The Ann Arbor School District is transitioning away from the use of fossil fuels. The district was the first to sign up for DTE Energy’s MIGreen Power Program to get to 100% use of renewable energy, and the district will add four more all-electric school buses this academic year. WEMU's David Fair spoke with the Ann Arbor Schools' Director of Capital Programs, Jason Bing, about where the district is today and where it’s headed.

The first frost of the season probably isn’t too far away. Properly preparing the agricultural soil for next spring and summer is a matter of timing. Getting the cover crops in place is essential before a hard freeze occurs. The Washtenaw County Conservation District is working to make it convenient and effective for local farmers. Conservation technician Matt Dejonge explained it all in his conversation with WEMU's David Fair.

It's time to talk some trash! The 3rd annual Trash Talk Tour in Washtenaw County is right around the corner. Trash Talk Tour co-organizer and zerowaste.org executive director Samuel McMullen joined WEMU's David Fair with a special brand of "trash talk."

Some of Ann Arbor's streetlights can be distractingly bright. New LED lighting is helping with the city’s A2Zero Climate Action plan, but some worry over increased light pollution. WEMU's David Fair talked with Ann Arbor City Council member Dharma Akmon about how the city can move forward while addressing sustainability and accommodating public concern.

The world population is going up, and human-wildlife overlap is increasing. That can lead to negative outcomes, including spread of disease and species extinction. There can be benefits, too, but it will require some planning. That's the focus of a new study out of the University of Michigan. WEMU's David Fair spoke with Associate Professor in Conservation Science Dr. Neil Carter about the study and what can be done right here in Washtenaw County.

Over the summer, the Huron River Watershed Council conducted an extensive survey of freshwater mussels in the Huron River to determine potential impacts when the Peninsular Paper Dam is removed. It found that removing the Pen Dam could release sediment, potentially smothering downstream mussel populations. Once the dam is removed, though, the river will return to a more natural state, benefiting mussel species over time. WEMU's David Fair looked at the research and its implications with Huron River Watershed Council Ecologist Dr. Paul Steen.

Tree Town is looking to find new and productive ways to avoid wasting wood. The City of Ann Arbor is partnering with the company “Urban Ashes” to repurpose storm-damaged and diseased trees. We often discuss the ecological benefits of planting and maintaining trees but rarely look at the environmental impact wood can have once it’s down. Urban Ashes CEO Paul Hickman joined WEMU's David Fair to look at the partnership, how it will work and the benefits it can provide.

The University of Michigan is forging ahead and working towards being a leader in generative artificial intelligence with its U-M-GPT program. As it does, there are environmental concerns to be addressed. The initiative is part of Michigan’s broader effort to integrate AI into its academic and administrative infrastructure, enhancing learning, teaching, and research. But, AI consumes a great deal of energy. WEMU's David Fair spoke with the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at U-M, Dr. Ravi Pendse, about how U-M is dealing with the environmental ramifications of AI.

Washtenaw County has elected its next Water Resources Commissioner. Evan Pratt decided against running for re-election after serving four terms. Former Saline Mayor and State Representative Gretchen Driskell won the race. She joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss the priorities and challenges of the new job.

Clean beauty brand ILIA was founded by Sasha whose brother suffered from asthma and severe allergies as a child. Their mother helped him recover through an organic food co-op to give him access to clean nutrition, and he went on to become an Olympic athlete after being told by doctors he could never compete in sports. As Sasha moved into a career in fashion and beauty branding, she realized she didn't have clean ingredients in products she was putting on her body every day. ILIA was born as a beauty brand that cares about health. [...]

Prince Laurent of Belgium was today appointed FAO Special Ambassador for Forests and the Environment.

The announcement was made by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva at the Organization’s Committee on [...]

The study surveyed 1,180 participants in Israel about their knowledge and attitudes regarding climate change and its effects on the environment.

A growing global movement is seeing people object to data centres in their locality.

medlinkSucralose/medlink, an artificial sweetener found in many zero-calorie food and drink products, escapes during wastewater treatment and affects

Cambridge, Mass. : National Bureau of Economic Research, 2023

Daida Venkanna, a green warrior from Telangana, has planted 1.6 million saplings, inspiring environmental conservation and community engagement

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Temple University Press, 2024.

For those who want to make the world a better place to live in, here are some options in the environment sector

A look at the some of the architectural creations that related to location and culture, and won awards as well.

