April 2012
The Ecology Center board of directors nominating committee has recommended four candidates for election to three-year terms on the board.
The Ecology Center’s 2012 annual meeting will
feature a presentation about the ballot initiative calling for Michigan to adopt a renewable
energy standard of 25 percent by 2025, as well as the election of board members
and reports on the organization’s successes over the past year.
Ecology Center
staff members are playing key roles in leading workshops and convening panels at
the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Midwest Conference to be held in Detroit May 10-11.
“While asparagus is a hardy spring crop available typically mid-April
through early June in Michigan, it arrived almost a month early this year,”
according to Hillary Bisnett, director of the Ecology Center’s Healthy Food in
Health Care program. “This crop can shake off frosts and freezes, so this warm
weather followed by cold nights, below...
Kirk Lignell is bringing an engineer’s perspective to his
new role as chief executive officer of Recycle Ann Arbor.
Environmental groups and academics are urging the University of Michigan to set clear parameters for a Dow Chemical employee to be embedded at the university's Graham Sustainability Center, an arrangement that was described in a
Through Project Help, Bank of Ann Arbor will award grants totaling $25,000 to fund much-needed local improvement projects: Up to five $1,000 grants; up to two $5,000 grants; and one $10,000 grant.
March 2012 Ecolink
The Ecology Center’s eighth annual “Dance for the
Earth,” scheduled for April 21, will benefit the Mary Beth Doyle Environmental Health Fund, which supports campaigns focusing on environmental health issues including clean air, safe consumer products, and women's and children's health.
New research on toxic chemicals in low-cost children’s and adult jewelry found that more than half of the products contain high levels of hazardous chemicals, in a study released by the Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health and the Ecology Center earlier this month at
Environmental groups raised questions about the independence of the University of Michigan’s sustainability efforts in light of the announcement earlier this month that Dow Chemical will give the university $10 million for sustainability education.
Britax and Orbit Baby, major manufacturers of children's products including car seats, have announced their commitment to eliminate chemical hazards in their products. Orbit Baby was the first to market children’s car seats free of hazardous flame retardants and PVC.
EcoRide, one of the earliest events organized by the Ecology Center after its founding in 1971 and one of the first bicycling events in our region, is returning this year after a two-year break.
February 2012 Ecolink
The Ecology Center’s social media
presence took major steps forward earlier this year thanks to a crew of
graduate students from the
Across the country, the health-care community is taking steps to eliminate drinks with added sugars and other unhealthy beverages and increase access to tap water within their facilities, according to Hillary Bisnett, director of the Ecology Center’s Healthy Food in Health Care program.
Michigan's unique agricultural history will be
highlighted at the fourth annual
“This time of year, I'm just itching to do some
gardening, which, in February in Michigan, pretty much means starting seeds,”
according to Monica Milla in an article she wrote for AnnArbor.com. “I have a
lot of seeds I've collected from my garden, plus extra seeds left over from
seed packets, and yet I still want to try new-to-me varieties.”
The Ecology Center’s campaign against lead wheel-balancing weights has issued an updated reference guide to the use of wheel weights and their fate in the environment, including model legislation to implement phase-outs.
January 2012 Ecolink
President Barack Obama’s strong
support for Michigan’s future as a center for clean energy is just the latest
indication of the promise and potential of this industry for our sta
December 2011 Ecolink
Michigan needs
to continue investing in the electric vehicle and advanced battery industry if
we’re going to have a chance to compete with overseas manufacturers, according
to Charles Griffith, director of clean vehicles and fuels at the Ecology
Center.
More than 650 brand-name products have been found
to contain two hormone-disrupting toxic chemicals, including numerous
children’s products containing BPA (“bisphenol A”). According to the report, some well-known plastic
toys, including PLAYMOBIL play figures and Chicco baby rattles, contain BPA.
“This holiday season, we all want to give
gifts that are safe,” Michigan state Sen. Rebekah Warren said Dec. 13 as she
introduced legislation that will allow families to learn if children’s products
sold in Michigan contain harmful chemicals.
November 2011 Ecolink
The Ecology Center’s decade-long campaign against lead wheel weights received national attention
earlier this month in an Environment Report broadcast on National Public Radio.
Lead wheel weights are a completely unnecessary
environmental hazard, a major source of lead contamination in air and water.
Hillary Bisnett, director of the Ecology Center’s Healthy Food in Health Care initiative, picked up this recipe for squash soup from Julie Negrin, author of Easy Meals to Cook with Kids, at the FoodMed conference in Seattle in October.
