This application to the state seeks to build a road through a township dune sanctuary as part of a driveway project. The driveway is allowed "by right," even through a Critical Dunes area, under changes to a state law approved in 2012.

Gov. Rick Snyder has launched a series of public discussions regarding energy policy in Michigan. The first of those seven meetings took place Feb. 14 in Lansing. A day later, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) released its annual report on renewable energy. The report found that Michigan is well on its way to meeting the renewable energy standard of 10% by 2015, and the price of renewable energy continues to fall.

More than 100 legislators, legislative staff and MEC member group representatives gathered Jan. 30 for the Michigan Environmental Council’s biennial Legislative Breakfast.

A Pew Research Center report issued in June affirms what most of us already sense: Political polarization in this country is growing at an accelerated pace. The big news here is that political identity is now the greatest division among us; more than race, class or sex.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Builders would have an easier time gaining approval for houses, driveways and other projects in sensitive seaside areas under proposed legislation that would make the first significant changes in Michigan's sand dune protection law in nearly a quarter-century.

The Senate Regulatory Reform Committee today voted out legislation that may be the beginning of the end for Michigan’s bottle bill. The proponents of HB 5660 say they are simply trying to exempt new drink “pouches” that are intended to be frozen then emptied into a glass. However, the language of the bill is much broader and would exempt any beverage container that combines metal with plastic, or plastic with paper.

Michigan Environmental Council opposes House Bill 5660, which proposes to amend Michigan's successful bottle bill. The legislation looks to exempt alcohol pouch containers from our 10-cent bottle deposit.

So much of what makes Pure Michigan so pure starts with our land—the miles of forests, the majestic dunes, the undeveloped trout streams and backcountry trails. Without the incredible Great Lakes landscapes that define us, we’d just be another Indiana, Ohio or Missouri.

Bills being considered by the Michigan House of Representatives today would drive the state’s composting operations out of business.

More greenhouse gases, more landfills and more layoff notices make these bills bad policy for the State of Michigan. Instead Michigan should be exploring policies that would make us a clean energy leader around the country.

The Michigan House of Representatives is debating bills that would rescind the state’s 17-year ban on yard waste in landfills – a move that would cost jobs in the state’s burgeoning compost industry and eliminate an industry that provides valuable, nutrient-dense compost to Michigan homes and businesses.

Former State senator Patty Birkholz- Known for her effectiveness and for her trademark purple wardrobe- is Gov. Rick Snyder's director of the Michigan office of the Great Lakes.

Bill would have crippled state's ability to protect Great Lakes

Environmental groups blast move to strip Michigan governors of authority to protect Great Lakes and other Pure Michigan treasures

A bill passed by the Michigan House would prohibit Michigan from adopting rules more stringent than federal standards unless authorized by statute. The Great Lakes, then, would be subject to the same rules as ponds in Arizona and creeks in New Mexico.

If the first months of 2011 are any indication, we are in for a barn burner of a year. From Gov. Snyder’s administration coming into office and releasing its first budget, to a new legislature getting started and environmental legislation already moving, there won’t be much time to catch a breath. As we predicted last year, it’s going to be all hands on deck during this legislative session.

Michigan’s innovative new state park funding is providing a glimmer of good fiscal news amid a backdrop of budget woes.

Michigan parents would have new tools to help keep their kids safe from toxic chemicals in toys under legislation expected soon in the State Senate. The bill would require large toy manufacturers and importers to disclose their use of hazardous chemicals in children’s products.

Significant cuts in general fund revenue to agencies that protect Michigan’s natural resources were outlined by Gov. Rick Snyder in the budget plan he unveiled Feb. 17. The proposal – now being vigorously debated across the state – also seeks fee increases on businesses to fund certain enforcement programs and cuts tax incentives for redevelopment of contaminated lands – commonly referred to as brownfields.

Michigan's House Democratic leadership courts rate increases, undermines state's clean energy job growth with support for unnecessary coal plants

In Michigan, as across the nation, voters took out their anger with the continuing economic recession on the party in charge. A key factor in the election was that many voters stayed home. Close to 640,000 voters (300,000 Democrats and 340,000 Independents) who voted four years ago in the last gubernatorial election were uninspired to vote this year. Thus, Republicans swept to power, taking all of the statewide offices, including the Supreme Court; grew their legislative majority in the State Senate; and took a huge 20-seat swing in the State House to retake the majority. Winning the election may turn out to be the easy part.

For 60 years, Michigan’s roads have been designed with little else in mind besides the automobile. Today, many in Michigan realize we can and should do better to incorporate the needs of all other road users. Doing so means safer streets, increasingly walkable and bikeable central cities, and more vibrant business districts.

