Michigan Political Week in Review
The big news last week came from Washington, D.C., as the environmental community breathed a collective sigh of relief following the defeat of Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) “Dirty Air” amendment.
The amendment would have denied the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the ability to regulate carbon emissions from big polluters, as stipulated by the Clean Air Act. Now, as we are witnessing the darkest side of fossil-fuel production (see the Gulf Oil spill), it seems even more imperative that we uphold environmental protection measures. Thank you to Michigan Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow (above with MLCV's Kerry Duggan), who both voted against the proposed amendment.
On a related note, Michigan writer David Poulson offers a startling visual of what the oil spill would look like over the Great Lakes. Just food for thought, as Great Lakes oil and gas drilling continues to be debated.
National LCV has officially endorsed Republican Field Reichardt in Michigan’s second congressional district. We will see if his pro-environment stance can propel him to a win.
Lisa Wozniak and Kerry Duggan were in Washington D.C., last week, meeting with lawmakers and lobbying on behalf of Michigan LCV.
And in State News….
Recently, several Michigan gubernatorial candidates received major, and sometimes controversial, campaign endorsements:
Pete Hoekstra: Newt Gingrich, Michael Farris, U.S. Rep. Candice Miller
Mike Cox: Right to Life of Michigan, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Dick and Betsy Devos
Virg Bernero: U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee, AFL-CIO, UAW, Michigan Education Association.
Click HERE to learn more about the candidate’s positions on issues from tax reform to urban development.
Rep. Jeff Mayes sponsored a resolution demanding the U.S. Congress fully fund the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act. The BEACH Act offers funding to state and local programs that monitor beach water quality. So far, Congress has appropriated only about a third of the money authorized for the fund, and only about 57% of beaches nationwide are assessed regularly for water quality. With over 3,200 miles of shoreline, water quality monitoring at beaches is especially important in the Great Lakes state.
The Michigan House Transportation Committee held hearings on Thursday to review the proposed “Complete Streets” legislation. The legislation aims to make Michigan’s streets more pedestrian and environmentally friendly, through improvements like sidewalks, bike lanes, bus lanes, and handicap-accessible cross-walks and bus stops.
The Michigan Environmental Council, Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, and Suburbs Alliance are hosting a series of public forums throughout the state to discuss upgrades to Michigan’s passenger rail system, including potential high-speed rail systems. The first forum will be Monday, June 14, in Royal Oak. State Rep. Marie Donigan and staff from Congressman Gary Peter’s office are expected to attend.
Reps. Dan Scripps (D-Leland), Tim Bledsoe (D-Grosse Pointe), and Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment Director Rebecca Humphries were in attendance at the Michigan Environmental Council’s annual Environmental Awards Celebration. Awardees were Faye Alexander Nelson, president of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy; and Margaret Weber, founder of Rosedale Recycles and coordinator of Zero Waste Detroit.
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