Under threat of proverbial flames: We must stand the line on state protections

Michigan must hold the line on state-level environmental protections

Three weeks ago I sent my friend Tim a text message, hoping I’d get a response that he and his family were okay. Tim is from Traverse City but has lived in Los Angeles for almost a decade. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when I saw a reply pop up, and although he wasn’t in immediate danger, he admitted that he was just a few miles from where the Palisades fire was raging. 

As we watched the horror of those fires unfold, my first thought was, “Thank goodness I live here in Michigan—over 2,000 miles from that danger.” Here, we’re safe. Here, we are not so vulnerable.

But vulnerable is exactly what we are right now. 

December of 2024 marked the end of Michigan’s Democratic ‘trifecta,’ a historic legislative opportunity that had the potential to propel environmental protections forward. Yet numerous strong, popular policies that would have benefited our air, water and communities were left dead in the water after all House Republican legislators and one house democrat walked out of the Capitol and refused to return to do their jobs.  

Those bills that failed included water protection legislation that would have empowered our state to create and update rules that protect our people from harmful chemicals, as well as legislation to create a statewide septic code—a critical need given that Michigan remains the only state in the nation without a law to regulate failing septics that leak human waste into our waters. 

Now as we kick off 2025, rumblings of environmental rollbacks are coming from the state and federal level. A proposed solar lease plan near Gaylord sparked a firestorm from Michigan Republicans, who said in a letter addressed to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), “You have a responsibility to be good stewards of public land – replacing forests with solar panels does not live up to that standard.” 

Interestingly though, every single House Republican and the only Democrat signee on the letter, Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit), all chose not to show up and pass key environmental protections just 30 days ago. They are now using a single solar project as a basis to bash solar energy projects under the guise of land protection, while simultaneously calling for repealing Michigan’s historic climate laws, increased natural gas and oil operations, mining and logging efforts that have a far greater impact on our land.

As anticipated, President Donald Trump is also taking swift action at the federal level, using his inaugural address to declare a national energy emergency and echoing the famous words, “Drill baby, drill.” That address was then followed with a flurry of executive orders that, amongst other things, threaten federal funding for environmental work across the nation. 

Though the federal funding freeze has since been rescinded, we were alerted by several of our member environmental organizations that they would lose access to critical funding streams immediately if more federal action is taken to eliminate federal environmental grants. Those groups are leading work on the ground in our communities, fighting for better air quality for our children, cleaning up our rivers, planting trees, saving the bees and so much more. 

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In the face of these threats, it suddenly feels like the (proverbial) fire is not so far away. So, it’s up to each of us to fight for this place we love. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed landmark climate laws into effect in 2023, and with it a bold commitment: 100% renewable energy by 2040. Already Michigan House Republicans have introduced legislation that would significantly weaken these our climate laws. We must hold our elected officials to protect these key laws from the clean energy attacks. 

We are the Great Lakes State. Our freshwater resources are globally rare. It’s time we enacted common-sense legislation that ensures we prevent PFAS, human waste and harmful chemicals from leaching into the water we swim in, recreate in, and drink. 

And though it may not seem like it at this moment, our elected officials work for us. We encourage you to look up your State Representative and Senator. Follow their social media pages and attend their local coffee hours. Tell them that our environment is a priority for you and that you need them to stand up for our state-level protections in the months and years ahead. 

We will continue to advocate for policies that protect the air we breathe, our water and the places we love. And when we need your help, we hope you’ll answer our call.