On its 15th anniversary, ACS outreach program expands to a weeklong celebration

WASHINGTON (April 20, 2020) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to make COVID-19 issues a top priority. The Agency has been actively supporting response efforts across the country to protect public health.

This paper provides an update on recent developments in the field of Regional Trade Agreements and the environment. Issues arising in the implementation of RTAs with environmental considerations are examined as well as experience in assessing their environmental impacts.

This meeting addressed green growth policies for small and medium-sized enterprises, water governance in line with green economy requirements, and reporting on the Task Force programme implementation and plans for 2015.

The OECD’s latest Environmental Performance Review of Spain finds the country has decreased the energy and carbon intensity of its economy, reduced industrial pollution and cut per-capita waste generation since 2000.

The natural environment provides crucial inputs and services for economic development, but its role for productivity growth is insufficiently explored. Environmental scarcities can pose a drag on productivity growth and a risk for its sustainability.

10-12 July 2018 - Within the margins of the meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Forum examined the opportunities and challenges with regard to biodiversity mainstreaming in national economic and development policy and across different sectors (e.g., agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy and mining).

Parking policies have significant environmental and economic implications, which have often been left unconsidered. This paper reviews the relevant literature to provide a deeper understanding of the main environmental and economic consequences of common parking policies, and suggest policy options to protect the environment and increase social welfare.

This event focused on the implication of COP24 outcomes and the implementation of the Rulebook, as well as on upcoming work on unresolved issues such as Article 6. Discussions covered Common Tabular Format (CTF) for climate finance and tracking progress towards the mitigation targets and updating and implementing NDCs, with a particular attention to the power sector and carbon markets.

The UN Climate Action Summit on 23 September marks a potential inflection point ahead of the start of the implementation of the Paris Agreement in 2020. This event will gather and encourage Heads of State and Government to deliver concrete actions to address climate change. Our planet is witnessing dramatic changes in its life-support ecosystems, demanding accelerated action and co-operation among interlinking policy areas...

Type “Christmas and environment” into Google and you will get page after page of tips on how to have a sustainable festive and holiday season. Topics from the Christmas tree to sustainable gift-giving to eco-friendly Christmas food to holiday cards to gift wrapping, there is no shortage of news articles, websites and blogs providing useful advice on how to reduce the environmental footprint of the holiday period.

The OECD’s latest Environmental Performance Review of Spain finds the country has decreased the energy and carbon intensity of its economy, reduced industrial pollution and cut per-capita waste generation since 2000.

The conference will cover developments and the state-of-the art of environmental microbiology, as it is applied for biotechnological purposes, and the role of genetic engineering of micro-organisms intended for use in the environment, now and in the near future.

Micro-organisms play a fundamental role in the environment. Yet their role is the result of complex biogeochemical processes by consortia of micro-organisms and the function of individual species is not clear in many cases. This publication provides an overview of the current situation and relevant developments in environmental microbiology.

Although there is evidence of harmful health and ecological effects associated with exposure to high doses of chemicals known as hormonally active agents – or endocrine disrupters – little is understood about the harm posed by exposure to the substances at low concentrations, such as those that typically exist in the environment, says a new report from a National Research Council committee.

NASA should collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), industry, academia to research the full effects that increased unpiloted air vehicle traffic would have on society, including ramifications to sound, privacy, environmental matters, and cybersecurity, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

New research has compared the environmental impact of four alternative methods of water supply in Copenhagen. Results indicated that rain and stormwater harvesting is the most environmentally sound approach, whilst desalination currently has a large environmental impact, mainly due to electricity use. However, if freshwater extraction is included as an impact, the environmental credibility of desalination is improved.

A recent study has compared the environmental impact of a range of building materials. Energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and water demand can all be reduced by switching to renewable sources of energy, improving technologies and promoting eco-friendly alternative materials.

New research has assessed the environmental impact of gold production using life cycle assessment and estimated embodied energy and greenhouse gases, embodied water and solid waste burden that each tonne of gold produces, using various processes.

Researchers have used the psychological concept of ‘commitment’, normally used to understand relationships between people, to investigate our relationship with the environment. The results indicate that an individual’s commitment to the environment is important in their ecological behaviour, for example, their willingness to use public transport and make sacrifices for the environment.

A recent study has compared the chemical environmental impacts of using the weed controller glyphosate on glyphosate-tolerant (GT) crops, with the use of other herbicides on non-GT crops. Glyphosate used on GT crops had lower environmental impacts than herbicides used on non-GT crops, but the persistence of AMPA (a break-down product of glyphosate) in soils could be a problem in the future.