Founded in 1970, the Ecology Center serves one purpose: protecting healthy people and a healthy planet. We believe that the central question of our time is how human beings are going to thrive in the world without destroying the earth's ability to sustain us. This can only be achieved with your support.
Join us for the Forth Empowering Mobility Roadmap Conference!
September 24–26th, 2024
Huntington Place | Detroit, MI
Ecology Center is proud to be a community partner of the Forth Roadmap Conference, the premier electric transportation conference in the US where leaders convene to transform how people and goods move.
The Roadmap Conference is where the future of transportation is created. Join us as we explore emerging trends, share learnings and best practices, and convene industry leaders to chart the future of electric transportation.
As the industry continues to grow, so does the Roadmap Conference. Join us in Detroit, MI, the world’s automotive capital, as we chart the road forward for electric transportation.
In partnership with the Ecology Center and the City of Ann Arbor, the More Life, Less Stuff campaign aims to inspire the community to use less stuff and connect with the world around them. This story is the first in a series highlighting and supporting people and organizations making things better in our community and our world. Learn more at a2morelife.com
The Cost of Wasting So Much Food
EPA's 2019 Wasted Food Report: 66 million tons, 100 billion dollars, 40% of all the food, 60% ending up in landfills!
Every year, Americans throw away a mind-boggling 66 million tons of food. To put it into perspective, this is almost 40% of the food we produce, and a staggering 60% of this waste ends up in landfills.
Changes, even small ones, can dramatically reduce the amount of food we waste, reducing the impact on the environment and making resources available to organizations that help feed people in need.
More life, less food waste.
Every stage of our current food system creates waste, and the environmental impact is huge—from growing and grazing to production and manufacturing, from packaging to transportation, and from retailers to individuals.
Growing, producing, and transporting food is energy-, chemical-, and land-intensive. Conventional food production requires large amounts of fresh water and massive amounts of pesticides and fertilizers, which pollute and overburden the environment. Agriculture consumes half of the world's habitable land. The entire agricultural supply chain has GHG emissions associated with it. Agriculture is responsible for about one-quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
It's more than just the production and transport of food that has such a huge environmental footprint. Food waste storage and disposal uses lots of energy, some of which comes from fossil fuels, which release more toxic chemicals into the environment. This wasted food fills up landfills. As it rots, it gives off methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG), that is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Methane is the second largest contributor to climate warming. Food waste, along with food packaging, makes up almost half of household, retail, and commercial waste.
All these GHG emissions from the agricultural supply chain and disposal of waste food are helping to drive climate change, a main cause of the extreme weather events like hurricanes and droughts.
Food Waste is a Preventable Problem - So is Food Insecurity.
Food waste presents both a problem and an opportunity. In our current linear system–the take-make-waste economy where we use natural resources to produce stuff that we don't need and eventually throw away–food waste is inevitable. A circular system focuses on reducing food waste by creating and purchasing only what we need and ensuring that extra food is shared with others (who may be experiencing food insecurity) or goes back into use by creating animal feed and compost. In a circular system, the majority of food waste is preventable.
Through supporting charitable organizations, such as Food Gatherers, we can fight food waste and make sure everyone in our community has food to eat.
Our Neighbors Struggle with Food Insecurity
According to Feeding America, in 2018, the average meal in Washtenaw County cost $3.39. By 2021, that same meal cost $4.05. At that time, almost 10% of Washtenaw County residents – more than 39,000 people – experienced food insecurity.
Because of the high cost of living, many people in Washtenaw County experiencing food insecurity don't meet the federal poverty guidelines and, therefore, don't qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or other government assistance programs. SNAP benefits have returned to pre-COVID levels for those who do qualify, although prices have remained high. Food Gatherers and other food rescue programs work to fill the holes in the social safety net and ensure that every resident has access to healthy and nutritious food.
The Story of Food Gatherers
Thirty-six years ago, the founders of Food Gatherers were frustrated. They saw how much usable food was being thrown away and wasted, food they knew could feed hungry people. So, they decided to do something about it. They borrowed a van, filled it with surplus food from restaurants and grocery stores, and then delivered it to hot meal programs in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. This was the beginning of Food Gatherers, Michigan's first food rescue organization.
