The historic Morgan B. Hungerford House at 602 W. Ionia Street just blocks from the Capitol building is the Michigan Environmental Council’s new home.

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

Legislation decried by environmental groups may soon legalize methane production via grass clippings

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.

Michigan has the best fly fishing in the nation. Better than legendary Western destinations like Idaho, Wyoming and Montana according, to the “Best 12 States for Fly Fishing” rankings from Fly Talk, the fly fishing blog of Field & Stream magazine.

North Carolina didn’t make Field and Stream’s list of the top ten fly-fishing states, but its mountainous western flank has a wealth of tumbling streams with names like Whitewater River, Raven Fork and Rough Butt Creek.

As a boy, Dan Wyant used to stop traffic on US-131 near Schoolcraft to let his grandfather’s 20 head of dairy cows march across the highway to be milked.

As a boy Dan Wyant used to stop traffic on U.S. 131 near Schoolcraft to let his grandfather’s 20 head of dairy cows march across the highway to be milked. Times and technology changed. Today Wyant directs the state agency that oversees enforcement of pollution laws – including laws regulating huge factory farms that house thousands of cattle and produce waste equivalent to a medium-sized city.

The first public draft of a sweeping vision for a thriving, sustainable Michigan in the year 2060 was released this fall for public input.

In August, I spent time exploring parts of Michigan I had never really visited until now. Walking along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Ludington I couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of our state and the natural assets that we too often take for granted.

Detroit today joined the growing ranks of cities embracing a green economy and taking the initiative against climate change, committing to cut its greenhouse gas emissions significantly during the next several years.

Social and scientific innovators from across the country will descend on Marygrove College in Detroit Oct. 17-19 for the fourth annual Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit conference.

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.

An energy package passed by the Michigan House of Representatives will mean lower cost, cleaner electricity for Michigan’s future according to analysis by the Michigan Environmental Council.

Legislation requiring state government to purchase renewably generated electricity is a useful first step toward a statewide clean energy policy. But the measure, passed by the Michigan State Senate today, is primarily symbolic because it affects significantly less than 1 percent of the state’s electricity generation.

The first increases in federal automotive fuel economy standards in more than three decades passed Congress in December, drawing cheers from leading Michigan environmental groups, including the Michigan Environmental Council.

The Michigan Environmental Council teamed with a Washington, DC nonprofit in December to release a report documenting the economic benefits of investing in energy efficiency and renewable power. The release was part of MEC’s sustained effort to convince Michigan legislators to establish a renewable energy standard and aggressive energy efficiency programming for the state’s ratepayers. At press time, MEC and its allies were continuing to press for those programs. Below is a summary of the report, which concludes that renewable power and efficiency is a win-win for the economy and environment.

Paper or plastic? Cans or bottles? And as the holiday season approaches, add this dilemma: Real or fake? Every year, millions of consumers face the same choice—a real Christmas tree or an artificial one?