As I write, my inbox is flooded with news of yet another coal tragedy. In Appalachia, an area devastated by coal mining, a huge holding pond of toxic coal ash waste burst its levees and released a gigantic wave of sludge into the Tennessee River near Harriman, Tenn. This toxic spill is 40 times larger than Alaska’s Exxon Valdez spill-500 million gallons. News footage shows the Tennessee River grey with coal ash, dead fish lining its banks, and a house sitting in the middle of the filthy maelstrom.

This means months or years of clean up of land forever altered by … Continue Reading

Acid mine drainage” occurs when air and water touch sulfide. A mining company wants to dig sulfide from beneath the Upper Peninsula’s Salmon Trout River and extract the valuable copper embedded in it. Photo credit Save the Wild U.P

Nearly a year ago, the Great Lakes Bulletin News Service documented secret political donations made by Kennecott Minerals, a mining company, to non-profit organizations controlled by Michigan’s Republican and Democratic Parties.

Kennecott was trying to gain political support for the construction of a controversial sulfide mine that would unearth nickel and copper directly underneath a cherished trout stream near Marquette. To this day, the amounts of those donations have not been revealed because of holes in Michigan’s campaign finance laws.

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A newly elected member of the Benzie County Board of Commissioners says the next couple of months will be a critical time for countywide planning and zoning in Benzie, and he also thinks it’s likely that longtime county Planner Dave Neiger is likely to stay on the county payroll despite previous attempts to oust him from his position.

Don Tanner-who was elected to the Board of Commissioners earlier this month and who also serves on the county Planning Commission-has been a supporter of Mr. Neiger. As Mr. Tanner prepares to join the board of commissioners, he believes the board will reconsider … Continue Reading

If you care about Michigan’s economic and energy future, a trip to northern Lower Michigan’s Crystal Mountain Resort, located roughly between Cadillac and Traverse City, for this weekend’s conference on that subject looks to be well worth the price of admission-and the carbon emissions to get there.

Some of the nation’s most recognized experts on energy and economics will be appearing at Crystal Mountain, in Thompsonville, for the conference, entitled Michigan’s Future: Energy, Economy & the Environment. The conference program is unique: It features an unusually broad group of energy experts, tree huggers, energy executives, legislators, entrepreneurs, economists, authors, and … Continue Reading

I made my first batch of homebrew in 1975 or so. It was pretty bad. In fact, the guy I learned from, who in turn had learned from his dad, didn’t know a few key steps. Like how to carbonate the swill. But over the years, I figured out a thing or two, and by the early 1990’s (ok, I am a slow learner) I was making a respectable brew.

For a number of reasons unrelated to the topic at hand, I didn’t make any beer last year-maybe the first whole year off brewing since that … Continue Reading

Longtime Benzie County Planner Dave Neiger now has a job for at least a couple more months, but questions continue to surface about the future of county-wide planning and zoning in Benzie County.

In the face of a sharp political backlash over Neiger’s proposed ouster last month, we can now report that the county Board of Commissioners has agreed to hold off - for now - on laying off Neiger.

“They’ve decided to extend my position through the end of December,” Neiger said.

But whether the county will retain Neiger for the long-term is unclear. Neiger has no commitment from the county regarding … Continue Reading

As the Grand Vision Decision heads towards next week’s “Fill It Out!” deadline, I’ve noticed two things: First, people are very enthusiastic about a project that invites their help in shaping their region’s future growth.

And second, a surprising number of those people seem reluctant to actually fill out the Grand Vision Decision Scorecards. They feel they need to know a lot more about what they’re doing before shouldering such a big responsibility.

Well, there are mountains of data out there, some … Continue Reading

Benzie County Zoning Administrator Craig Seger apologized to the planning commission Tuesday night for the furor caused by his role in the ouster of longtime Benzie County planner Dave Neiger.

Mr. Seger has faced sharp criticism from some observers for advocating for Mr. Neiger’s dismissal, including a “no confidence” vote by the planning commission.

Mr. Seger told commissioners last Tuesday night that he was trying to improve the Benzie County Planning and Zoning Departments, but admitted his “methods” were flawed.

“When I was hired for this position, I was asked to make improvements” Mr. Seger said. “When I started, I was under the … Continue Reading

The Harvest Festival, which comes to the Cathedral Barns at Grand Traverse Commons on Saturday, Oct. 11, sparks strong memories for me-of both a previous, uneasy time in Traverse City, and of more recent times when our community pulled together to protect land, preserve a heritage-and build a vibrant future.

That future, evolving right now at the lovely Commons property, includes economic bustle, quiet natural spaces, and neighborly connections through good food.

Show up next Saturday, and you’ll see what I mean.

You’ll see it when you … Continue Reading

Big things are happening in a small office in Houghton, Mich., on the campus of Michigan Technological University, and they are affecting kids in classrooms across the state, as well as citizen planners literally around the world.

Joan Chadde wants to make sure that, in the coming decades, Michigan’s citizens can make well-informed decisions about their communities’ growth, land use, environment. But Ms. Chadde is not turning to local governments and officials to do that; instead, she’s turning to teachers and kids.

Ms. Chadde and her colleagues at the … Continue Reading