeks. The Biden administration last Thursday announced four new “workforce hubs” in Upstate New York, Michigan, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. The hubs — which join the five announced last year in Columbus, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Augusta, and Phoenix — are intended to help communities access training for jobs in the clean energy space.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Latest News Michigan News nuclear Other

The murky process of reopening Palisades and why it’s a turning point for nuclear
1 min read

The murky process of reopening Palisades and why it’s a turning point for nuclear

There are a lot of eyes on Michigan’s Palisades nuclear power plant as the public and private sectors try, together, to bring it back from the dead.

Plenty of nuclear reactors in the United States have successfully started back up after prolonged stretches of inactivity. The difference is that every other nuclear plant that restarted after an extended outage retained its operating license, meaning that it had to comply with strict federal maintenance standards, even at the times when it wasn’t sending electricity out onto the grid.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Latest News Michigan News Ohio Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice Wisconsin

Energy News Roundup: Key figure in Ohio bribery scandal dead by suicide
1 min read

Energy News Roundup: Key figure in Ohio bribery scandal dead by suicide

In yet another shakeup in the Ohio energy bribery saga that first came to light in 2020, a former state utility regulator was found dead by suicide last week. Sam Randazzo, 74, a longtime lobbyist who was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to chair the Ohio Public Utilities Commission, had been charged with taking a $4.3 million bribe from FirstEnergy Corp.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Authors Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Latest News Michigan News Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice

Line 5 activist group wants Gov. Whitmer to “be an advocate” for shutdown
1 min read

Line 5 activist group wants Gov. Whitmer to “be an advocate” for shutdown

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s record on the Line 5 oil pipeline that traverses the Straits of Mackinac is mixed, according to Lansing advocate Sean McBrearty.

When running for governor in 2018, “Whitmer pledged to do everything in her power to take Line 5 out of the Great Lakes,” McBrearty told Great Lakes Now in a recent interview.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Climate Climate change Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Latest News News Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice Science, Technology, Research

EPA head Regan defends $20B green bank: ‘I feel really good about this program’
1 min read

EPA head Regan defends $20B green bank: ‘I feel really good about this program’

By Matthew Daly, Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday defended a new $20 billion federal “green bank” program, saying it will finance a variety of projects to create low-carbon solutions to combat climate change, including in disadvantaged communities that are most affected by pollution.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Latest News News Ohio Other

Energy News Roundup: Even the solar eclipse is an energy issue
1 min read

Energy News Roundup: Even the solar eclipse is an energy issue

In Ohio and other states in the path of Monday’s total solar eclipse, tons of harried officials are busy dealing with concerns like traffic congestion and hotel capacity. At least a few are also conscious of the fact that demand for electricity is going to spike at the same time that the supply of solar power temporarily plummets.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Authors Community Industry, Energy, Economic Development Latest News News

Energy News Roundup: State senators advocate for ‘community solar’ projects, proposed natural gas plant gets renewed scrutiny
1 min read

Energy News Roundup: State senators advocate for ‘community solar’ projects, proposed natural gas plant gets renewed scrutiny

Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.    

Click on the headline to read the full story:    

 

Illinois 

Illinois EPA announces grants to fund energy efficiency assessments in areas of environmental justice concern — Southerner 

An Illinois program will provide $500,000 in grants to local organizations that make energy efficiency investments in environmental justice communities. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Detroit Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Latest News Michigan News Water

Composting, water access and backyard chickens: Detroit’s urban farming evolution
1 min read

Composting, water access and backyard chickens: Detroit’s urban farming evolution

This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.

By Nina Ignaczak, Planet Detroit

Detroit’s urban agriculture movement traces back to Hazen Pingree’s 1890s potato patch plan,World War II victory gardens, and Mayor Coleman Young’s Farm-A-Lot program in the 1970s.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Climate Court Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Lake Superior Latest News News Wisconsin

Tribes urge U.S. to weigh in on Line 5 case as appeal sits in court
1 min read

Tribes urge U.S. to weigh in on Line 5 case as appeal sits in court

By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio

This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.

Twelve miles of the Line 5 pipeline cross the lands of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in northern Wisconsin.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Business Climate Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Latest News News

Is the USDA’s spending on ‘climate-smart’ farming actually helping the climate?
1 min read

Is the USDA’s spending on ‘climate-smart’ farming actually helping the climate?

By Max Graham, Grist

This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.

America’s farms don’t just run on corn and cattle. They also run on cash from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Every year, the USDA spends billions of dollars to keep farmers in business.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Authors Feature Homepage Industry, Energy, Economic Development Lake Superior Latest News News Protect

“Bad River” documentary combines historical treatment of indigenous people with the fight to protect Lake Superior 
1 min read

“Bad River” documentary combines historical treatment of indigenous people with the fight to protect Lake Superior 

For documentary filmmaker Mary Mazzio, the trek from her first film to making her new release, “Bad River,” took 20 years and included a near-epiphany when the Bostonian first viewed a Lake Superior sunrise. Mazzio, an Olympic rower and attorney, has directed 12 significant films, including the Gracie Award winning “A Most Beautiful Thing.”  

“Bad River” will run from March 15-21 in select AMC theaters.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Industry, Energy, Economic Development Politics, Policy, Environmental Justice

Cleveland, Cuyahoga County leaders urge EPA to finalize federal clean car standards
1 min read

Cleveland, Cuyahoga County leaders urge EPA to finalize federal clean car standards

By Stephanie Metzger-Lawrence, Ideastream Public Media

This story was originally published by Ideastream.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne want stronger federal clean car standards to protect Northeast Ohioans from health problems resulting from air pollution.

“We call on the EPA to enact the strongest possible clean car standards and urge them to finalize this rule this March,” Bibb said at a press conference Friday.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.