Today, Food Gatherers distributes the equivalent of 18,000 meals daily to 140 community partners. They aim to "alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes in our community." Along with their partners, they build community, fight food insecurity, and reduce food waste. Therefore, Food Gatherers is the first organization profiled in and celebrated by the More Life, Less Stuff campaign. We interviewed volunteers Frank and Lindsay Bateman as well as Markell Miller, director of community food programs, to learn more about their work in rescuing food and feeding those in need in their community.
Food Gatherers Rescues Food and Fights Food Insecurity
It works like this: Food Gatherers collects food donations from consumers, grocery stores, restaurants, and farms—food that would have otherwise been wasted—and redistributes it to people experiencing food insecurity. They also use government programs and individual financial donations to purchase food. This food goes to food pantries, low-income and assisted living facilities, and shelters for people experiencing homelessness.
Food Gatherers also has and works with programs for children. 12% of Washtenaw County's children struggle with food insecurity. One of their goals is to ensure that the meals that they serve and the food they provide contain balanced nutrition for their clients within the community. Food Gatherers works with organizations that introduce new fruits and vegetables to kids whose families may not be able to afford the risk of investing in food their children may or may not like. They also distribute food through schools and during summer break. When school gets out, students who qualify for free breakfast and lunch lose access to both meals. Food Gatherers steps in and fills the gap, making sure that these kids and teens are fed.
Through serving the community, Food Gatherers also builds community. Frank Bateman, a long-time volunteer, told me, "It's a close-knit organization. If you come into it, you're adopted; you're one of us. We have new friends because of our work there. Some of those are staff, and some of them are volunteers." Lindsay Bateman, another volunteer, said that through Food Gatherers, they "got to meet a lot of new and interesting people" and felt "like we were giving back to the community, not just writing a check." Food Gatherers's impact goes beyond saving the environment and feeding the community - it also improves lives.
How to Find Food
Food Gatherers makes it easy to get food. When asked about the process, Frank Bateman said, "If you're picking up food or getting dinner or lunch, nobody asks for your name or ID. You don't have to say a certain prayer. You just come in, you get in line, and you eat. That's all there is to it." Because Food Gatherers partners with various community organizations and distributes to pantries throughout the area, odds are you aren't far from a free meal or bag of groceries. Find a location close to you here: https://www.foodgatherers.org/foodresources/
We Can All Help Reduce Food Waste
The first step in reducing food waste is to be more intentional about food purchases. Small changes like meal planning and bringing a list to the grocery store can go a long way toward avoiding buying food you don't need and spending money unnecessarily. You could also designate an "Eat First" section of your refrigerator for foods that must be eaten soon to prevent spoiling.
If you find yourself with extra food, you can donate it to Food Gatherers, one of their partner pantries, or another program that provides food to folks in need. Food Gatherers is funded primarily through individual donations. More than 90% of every donation goes directly to food programs and every little bit counts.
Food Gatherers also relies heavily on its volunteers, who do everything from collecting food from restaurants and grocery stores to cooking and serving meals at the Food Gatherers’ Community Kitchen, located in the Delonis Center, which provides hot, nutritious meals for shelter residents. According to Lindsay Bateman, getting started volunteering is pretty simple: "It's easy to go to the website and see all the volunteer effort opportunities right there."
When asked how community members with less time or money could contribute, Markell Miller, director of community food programs at Food Gatherers, said, "We also love to encourage people to do word-of-mouth outreach, making sure people know that there are resources for them." Anyone who needs help should know where to go to find either a hot meal or free groceries. You can also follow them on social media by searching Food Gatherers on Facebook or @foodgatherers Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter) to learn more about their programs.
A big thank you to Frank and Lindsay Bateman, and Markell Miller.
The students at Dicken Elementary have been working hard to eliminate food waste in their cafeteria. Led by Abby Rosenbaum — a parent volunteer — along with third-grade teacher Caitlin Concannon, these kids are volunteering their free time to help their classmates sort compostable food and recyclables into bins, making sure that the items are ready for pickup by the compost and recycling collectors and keeping those items out of the landfill.
These students, who are part of Dicken Elementary's Green Team, inspire us. Together, they are creating a more sustainable school and a healthier planet. The Green Team students (under the supervision of teachers and parents) work to educate their school community about composting and recycling by designing and posting informational signs throughout the building. Throughout Ann Arbor schools, there are similarly inspiring projects and other Green Teams that also fight food waste and support sustainability within our community. For example, earlier this year, the Green Team at Pioneer High School held a food waste challenge at their school — the next community-wide Food Waste Challenge Week starts on June 9th.
