Norwegian developers are proposing the state’s first offshore wind farm in Lake Michigan near Pentwater. The plan, for up to 200 turbines within two miles of Silver Lake sand dunes, has generated controversy statewide. Developer Scandia Wind Offshore LLC recently announced it was cutting the project size in half and moving it farther offshore in response to criticism. Although Scandia has not submitted any formal proposal for the wind farm, its publicity has brought the issue to the forefront of public discussion.

Copenhagen, Denmark—While policy makers in Washington and Lansing fight tooth-and-nail over how much support to provide clean energy industries, Denmark is charging full-speed ahead with a formidable array of government-backed technology innovations that have buoyed its economy, galvanized its citizens and made it a key exporter of renewable power ideas and hardware. Whether you admire or distrust the Danish approach that involves extensive government partnership and involvement with its citizens and private industry, one thing is clear: it has made the island nation a formidable global economic force that belies its tiny size.

Communities of color, low-income populations and those in Michigan’s older urban neighborhoods are among those with the most to gain from passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (the Climate Bill).

Utilities in Michigan are implementing Clean Energy legislation passed by the Michigan Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm last year (Public Acts 286 and 295 of 2008). Key components of that legislation require new programs in energy efficiency and renewable power. The legislation was a compromise supported by the Michigan Environmental Council, which fought for stronger measures to secure cost savings through energy efficiency and energy independence from renewable power.

A growing company whose cutting edge energy technology is used primarily by the military is making its move into the lucrative commercial market and hiring laid-off Michigan autoworkers to help make that transition.

The future of Michigan’s clean energy manufacturing economy thrives in a pair of low-slung buildings in a sand-swept industrial park on Lake Michigan’s shore. Windspire wind turbines—a first generation of small windmills geared toward individual homes and businesses—are churned out by workers whose auto industry jobs have evaporated.

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.

The Michigan Environmental Council’s Urgent Action Fund demonstrated its worth this summer in the battle to pass modern energy policies in the Michigan Legislature.

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.

In each issue of the Michigan Environmental Report, we celebrate accomplishments by MEC and member groups.

WonkTalk is designed to put environmental geekspeak and arduous acronyms into plain English. Why? Because we eschew obfuscation and consistently endeavor to disencumber labyrinthine prose, of course!

Welcome to "WonkTalk," a new Michigan Environmental Report featurette designed to put environmental geekspeak and arduous acronyms into plain English.

Stanley “Skip” Pruss recently left his post as a deputy director with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to serve as Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s special advisor on renewable energy and the environment.

The automotive industry is a regular whipping boy for environmentalists in a lather over fuel economy standards and the beyond-petroleum “vision thing.” So what was a contingent from Michigan Environmental Council doing in clean room suits and safety glasses ogling General Motors’ new Delta Township plant outside Lansing in May?

The City of Grand Rapids has earned a sustainability award from the United Nations University for its Community Sustainability Partnership efforts. It is the first city in the U.S., and one of only 30 in the world, to receive the award.

There’s a big fuss in Lansing as the governor, legislators and lobbyists try to find a way to replace revenue that will be lost when Michigan’s Single Business Tax (SBT) dies at the end of the year. And with good reason; our SBT generates a whopping $2 billion every year. Still, that’s chump change compared to the $20 billion Michigan businesses and residents pay vendors in other states and countries just to meet our annual energy needs.