pollution Archives - The Michigan Star

Biden Admin Finalizes Stringent Tailpipe Emissions Standards

March 21, 2024 Michigan Star Staff

The Biden administration unveiled its final tailpipe emissions standards for vehicles Wednesday, effectively requiring about 67 percent of all light-duty vehicles sold after model year 2032 to be electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrids.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) finalized standards rolled back some of the de facto EV production benchmarks for manufacturers proposed initially, but still require automakers to reach the final standards set forth in the agency’s April 2023 proposal. The agency finalized the standards as the American EV market is struggling: demand has not grown as quickly as expected, manufacturers are losing billions on their EV product lines, executives have backed away from near-term production targets and Biden administration subsidy programs to facilitate the creation of a nationwide EV charging network have so far failed to make much of an impact.

Michigan Democrats Introduce Pollution Package

October 28, 2023October 27, 2023 The Center Square

Michigan Democrat lawmakers introduced a seven-bill package aimed at reducing pollution.

The lawmakers say current law doesn’t hold polluters accountable for the public cost of remediating land, often shouldered by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Debate: Ann Arbor to Traverse City Passenger Rail Feasibility

August 20, 2022August 19, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

Two prominent Michigan economists, a county zoning administrator, and a nonprofit program manager scrutinized the details of a proposed Ann Arbor to Traverse City passenger rail system for The Center Square.

The feasibility of the A2TC project was discussed in separate conversations with University of MI-Flint economics professor Chris Douglas; Mackinac Center for Public Policy Fiscal Policy Director James Hohman; certified land use planner Kevon Martis, a zoning administrator in Deerfield Township, Lenawee County; and Caroline Ulstad, transportation program manager at Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities.

Commentary: East Germany Had Worse Pollution than West Germany

August 16, 2022August 15, 2022 Admin

At a July public screening of the documentary Life Behind the Berlin Wall, viewers were informed that citizens of East Germany had to wait 12 to 17 years for a Trabi (the worst car in the world), while West Germans could go to a car dealership and drive away in their new cars the same day.

Retired General Picked by Nancy Pelosi to Review Capitol Security Appears on Chinese Propaganda Network

April 24, 2021April 23, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Chinese government officials and state-controlled media agencies have recently ramped up their rhetoric against the United States on the issue of climate change, portraying the U.S. as not doing enough to limit greenhouse emissions even though China is by far the world’s biggest polluter.

One shot fired in the propaganda war came this week in the form of an interview that CGTN America, the U.S. affiliate of the Beijing-controlled China Central Television (CCTV), conducted with retired Army Lt. General Russel Honoré.

Honoré, who is founder of the environmental group Green Army, decried in the CGTN interview that a “large part” of the population in his native Louisiana denies the existence of climate change.

House Dems Introduce Bill Package to Hold Polluters Accountable

February 5, 2020February 4, 2020 Jordyn Pair

Democrats introduced a package of eight bills into the House of Representatives on Monday that are aimed at holding polluters in Michigan accountable for destruction they may cause. The package, which would increase both financial and criminal penalties for polluting in Michigan, comes as a response to the “green ooze” discovery on Interstate-696 in December.