These young folks remind us that protecting the planet is a collective responsibility. We all, young and old, must work together to create a healthier world. Their valiant efforts demonstrate that empowered communities can tackle challenging problems — like school cafeteria waste — and make a difference.
My Mom saw how much food was going into the landfill and thought it was wrong. And that she could do something about it. And, she could. - Mabel, 4th Grade, Dicken Elementary
We want to thank the parents, students, principal, and teachers at Dicken Elementary for helping us share their story. We hope it brightens your day.
This video is part of a story series for the More Life, Less Stuff Campaign, which aims to inspire the community to use less stuff and connect with the world around them. Stories that show us how our world can be better and infuse us with hope connect us. Use this form to let us know if you have an idea for a story.
Join the A2ZERO Food Waste Challenge from June 9th - June 15th and learn how simple changes to how you shop, prepare, consume, and dispose of food can help you significantly reduce your carbon footprint and save you money on your groceries. During the challenge, you'll get daily emails with tips and local resources on reducing your food waste. Plus, just by signing up, you're eligible to win prizes from local businesses like a $100 gift card to Zingerman's, a $25 gift card to Argus Farms, a Roos Roast reusable Fellow mug, and more!
Michigan lawmakers opened their doors (and their Zoom links) to meet with Ecology Center staff and lead poisoning prevention advocates last week on May 7th and 8th. Organizations and individuals working together under the banner of the Michigan Alliance for Lead Safe Homes (MIALSH) spoke to state representatives, senators, and their staff both virtually and in Lansing. Ecology Center's Lead Policy Priorities
The significance of MIALSH's mission cannot be overstated: to prevent childhood lead poisoning. A pivotal part of our strategy is the annual Lead Education Day, a crucial platform that empowers lead-impacted families, health professionals, and concerned citizens to directly address lawmakers and shape legislative action around lead prevention.
This past fall, Michigan took big steps forward to detect and prevent childhood lead poisoning by passing Universal Lead Testing and Filter First. Years of advocacy helped educate lawmakers about the importance of testing all 1—and 2-year-olds in Michigan for lead and the need to provide hydration stations with water filters in all schools and daycare centers.
Building on the momentum of our past achievements, we spoke to lawmakers about three new bills, each with the potential to significantly advance our lead poisoning prevention efforts:
Renovation, Repair and Painting Act (RRP): The EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule is a current federal regulation requiring contractors to follow lead-safe practices when working on old houses (built before 1978). Fixing old houses can disturb lead paint, create lead-laden dust, and expose families and workers. HB 4532 calls for the adoption of RRP as state law, giving Michigan oversight of the program and enabling Michigan to expand RRP, ensuring that contractors working on old homes are certified, and tailoring RRP to the needs of Michigan communities.
HB 5368: This bill drops the 'level of concern' for lead-poisoned kids from 5 to 3.5 ug/DL to align with the Centers for Disease Control's level of concern.
HB 5369 automatically qualifies lead-poisoned children for Early On, Michigan’s system of health care services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays. This automatic referral will be a vital companion to Universal Testing. Once more children are tested, more lead poisoning will be identified. Families and health care providers will need an easy pathway to support services.
Lead Education Days not only provide a platform for dialogue with lawmakers, but also foster a sense of community among advocates, facilitating mutual learning and support. The Ecology Center extends its heartfelt gratitude to all those who shared their knowledge and experiences. These advocacy days serve as a powerful reminder that everyday citizens are integral to the legislative process. In every office and Zoom meeting, lawmakers and their staff appreciated the input from concerned Michiganders. Together, we send a powerful message.
Every day, an inundation of advertisements pressures us to buy more. These advertisements are well-devised. They play on our need to fit in, feel good about ourselves, not miss out, make life easier, and enjoy life's finer things. However, all this stuff comes with hidden costs that, in the end, might not be worth it.
Everything we buy impacts people and the environment because of the labor, energy, chemicals, and resources used to make and deliver it. Manufacturing uses a long list of resources to produce every item, from materials extracted from the Earth to energy used in production and all the pollution emitted and energy used along the way.
Every step of producing our stuff leads to waste, and eventually, our stuff itself becomes waste, causing additional costs. Not everything can be safely recycled and composted. Instead, it ends up buried in the ground or, worse, burnt and released into the air, or sent to countries without an infrastructure to manage waste. Then, the people who live around landfills, waste dumps, or incinerators are disproportionately burdened by our stuff - through air and water pollution.
Every purchase also sends a message about our values. Do we value the people and places where the raw materials are grown or mined, or the places where the products are manufactured? Do we value the communities that host disposal facilities where the waste is buried or burned?
We all share a responsibility to right-size our consumption and minimize harm to the world and the life it sustains. It's not just about our individual choices but our collective commitment to a healthy future.
Our current economy thrives on consuming more and more stuff, leaving us with the question, "How do we use less stuff and not tank the economy?" Maybe the question should be, "How can we have an economy that supports health and life?" rather than one that requires mindless consumption. We should ask ourselves, "Is all the stuff worth it?" And the answer is no—it's often not worth it, especially when it's single-use, fast-fashion, or excess.
We can also use less and not tank the economy. Part of circularity is to shop locally whenever possible. Local artisans and businesses are vital to a sustainable economy that uses less while thriving locally. Shopping locally, especially for locally made items, reduces the transportation miles the food or items travel to get to you. Reducing the miles stuff has to travel helps reduce both pollution and resource use from transportation.
In a linear system, the premise is take, take, take until there is no more to take. But we have the power to change this. A circular system is about keeping and saving instead of only taking. It's about values-based spending, where our resources, money, and time are used in ways that enhance our community and our lives for the better. By transitioning to a true circular economy, where we design things to be non-toxic and reusable, we can keep finite resources in use as long as possible, ensuring a sustainable future for all. A circular system is a path toward a better, more balanced world, and it's within our reach.
We also know that stuff - once we have met basic needs and have provided important security - doesn't make us happier. Over the past five years, studies have shown that we live longer and happier lives when we connect to our communities. Time spent together and time spent in nature strengthen our mental health and recovery. When we connect with our family and friends, we are happier and healthier.
This contradiction between what advertisers tell us we need to buy to be happy and what science tells us will make us happier and healthier has spurred the More Life, Less Stuff campaign. In an affirming way, the More Life, Less Stuff campaign helps shift our focus away from all the stuff and toward all the life experiences. We can inspire one another to seek out experiences instead of seeking stuff. We can foster community connection and break free from our stuff.
Throughout the past year, we reached out to the Ann Arbor community to hear what others thought about waste, consumption, and alternatives to all the stuff we accumulate. People had a lot of ideas, but threaded through those ideas was the desire to seed reducing waste as a community value and a subject of mindful conversation and to watch it grow around us into a movement that betters our lives and strengthens our connections. More Life, Less Stuff is about connecting and inspiring us to make a difference.
The State of Michigan spends over $6 billion a year on transportation. But are those dollars well spent? Do they really serve the needs of Michigan communities?
A new short-film series from Michigan Toward Equitable Electric Mobility (TEEM) urges elected officials to allocate more money in the state’s budget to the electric vehicle transition and to alternative means of transportation. The Ecology Center is a member of TEEM, a coalition of environmental and grass roots organizations working toward equitable transportation and electrification.
We reached out to our supporters to give testimony as part of the film series, including our communications work-study from the University of Michigan, Jenna Weihs, and friends of the Ecology Center, Cathy Reischl and Linda Teaman. Excitingly, the film featuring Cathy, who explains why she uses an e-bike for transportation, was submitted to a national Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) competition. The winners will be announced soon, stay tuned.
TEEM has developed a Values Framework and Platform to evaluate Michigan’s transportation, electrification, and related investments to hold Michigan’s elected officials accountable for putting their words into budget actions.
Budgets demonstrate our values. The State of Michigan’s investments on and related to transportation and electrification need to meet these values:
Affordable Access for All: Everyone in Michigan should be able to get where they need to go, affordably and reliably. Yet Michigan families spend nearly 1/4 of their entire household budget on their cars and many still struggle to get to work and school. Michigan transportation investments must provide reliable options for people that don't require driving and improve affordability of sustainable mobility.
Equity & Justice: The state and federal governments have committed that 40 percent of the benefits of climate and water investments should flow to communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. As a climate mitigation strategy, transportation investments should be prioritized similarly, with a focus on engaging local voices to communicate local needs.
Sustainability: Michigan has committed to be carbon neutral by 2050 including 52% reductions by 2030. Michigan transportation investments must explicitly cut climate pollution by including both electrifying vehicles and providing attractive alternatives to driving. Both are necessary.
Health & Safety: Our transportation system should not be killing us. Transportation investments, including road design, multimodality, and manufacturing subsidies, need to substantively and rapidly decrease harm from car crashes and air pollution, especially for kids, elderly, and other vulnerable populations.
Accountability & Responsibility: Our state has a moral and fiscal responsibility to workers, communities and taxpayers to require that state investments and subsidies are allocated through a transparent, accountable and fiscally responsible process and to ensure they are creating or retraining good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and addressing historic racial, environmental and economic inequities whenever possible.
Non-partisan groups ask lawmakers to prioritize funding for clean transportation, whole home retrofits, clean energy law implementation
LANSING, Mich. – Today, on Earth Day, a coalition of non-partisan Michigan groups asked lawmakers to harness the state budget to make critical investments to protect our air, land and water for the future of our state.
The coalition highlighted priority investments for more affordable energy, clean buildings, clean mobility and transportation, along with implementing the state’s historic 100% clean energy standard.
“We must improve the quality, safety and affordability of existing attainable and low-income housing so it is free of pollutants, residents are staying warm through the winters and homes are resilient to the effects we’re experiencing here in Michigan due to climate change,” said Carlee Knott, Energy and Climate Policy Coordinator for the Michigan Environmental Council. “Weatherization and energy efficiency puts money back into people’s pockets, saving on monthly utility bills. With high inflation, this is a golden opportunity to lower costs for families and protect our air, land and water.”
“Converting state and municipal fleet vehicles to cleaner fuels, along with upgrading our infrastructure to support them, is critically important to reducing the emissions from the transportation sector in our communities,” said Jane McCurry, Executive Director for Clean Fuels Michigan. “With the global shift toward clean and advanced mobility, Michigan must continue to lead in this pivotal moment.”
"The historic clean energy legislation that passed last year must be matched with investments in the state budget," said Derrell Slaughter, Michigan Policy Director, Climate and Energy at NRDC. “The funding will empower the public service commission to efficiently and equitably transition to renewable and other clean energy sources, ensuring all Michiganders fully benefit.”
“It is critical to maintain and improve local buses in communities across Michigan – because let’s face it – not everyone can drive or afford a car, and we all need reliable ways of getting to work, doctor’s appointments, school and more,” said Megan Owens, Executive Director for Transportation Riders United. “This investment will make it easier for more Michiganders to use clean, healthy, affordable alternatives to driving, as both the MI Healthy Climate Plan and the Growing Michigan Together Council said we need.”
“The Michigan budget is a reflection of how we view our state and what we prioritize,” said Chris Semrinec, State Government Affairs Manager for Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “That is why it’s so critical for Michigan lawmakers to support Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget recommendations in these areas and the additional priorities we’ve laid out here today.”
“Transportation is now higher than any other sector driving climate change and is a leading source of pollution causing asthma and other health impacts,” said Charles Griffith, Director of Climate and Energy Program for the Ecology Center. “A Michigan Vehicle Rebate Program that incentivizes zero-emission vehicles for those who need it most would go a long way toward making EVs more accessible to all Michiganders.”
The comprehensive budget asks included:
Michigan’s 100% clean energy standard
$6 million to hire 30 full-time employees to the Michigan Public Service Commission
Clean Buildings
$100 million in whole home retrofits to cover needed investments in low-income housing for weatherization, minor home repair, safety upgrades, toxin remediation, adding energy efficient electric appliances, installation of roof-top solar and residential battery back-up systems
Optimize the 15% Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program allocation to the Weatherization Assistance Program
Support and expand energy efficiency and building electrification workforce development across the state with $30 million in state and federal funds
Clean mobility and transportation
$50 million to provide grants to municipalities, transit authorities and ports to replace medium and heavy-duty fleet vehicles with emission-free alternatives such as EVs
$2 million for the state of Michigan to transition to electric vehicles
$65 million in funding to build out the state’s EV charging infrastructure in under-invested locations
$120 million in the budget for the Michigan Department of Transportation
$60 million for Local Bus Operating
$30 million for rail operations and infrastructure
$30 million for the Transportation Alternatives Program
Ann Arbor, MI - April 22, 2024, This Earth Day, April 22, 2024, the City of Ann Arbor, in partnership with the Ecology Center, is proud to launch the 'More Life, Less Stuff' Campaign. The campaign aims to inspire the community to break free from the burden of stuff and connect with the world around them.
To engage the community through storytelling and idea sharing about community efforts to make a difference by using less stuff and connecting with the world around us, the City of Ann Arbor and the Ecology Center are asking for story leads and ideas at A2morelife.com. Community ideas will be developed into stories and shared with the Ann Arbor area.
The More Life, Less Stuff campaign arose from a year-long community engagement initiative where the Ecology Center and the City of Ann Arbor met with a diverse group of interested Ann Arbor community members and discussed motivations and barriers to waste reduction activities like reuse, recycling, and composting. Through this effort, the central theme of all the conversations was that community members wanted to see reducing waste lifted up as a shared community value. They wanted to spur an ongoing discussion about waste and how to minimize it while bettering our lives and strengthening our connections to each other rather than acquiring more stuff.
More Life, Less Stuff is about connecting and inspiring us to make a difference for the benefit of individuals and the community.
The first story will be published in May and is about reducing food waste. It features Food Gatherers, an organization that redistributes food that would have been wasted to community members experiencing food insecurity. It is a powerful example of how food waste reduction can make a positive impact on people's lives by connecting them; this story connects people experiencing hunger, to people volunteering to alleviate hunger, to people looking to donate food instead of wasting it, to people whose jobs are dedicated to both food rescue and fighting hunger.
For more information, visit our website at A2morelife.com. Or contact Erica Bertram at [email protected]
A new report from the Ecology Center and partners points to the urgency of increased public awareness and education on Oscoda’s beaches
With twenty miles of sandy beaches, thousands of acres of wetlands and wildlife reserves, and renowned trout fishing on the Au Sable River, Oscoda, Michigan, is a beloved destination for summer vacationers. But within this watery haven lies a tragic, toxic secret: PFAS contamination.
For beach lovers, the news is even more grim. The shores of Oscoda can be full of lake foam, and some of this foam may be toxic. Surface water foam can contain up to 5,000 times greater concentrations of PFAS than the surrounding water. And without ample monitoring or public advisories to avoid the Lake Huron foam, people may be unwittingly exposed to toxic PFAS.
To address this urgent concern, Need Our Water (NOW), the Ecology Center, and the National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Regional Center developed a community-based monitoring project. Oscoda community members collected lakeshore foam for analysis to better understand the scale of the contamination and use the data to advocate for stronger state regulations and awareness.
Between 2022 and 2023 , NOW volunteers collected foam samples in four different areas along Lake Huron near Oscoda. All four samples contained PFAS, though Tawas Point State Park had the highest concentrations at 7,900 ppt. PFOS and PFUnA were found in every sample, among others.
Based on the results, the community and environmental partners developed two recommendations to protect the health of residents and visitors. First, the group is asking Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to develop health-protective policies for Lake Huron foam. These include publicly available test data, foam advisories on Lake Huron, and increased public education. They are also asking for permanent signage on Lake Huron’s high-use beaches and shorelines to educate the public on visual indications of PFAS foam and alert them about the dangers of touching it.
"Since 2017 we've noticed significant foam events on Lake Huron. Repeatedly we asked EGLE to test the foam for PFAS and they repeatedly refused. We felt gaslighted when they told us the foam was a “natural” type of foam, so we tested the foam ourselves. We found there is nothing natural about the PFAS foam in Lake Huron." - Cathy Wusterbarth, NOW Co-Leader and member of Great Lakes PFAS Action Network
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of thousands of chemicals widely used in manufacturing and consumer products. PFOS and PFOA were phased out but continue to pollute our environment, along with newer PFAS.
EGLE first detected PFAS in the groundwater and water bodies in Oscoda in 2010. They issued “Do Not Eat” advisories for fish and wildlife, and warned residents not to touch the shaving cream-like foam oozing up on the shores of Van Etten Lake, which borders the contaminated Wurtsmith Air Force Base. However, EGLE declined to conduct more extensive testing or monitoring of foam on Lake Huron, noting the state has no standard for surface water foam.
The community grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of state action being taken to monitor and address PFAS pollution on Lake Huron. In 2017, Oscoda residents formed the grassroots group Need Our Water (NOW) to engage residents in fighting for clean water and protecting wildlife and human health. In 2021, NOW joined the Ecology Center, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters to form the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network (GLPAN). This community-driven coalition has developed community-based science monitoring projects for PFAS and a series of policy recommendations for elected officials to turn off the tap on PFAS pollution.
Community members and fellow advocates concerned about PFAS pollution can get involved with the GLPAN. View the website to learn about our policy recommendations, and sign up for the newsletter to learn about upcoming events and ways to get involved.
Michigan PSC Approves Rate Increase, Calls for Measurable Improvements on Grid Equity
Lansing, MI – On Friday, March 1st, 2024, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) released its final decision in the Consumers Energy 2024 rate case. In its decision, the MPSC approved a rate increase of just over $92 million, less than half of Consumers Energy’s originally requested $216 million. The MPSC approved a return on equity of 9.9% and rate of return of 5.86%.
The Clean Energy Organizations (CEOs), consisting of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Ecology Center, Vote Solar, and Union of Concerned Scientists commend the Commission’s mandate for measurable grid equity assessments, and summaries of environmental justice and equity considerations in future rate cases. However, the CEOs advocate for further addressing affordability by shifting focus to return on equity, which remains at 9.9%, one of the highest return on equities in the Midwest.
One of the key decisions of the case is the Commission’s directive for the Company to perform innovative energy justice and reliability analyses in future rate cases as recommended by the CEO and MPSC staff. These analyses, similarly required by the MPSC’s decision in DTE’s 2023 rate case, offer an improved approach to understanding grid equity within the utilities’ service territory. The methods include the use of regression analysis, a tool used in social science that can aid understanding and assessment of how utility reliability performance affects customers differently.
The Commission also directed the Company to file a comprehensive transportation electrification plan later this year as part of its ongoing electric vehicle programs, in addition to other analyses of EV charging loads to evaluate whether current rate structures are appropriate for different types of charging infrastructure. The transportation electrification plan will need to evaluate the costs and benefits to the Company of increased EV adoption, which will help to determine how much spending on infrastructure might be warranted to help facilitate a transition to EVs.
Other important additions to future rate cases include more detailed environmental justice analyses on community vulnerability, facilitating access to GIS system data, and mandating engagement with local communities and stakeholders in distribution grid planning. These measures will allow the MPSC, stakeholders, and the public to better evaluate utility proposals in future rate cases on critical topics such as environmental justice, grid equity, and reliability.
Will Kenworthy, Midwest Regulatory Director at Vote Solar, said:
“All customers, regardless of where they live, deserve safe, reliable, and affordable electric service. The Commission’s action today adopts important recommendations regarding the advancement of grid equity. The analysis of reliability in environmental justice communities requires an apples-to-apples comparison that takes into account differences around the type of grid that serves each community. This analysis will help Consumers Energy to plan their investments and operations in a way that ensures that grid modernization and reliability improvements serve all customers equitably.”
Daniel Abrams, Associate Attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center, said:
“CEO applauds the steps the Commission took today to advance environmental justice and grid equity in Michigan. In particular, we welcome the Commision’s directive to track the impact of spending on low-income customers.”
James Gignac, Midwest Senior Policy Manager at Union of Concerned Scientists, said:
“Under today’s order, the MPSC is demonstrating its ongoing commitment to require utilities to better integrate data and analysis of how their electric grid plans and investment proposals can serve customers more equitably. Based on the expert testimony in this case, the Commission ordered a robust set of measures aimed at improving the safety, reliability, and security of electric service for all customers, including lower-income households and medically vulnerable customers.”
Charles Griffith, Climate and Energy Program Director at the Ecology Center, said:
“With transportation now a leading source of emissions in the state and country, it is imperative that our utilities engage in planning to ensure our grid is prepared for the EV transition, and that their investments help to speed up that transition rather than slow it down. We applaud the Commission for ordering a comprehensive transportation electrification plan be completed early this summer, along with additional analyses of consumer EV charging use to ensure the Company has the right programs and rate structures in place to encourage a transition to clean, electric transportation.”
