Breathing easier: Shocking, unexpected news from the legislature isn't always bad! So proved the Michigan State Senate when it abruptly resurrected a bill to provide smoke-free workplaces in bars, restaurants and casinos in May, passing the long-suffering legislation by a 25-12 vote. At press time, it still needed to clear the House, but prospects looked good. MEC assisted groups who spent years lobbying for the ban. Studies showing no negative economic impact on the affected establishments helped turn the tide. "I used to be on the wrong side of this issue," said Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton. "Now I'm on the right side." Glad to have you, Senator!

Pesticide Sanity: Restrictions on the use of the pesticide lindane for treatment of lice and scabies passed the State House of Representatives May 15 despite no-holds-barred lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry. Lindane, which is no longer used on livestock, is still legal to apply to children's scalps in Michigan. The chemical is a neurotoxin that needlessly puts children at risk. The legislation would require it to be used only under a doctor's supervision. MEC joined with many partners in the public health and environmental communities to earn the passage on a bipartisan 72-35 vote. Senate action comes next (see related story, page 13).

Clean and green: Clean, affordable renewable energy and energy efficiency got a boost in April when the State House of Representatives passed a package setting the state's first renewable energy standard and reviving energy efficiency programming. The package is a good first step, and part of exhaustive efforts by a coalition of groups, including MEC, which has pressed long and hard for such reforms. The battle moves to the Senate (see related story, page 18).

Getting the lead out: A bipartisan chorus of legislators passed, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed, important legislation establishing lead standards for children's toys. The victory followed intensive lobbying by MEC and its allies, and a high-profile testing campaign by the Ecology Center. The new standard, 600 parts per million of lead, is only a start. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 40 ppm as a safe level. MEC will work urgently to make the state standard fully protective.

Justice for all: An environmental justice executive directive signed by Gov. Granholm in November seeks to protect low-income communities and populations of color from the disproportionate burden of pollution. The order was pushed for by numerous state environmental groups, including Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, Ecology Center, East Michigan Environmental Action Council, Clean Water Action, and Sierra Club, as well as MEC. The order requires state regulators to develop a plan to foster environmental justice in Michigan.

CAFE increase, finally : The first statutory increase in federal fuel economy standards for vehicles was signed into law as part of the federal energy bill in early 2008 -- a win for consumers, the environment, and ultimately domestic automakers. MEC lobbied federal lawmakers, particularly Congressman John Dingell, for aggressive mileage standards and protection for domestic auto industry jobs. The bad news: Political compromises forced abandonment of a federal renewable energy standard that had been part of the Energy Bill.

Signs of danger: Warnings are now required on BOTH sides of signs that lawn care companies must post after treating yards with dangerous chemicals, following new rule-making by the Department of Agriculture (MDA). MEC pressed for that change and dozens of others to protect children, pets and fetuses from commonly used toxic pesticides and herbicides. The MDA refused to include any public health professionals on a rule-making committee stacked with representatives from the chemical and lawn care industry. And it kept its head buried in the turf grass on any significant changes, save for the lawn signs. The signs now must be a uniform size and color, and no advertising is allowed. Note to homeowners: When the sign says the lawn is unsafe for children and pets, they’re not kidding! Learn about alternatives at www.beyondpesticides.org.

People's Park (still!): Benton Harbor residents who have enjoyed Lake Michigan’s Jean Klock Park for generations will continue to do so after the National Park Service rejected a plan proposed by the City and supported by the State of Michigan to lease the land to private developers for a golf course. Friends of Jean Klock Park and Defense of Place rallied to the citizens’ rescue, with help from MEC President Lana Pollack. Pollack was the only member of the state’s Natural Resources Trust Fund Board to vote against the land grab. The land was donated and deeded 90 years ago for perpetual use as a municipal park.

Going back, back, back . . . : New Mexico Governor and Presidential hopeful Bill Richardson beat a hasty retreat after a barrage of criticism, led by MEC, over his suggestion in a Las Vegas newspaper that as President he would consider “water transfers” from the Great Lakes to the West. On a CNN segment about the controversy, an MEC spokesman and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm both denounced Richardson’s scheme. One day later, on Oct. 13, the Richardson campaign released a statement saying he “in no way proposes federal transfers of water from one region of the nation to the other.” Glad we got that cleared up.

No merit !: More than a million gallons of treated oil field wastewater will not be dumped into the headwaters of the storied AuSable River, thanks to a tenacious legal battle by Anglers of the AuSable and its president, Rusty Gates. A circuit court judge ruled in late May that the state Dept. of Environmental Quality cannot allow Merit Energy Co. to discharge treated water from a contaminated plume into Kolke Creek. The judge ruled there were more environmentally acceptable alternatives.

Gold standard : General Motors' new high-tech Delta Township manufacturing plant near Lansing is the only one of its kind in the world to receive the LEED-Gold certification for environmental excellence. It is expected to save 10 million gallons of water and 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity in its first 10 years of operation. Bravo! Now, about the Hummer.....

Finally!: It took decades, but Dow Chemical Co. finally began removing sediment from dioxin-laced "hot spots" in the Tittabawassee River in July. The operation got under way after the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a swift kick in the pants to the corporation, telling it to get a move-on. Corrective action promised to state regulators in 2003 has "taken too long," the EPA said. Gee, do ya' think so?

Well, duh!: On April 2, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5-4 that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping emissions are “air pollutants” under the Clean Air Act, and that the federal government has authority to start curbing them.The decision, Massachusetts v. EPA, is a rebuke to the Bush Administration, which has refused to regulate the emissions that contribute to climate change, and an affirmation that the carbon dioxide from power plants, industrial facilities and automobile exhausts is a pollutant that the Environmental Protection Agency can control.

Halfway home: Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Michigan Environmental Council recently passed the halfway point on the way to our $7.5 million capital campaign goal.  We now have nearly $3.8 million in pledges and gifts to the campaign, which includes an endowment that will support our environmental programs for years to come and an urgent action fund to respond quickly to environmental challenges that just can’t wait. We’ll be working hard on this campaign through 2008, and there is still plenty of time and need for additional gifts!

Halfway home, Part II: A proposed energy plan released in early February by the state’s Public Service Commission includes funding for renewable energy and efficiency programs, plus a modest commitment to clean, homegrown energy sources like wind power. While it doesn’t go far enough, it’s a historic starting point for legislative debate that already is under way.

Live fire dies: A U.S. Coast Guard plan to conduct live-fire machine gun training exercises throughout the Great Lakes was scuttled after intense opposition from throughout the basin. The firing would have deposited significant and unregulated amounts of toxic lead into the ecosystem.

Working together: Michigan’s first official joint planning commission (under the new Joint Municipal Planning Act) was recently established in Muskegon County. The Muskegon County North Central Joint Planning Commission includes Laketon, Dalton, Fruitland, Blue Lake, and Muskegon Charter Townships. MEC and PIRGIM (now Environment Michigan) championed passage of the Joint Municipal Planning Act in 2003 to help improve land use decision-making in Michigan.

Nuclear meltdown: The state postponed its request to purchase the former Big Rock Point nuclear power plant site for use as a state recreation area after MEC and its allies pointed out serious shortcomings in the plan. Unresolved questions about dangerous nuclear waste stored nearby, liability and the extent of past contamination were cited by opponents as reasons to put the brake on the initiative.

Pop-up smackdown: SB 1004 was signed by the governor on Dec. 7, 2006. This important conservation legislation eliminates the “pop-up” tax on lands with qualified conservation easements, the top legislative priority of Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation Policy for 2006. The new law will provide an incentive for private landowners to protect land from development with permanent easements.