I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
The Michigan Supreme Court has overturned one of the most controversial rulings in its history and upheld a citizen’s right to sue the state for issuing permits to corporations authorizing action that harms the environment.
Environmental groups are hoping that close ties between some of Governor-elect Rick Snyder’s top aides and corporations involved in mining and exporting the state’s natural resources do not indicate a lack of commitment to protecting Michigan’s environment from exploitation for profit.
The Michigan Supreme Court has already heard oral argument in a case that could reinterpret the state’s most important environmental law governing access to the state’s freshwater resources, but whether they will rule before a new, more conservative court is sworn in remains to be seen.
Last year State Rep. Dan Scripps (D-Leland) introduced legislation that states that Michigan groundwater should be held in public trust and managed for the good of all. The legislation was spurred by concerns that current law allows for the mining and export of groundwater. Though the recently enacted Great Lakes Compact bans most out of [...]
TRAVERSE CITY — Amid a global scarcity of clean drinking water, private corporations have seized control of much of the world’s water supply, but in Northern Michigan a politically connected grassroots movement is galvanizing around an alternative, more traditional, view of water — that it should be held in public trust for the benefit of all.
Bottled water sales are falling for the Nestle corporation, which bottles its Ice Mountain brand water in Mecosta County. The Los Angeles Times reports that the company’s overall water sales are down 2.9 percent so far this year because budget conscious consumers are buying less bottled water in the United States and Europe.
A years long legal battle over how much water the Nestle corporation should be allowed to withdraw from the Muskegon River watershed was settled this week when the company agreed to limit its withdrawals to 313,000 gallons per day. Since 2002 Nestle has been bottling Ice Mountain brand water at facility in Stanwood using water [...]
Critics say Great Lakes legislation doesn’t protect against commercialization of water The Great Lakes Compact may be headed for Congressional approval, but stormy waters could still lie ahead. The Compact agreement is intended to protect against misuse of the Great Lakes. Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed it last week and it appears headed to Congress where [...]
Tina Lam at the Detroit Free Press has a story today about how (this week) the Michigan United Conservation Clubs has thrown its “considerable political weight
Global trend of privatization hits home, tied into Great Lakes Compact Felton, Calif., is a hippie town hidden among the coastal redwoods in the mountains outside Santa Cruz. Past the verdant state park, across the railroad track and down a steep hillside, you will find the best natural swimming hole I’ve ever had the pleasure [...]
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