In real estate, it’s location, location, location. In politics today, it’s jobs, jobs, jobs. Not necessarily green jobs, not clean tech jobs, just plain jobs, jobs, jobs.

If you need a reason to have your voice heard in Lansing, here are two good ones. They are recent statements by House Speaker Andy Dillon and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop that really got me going. First off, I know both these leaders personally and consider them friends. I have the utmost respect for them, which makes their statements even harder to swallow.

The legislature will return to Lansing today to put the final touches on a bill that will keep Michigan’s wetlands program running at the state level for an additional three years. Proposals had been made to send the program back to the federal government to operate on a limited basis.

Michigan’s environmental community today applauded efforts in the Michigan House Great Lakes and the Environment committee to preserve state-based protection of Michigan’s wetlands and Great Lakes waters.

Response from Michigan Environmental Council to State Senate’s vote to cede authority to federal government, cripple state environmental protections

The Michigan Environmental Council’s successes at the State Capitol—and its current agenda in Lansing—have helped clean energy industries like Mastech Manufacturing provide new jobs and economic vitality to a state reeling from auto industry woes.

True leadership is a combination of vision and action. Today, our political leadership often lacks both. Too many leaders are stuck in the past or present, unaware or unconcerned that their decisions today will impact our nation for 40 or 50 years.

Michigan Environmental Council Policy Director James Clift spoke with the Michigan Environmental Report recently about 2008’s victories, 2009 goals, and whether he sometimes wants to strangle people over at the State Capitol. Here’s what he had to say.

A flurry of year-end legislation protecting public health and Michigan’s environment passed the Michigan Legislature late Thursday. The measures cap a year of tremendous accomplishments in protecting our Great Lakes, stimulating job creation in the clean energy sector and protecting children from toxics in toys and other products.

Michigan Environmental Council President Lana Pollack steps down at the end of 2008 after a 12-year tenure overseeing unprecedented growth, tremendous victories for the state’s natural resources and an increasingly robust influence in the corridors of power at the State Capitol.

A victory for Michigan’s environment and economy was secured in September with the adoption of new energy efficiency programming and the state’s first renewable energy standard.

Congressional passage of the Great Lakes Compact provides important new protections from large-scale water diversions and a framework for strengthening state water laws, a coalition of Michigan environmental groups said today.

A bipartisan agreement announced today establishes important and concrete protections for Michigan’s streams and makes water conservation an integral part of the state’s water stewardship efforts.

Michigan leaders need to think bigger. For decades, we’ve slipped out of national leadership on the economy, education, cultural resources and environmental protection. At best, we’re a pale shadow in the middle of the pack in each of these arenas. And we’re still bleeding.

There were few heroes and not a lot to admire in the tortuous road to Michigan’s recently passed tax, budget and policy bills. But it could have been worse, and I was among those who let out a collective sigh of relief at 4:30 AM on Oct. 1.

More than two years after the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) opened up the rulemaking process for pesticide use in Michigan, the verdict is in, and it’s not pretty.

Hoping to rouse a legislature distracted by the state’s budgetary woes, wind energy experts and entrepreneurs addressed their role in Michigan’s economy at the "Manufacturing and Developing Wind Energy Systems in Michigan" symposium held Sept. 10 and 11 at Michigan State University.

Here’s a roundup of some notable recent or pending actions on food policy in the world of policy-making, politics and research:

I’m ashamed to admit it, but at dinner time I’m a pretty lousy environmentalist. I still eat too high on the food chain (environmental-speak for red meat and other animal flesh); and I seldom organize my weekend around getting to our farmers’ market.

Michigan’s budget crisis promises to be the only game in Lansing for the foreseeable future, dominating headlines, politics and policy throughout 2007. The implications for environmental protection are foreboding: general fund money for the agencies charged with protecting Michigan’s air, land, water and public health have been dwindling since 2001, and the descent will continue for the foreseeable future.

Congress currently has before it many initiatives that could protect and restore our water resources. Your help is needed to make these initiatives become reality. Contact your members of Congress and urge them to support the following bills:

Legislation signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in late 2006 outlaws several types of mercury-containing medical devices in Michigan. The move helps keep this dangerous neurotoxin out of our landfills and incinerator emissions.

Michigan ranks second in the nation in the number of billboards, according to Scenic Michigan, an affiliate of the national nonprofit group Scenic America. This proliferation of billboards attacks the visual beauty of Michigan. However, with Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s approval of new legislation, positive changes are on the way for 2007.

A new Michigan Legislature brings new opportunities to protect Michigan’s natural resources. The environmental community is already gearing up for what could shape up as a crucial year for environmental protection. Among our priorities will be the following: