It is bittersweet news that the Ecology Center’s Deputy Director, Rebecca (Becca) Meuninck is moving to a new job as the Regional Executive Director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Office. We’ll miss Becca immensely, but we’re delighted she’ll be applying her genius at our long-standing partner organization. Her new position gives us the opportunity to further deepen those connections.

Twenty-three years ago, Becca started working part-time at the Ecology Center as an environmental health intern, and she’s been serving, since 2015, as our Deputy Director. She brings joy to her work, along with great intelligence and a talent at building strong relationships with all sorts of people. Among her many accomplishments, Becca helped develop the Ecology Center’s Health Leaders Fellowship program, spurred the creation of the State of Michigan’s Lead Poisoning Elimination Plan, launched our municipal procurement initiative and championed children’s environmental health through a state-wide coalition, helped convene the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network, worked on the federal level on PFAS action, helped build connections with national environmental health networks, and much more. In particular, the lead poisoning elimination work deserves special mention.

Spurred by the Flint Water Crisis Becca helped persuade the state to address ongoing lead contamination through Michigan’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination Strategy, and current legislative proposals to address lead contamination. Most recently, Becca worked tirelessly with our coalitions: Lead Impacted Families Together and the Great Lakes Lead Elimination Network, a regional advocacy effort promoting lead prevention strategies in Great Lakes states.

Over the last 23 years, Becca’s work at the Ecology Center has improved the lives of countless Michigan residents, and elevated her to a prominent national role in environmental health advocacy.  We can’t wait to work with her in her new role, and we’re looking forward to working with her to build a stronger movement for environmental justice.

Proposals in budget help promote clean energy, reduce pollution, protect infrastructure critical to health, safety

LANSING, Michigan – Responding to heat-related school closings in Michigan’s two largest cities, statewide groups working to boost clean energy and reduce the harmful effects of climate change today called on the Michigan Legislature to pass critical climate proposals. 

Last week, Grand Rapids Public Schools and Detroit Public Schools closed schools because of the heatwave that sent temperatures into the high 80s and even the 90s. Serving a combined 61,000-plus students, the districts cited a lack of air conditioning and the safety of students, teachers and staff for the closings.   

“Across Grand Rapids, tens of thousands of children have been forced to stay home, including my partner's daughter,” said Sergio Cira-Reyes of the Urban Core Collective in Grand Rapids.

“When schools close and children are forced to stay home, the ones who are disproportionately affected are low-income families, families of color and single-parent homes, so climate change is now directly connected to educational as well as social and economic inequity.” Sergio Cira-Reyes, Urban Core Collective

“Our policymakers have a responsibility to take into account the cost of not fixing schools and other critical infrastructure in the face of worsening heat waves and how continued inaction harms families and children.” 

The groups called for the passage of proposals to boost clean energy, promote clean transportation and reduce pollution. They include legislation to create a 100% carbon-free electricity standard by 2035 and expand policies that conserve energy because such energy savings will mean less pollution in our air and water and more savings for consumers. Other legislation includes proposals to encourage greater investments in electric vehicle technology, manufacturing and charging infrastructure. The groups also called for the passage of proposals to empower and require the Michigan Public Service Commission to regulate and hold big utilities accountable for equity, health, affordability and climate impacts. 

“The school closures in Michigan are showing us how underprepared we are for extreme heat,” said Dr. Rachel Licker, principal climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “In a warming world, Michigan is expected to see more days with extreme heat, especially if we do not take action to reduce heat-trapping emissions. It is thus critical that our elected leaders invest in programs and policies that can help Michiganders better adapt to extreme heat and other climate impacts so that we don't have to choose between our kids having the chance to learn or staying safe.” 

Ecology Center Policy Director Alexis Blizman said: “Extreme weather events show us once again that no area of our lives is immune from the climate crisis. We have seen 100-year floods happening on a regular basis and, now, unseasonable extreme heat is forcing schools to close to protect the health and safety of our children. Elected leaders have an opportunity to invest in programs and policies that can help Michiganders better adapt to extreme weather as we see more and more these days.” 

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Released June 14, 2023

LANSING – A bill package that would address climate change and move Michigan toward more clean, renewable energy was introduced in the House today and applauded by several organizations. 

“Energy affordability, reliability and resilience is a kitchen table issue for Michiganders, which is why we’re pleased to see the House introduce a package of bills today,” said Alexis Blizman, policy director for the Ecology Center. “Creating a 100% carbon-free electricity standard by 2035, expanding energy conservation and empowering the Michigan Public Service Commission to regulate and hold big utilities accountable for equity, health, affordability and climate impacts is the solution Michigan needs to ending our addiction to the dirty coal and gas that has fueled climate change and hit us with the highest electric rates for the worst service in the Midwest.”

The bills introduced today are: House Bill 4759, House Bill 4760 and House Bill 4761. Groups look forward to supporting Rep. Helena Scott’s Energy Reliability, Resilience & Accountability Task Force by attending and advocating for these bills. The task force’s listening sessions will educate citizens about the proposed legislation and allow lawmakers to hear from groups about how communities have and will be impacted by climate change. 

“Michigan faces a critical turning point in its climate change fight, and legislation in the House and Senate are critical to changing the status quo,” said Charlotte Jameson, chief policy officer for the Michigan Environmental Council. “The bills address pressing issues and will really make a difference in the lives of Michigan residents. Public health will improve, clean energy jobs will grow, and greenhouse gas pollution will be slashed.”

“We want to thank leaders in the House for introducing this important bill package today to help address energy reliability and affordability and open the doors for more energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy in Michigan,” said Martin Kushler, senior fellow with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. “With bills in both chambers of the Michigan Legislature, Democrats are poised to make significant progress implementing and exceeding the governor’s MI Healthy Climate Plan and ensuring a clean energy future for all.”

“Poor air quality from the Canadian wildfires is just one example of how the climate crisis is impacting the health of Michigan residents today and it shines a light on the need to reduce emissions that drive the climate crisis as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Elizabeth (Lisa) Del Buono, president of Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action. “That is why practitioners from across the state applaud the House for introducing a companion suite of clean energy bills that complements those introduced in the Senate last month. When passed, these bills will save lives, save health care dollars, and improve the health of all Michigan residents."

“Recent polling shows that 65% of voters support transitioning to 100% clean power by 2035, and 67% of voters support Governor Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan. This package of bills would deliver on the popular climate and clean energy policies Michiganders want, which the Governor has also stated is a top priority for this legislative session. Now it’s time to act,” said Courtney Bourgoin, senior Midwest policy and advocacy manager for Evergreen Action.

“Dirty energy sources pollute our air and water and exacerbate climate change. Michigan can’t wait for monopoly utilities like DTE to transition away from polluting energy sources like coal and natural gas at their own pace,” said Sean McBrearty, legislative and policy director for Clean Water Action. “These bills will spur a faster transition to clean, renewable energy which will ensure that we are doing our part to address the global climate crisis while protecting our water and providing reliable and affordable energy to Michigan residents. The Michigan Legislature should take up and pass these bills as quickly as possible.”

“Today we are heartened to see the Michigan Legislature taking meaningful steps to address the climate crisis and to advance clean energy opportunities across our state,” said Ashley Rudzinski, climate and environment program director for Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities. “By advancing this climate package, we can unleash the power of Michigan's innovation, hold our utilities accountable, and fuel a brighter, healthier, and more prosperous future for all Michiganders.”

“Clean energy means smaller energy bills and fewer outages,” said John Delurey, deputy programs director for Vote Solar. “Our analysis shows that a commitment to 100% clean energy with an emphasis on local solar and energy storage - a priority of these new bills - saves the average Michigan household $773 per year through 2050.”  

A new report from VICE shows how a serial polluter in Michigan poisoned a family farm; the Ecology Center's research suggests this is a national crisis.  

A beloved 100-year-old cattle farm in Livingston, Michigan, has ceased operations after state officials found PFAS pollution contaminating the grains, groundwater, and livestock. VICE recently covered the story, showcasing how a serial polluter devastated the livelihood of a Michigan family. The report also includes the Ecology Center's research on PFAS in sewage sludge made from biosolids, showing widespread PFAS contamination in sewage sludge.  

As outlined in Vice's report, farmer Jason Grostic unknowingly contaminated his cattle with PFAS with tainted municipal wastewater sludge spread as fertilizer for his feed. Unfortunately, he didn't know that the city of Wixom’s wastewater system contained PFAS directly from Tribar Manufacturing. Tribar is a Michigan company that uses PFAS to make metallic-looking plastic parts for auto companies.

Tribar is also responsible for contaminating the Huron River and the City of Ann Arbor's public drinking supply with PFAS in 2018 and for last year's release of hexavalent chromium, shutting down the river for weeks with "no contact" orders. 

After state officials discovered the contamination, Grostic Cattle Co. was issued a seizure notice and told no animals or meat could leave the farm. 

The state has also told the Grostic family they are the only farm with a PFAS contamination crisis, but farmer Jason Grostic doesn't buy it. 

"I can't be the only one. I'm not the only one who has taken biosolids in the state of Michigan laced with PFAS," Grostic told Progressive Farmer. "When you start looking at PFAS and the industry it's in, there's a factory in every town. So where is it all?"

We don't buy it either. In 2021, the Ecology Center and the Sierra Club looked at PFAS in fertilizer products made from sewage sludge. We found these "forever chemicals" in all nine products tested. Maine has already taken action by banning the spreading of sewage sludge as farm fertilizer due to PFAS contamination in 2022.

Though the state has been helping with feed costs and buying some cattle ready for market (to send to a landfill), the Grostic's farm has been left with fields full of PFAS, no income, cattle still needing tending, and no answers, as experts don't know how to remediate the soil. 

Whatever can be done to clean up the farm is expected to be expensive, and Grostic is suing Tribar Manufacturing to cover the costs of his incredible loss. 

PFAS contamination of sewage sludge is a widespread, serious problem, and polluters like Tribar Manufacturing must be held responsible. The state of Michigan has failed to take any meaningful action against Tribar despite its terrible history of environmental crimes. The Ecology Center has called for Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the state legislature to take action to eliminate the use of hexavalent chromium, a source of PFAS, for plating in Michigan. California recently banned the use of hexavalent chromium.

Alongside the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network, the Ecology Center encourages the state to develop a financial safety net for farmers affected by PFAS in their water or soils. Other states, like Maine, have created funds to help farmers lessen the load of the financial burdens when PFAS are discovered. Our policy agenda for Michigan and the Great Lakes region outlines further steps needed to turn off the tap on PFAS for good. 

Join GLPAN’s newsletter for updates on PFAS contamination across Michigan and the Great Lakes.

The VICE Special Report will air Thursday, June 1, at 11 pm on Vice TV.   

HB 4532 calls for the safe treatment of lead by contractors and rental property owners during home renovations and repairs  

Lansing, MI, May 8, 2023. Grand Rapids State Representative Rachel Hood has introduced the Lead Abatement; Renovation and Repair Paint Program Bill, also known as HB 4532. The primary goal of this bill is to ensure the safety of families and workers during professional home renovations. By transferring the administration of the federal EPA Renovation and Repair Paint Act to the State of Michigan, this bill will ensure compliance and enforcement measures are followed. 

Children and other sensitive populations can be exposed to dangerous levels of lead during the renovation of homes built before 1978, the year lead in paint was banned. The federal Renovation, Repair, and Painting Act (RRP) requires building contractors to be certified for lead-safe work on old (pre-1978) homes. Activities falling under the RRP Rule include: remodeling, repair, electrical work, plumbing, painting preparation, carpentry, and window replacement. Yet, due to a lack of federal resources, the RRP Rule is not being well enforced. As a result, few Michigan contractors are trained or certified in safety practices for the disturbing of lead paint, putting residents and workers at risk. 

Michigan HB 4532 would bring the administration of the federal RRP Rule to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Michigan oversight of this federal program will increase its efficiency, keep the program in touch with Michigan-specific issues, and allow for a higher standard of care when removing lead.

“Lead impacts a child’s brain and nervous system and can cause lifelong effects. In Michigan, 70% of homes were built before 1978, causing lead paint in homes to be the leading cause of lead poisoning in the state,” said Melissa Cooper Sargent, environmental health advocate with the Ecology Center. “Over 4,000 Michigan children are lead poisoned annually.”

“Lead paint can chip, flake, or  peel off to create lead  dust or contaminate soil. That, in turn, makes it easy for young children to ingest it,” said Ellen Vial of the Michigan Environmental Council. “Additionally, rental homes are especially prone to lead issues, as resident turnover is high and disengaged landlords may not remediate their property or provide important information to future tenants.”

“The RRP Rule applies to contractors or landlords working in houses built before 1978. Activities falling under the RRP Rule include: remodeling, repair, electrical work, plumbing, painting preparation, carpentry and window replacement. All of these activities can easily disturb lead paint and create lead dust and paint chips, which are extremely dangerous to children’s health,” said Mary Sue Schottenfels, staff person for the Detroit Lead Parent Advocacy Group/DLEAD. “Adopting the EPA RRP Rule as a state law is imperative to allow for tighter enforcement and save children’s future well being.” 

“Healthy, happy, and safe housing should be a right for all children. Children in Kent County are exposed to harmful housing hazards like lead poisoning, low air quality, and preventable injuries due to aging housing stock. We believe that regardless of race or economic status, every child deserves to live in safe and healthy housing,” said Jameela Maun, executive director of Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan. “We strongly encourage and support the RRP (Lead Abatement: Renovation Repair Program Bill) as it creates a standard policy of the practice to ensure lead safety security is advanced in housing practices. It not only creates a system of standards but allows a window of opportunity for our community to protect the health of our future leaders.”

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The Ecology Center, founded in 1970, is a Michigan-based nonprofit environmental health organization working at the local, state, and national levels for clean production, healthy communities, environmental justice, and a sustainable future. The Ecology Center founded the Great Lakes Lead Elimination Network, through which we collectively address lead poisoning in every state in the Great Lakes region. In 2021, the Ecology Center launched the Lead Impacted Families Together (LIFT) program, working closely with lead affected families in Michigan, to empower them with tools to advocate for better lead policies. For more information visit www.ecocenter.org and follow @Ecology_Center

The Detroit Lead Parent Advocacy Group (DLEAD), sponsored by the Wayne State University Center for Urban Studies, is a group of parents, educators, and community partners who are working to build awareness and create strategies to end lead poisoning for Detroit’s children. We share awareness, education, and prevention techniques with families with a child who has elevated blood lead levels. DLEAD is guided by a leadership group of parents and grandparents of lead poisoned children. Over the past two years, DLEAD members have achieved many successes including: successfully passing Lead Prevention Resolutions for the City of Detroit and Wayne County Commission, testifying to federal, state, county, and city lawmakers about lead reduction priorities, and features in several news publications. DLEAD’s legislative priority strategies include: Universal Lead Testing (annually testing every child under 6 for lead), Lead Abatement; Renovation and Repair Paint Program Bill, lead-safe rental properties in Detroit, lead-safe housing for all (including relocation). cus.wayne.edu/research/healthy-homes/dlead 

Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan is dedicated to prioritizing children's health and wellbeing by eliminating harmful housing conditions, beginning in Grand Rapids’ hardest hit neighborhoods. We believe that all children will grow up in healthy homes free of environmental hazards, accomplished through direct service programs, community outreach, education, and advocacy. Our operating principles guide our work, those principles are Environmental Justice - We will promote environmental justice and health equity in all of our actions. Empowering Families - We will use a family-centered approach to promote housing environments where children thrive and achieve their highest potential. Respect - We will provide services to all people in a culturally sensitive manner that respects dignity. Integrity - We will be honest and above reproach in all our personal and professional relationships. www.healthyhomescoalition.org. 

Michigan Environmental Council is a coalition of over 80 organizations created in 1980 to lead Michigan’s environmental movement in achieving positive change through public policy solutions. MEC combines deep environmental policy expertise with close connections to key state and federal decision-makers, decades of experience getting things done in the political process, and an ability to rally broad and powerful alliances in support of reforms. For thirteen years, MEC has sponsored and facilitated the Michigan Alliance for Lead Safe Homes Coalition, a group of advocates, impacted residents, and public health professionals dedicated to lead poisoning prevention and expanding resources for Michigan families through state policy reform. For more information, visit www.environmental council.org.

 

This interview is the first in a series highlighting leaders working on environmental health & justice. 

Darren Riley, CEO and co-founder of air quality justice tech startup, JustAir, envisions a world where the breeze passing through city neighborhoods is not clogged with the burnt and rotten smells of diesel emanating from highway traffic, where children tossing a ball in their yard no longer find themselves coughing against the putrid stench of exhaust from factories. This is why he founded JustAir: to connect community members with street-level, minute-to-minute information about hyperlocal air quality via an easy-to-use app, so they can plan to stay away from streets holding onto harmful air pollution in any given hour of any given day. 

Air pollutants from industrial manufacturing and trucking traffic – most concentrated in working-class neighborhoods – harm human respiratory, cognitive, and mental health and intensify the effects of climate change. Responding to this urgent need, the Ecology Center and eight community and non-profit organizations have come together in collaboration to plan for clean air in Wayne County. 

JustAir is a member of this collaborative. Founded in Grand Rapids and now headquartered in Detroit, the rapidly expanding environmental tech organization is growing to encompass cities across the country, carrying with it an ethic of community-listening that has ensured they are responding to the unique needs of each place. We had the opportunity to talk with CEO and co-founder Darren Riley about his organization and the deep-rooted need for air quality justice in and beyond Detroit. Darren also serves as co-chair of the data monitoring working group for a collaboration of community partners. 

(This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

Tell us about JustAir – what inspired you to create this organization?

JustAir’s mission is to ensure everyone has equal access to clean air. I got into this space through a combination of both my personal and professional experience. I’ve always done work in tech. As a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, I did cybersecurity work and moved to Detroit to focus on the entrepreneurial ecosystem, particularly around social impact entrepreneurship. I was fascinated by how we create a business landscape that does right through the work that they do. 

Then I developed asthma five years ago. I currently reside in southwest Detroit – a little too close for comfort from the Ambassador Bridge close by. [The bridge, which connects Detroit with Windsor, Canada, is the busiest international crossing in North America and a major source of diesel exhaust pollutants from its heavy traffic.] I’m a product of my environment and some of the illnesses definitely got exacerbated by the place where I live. 

Around 2020, with the murder of George Floyd and COVID, everyone had their heads up, looking at some of the inequities and injustice. 

I wanted to use my experiences to make a difference, particularly around the community that I come from. Our goal is pretty simple: 1) create awareness and access to air quality data at a neighborhood level, but also 2) enact change. So, use our infrastructure to not only inform change, but also to measure impact. Solutions and awareness is what we’re all about for environmental justice.

We’re not trying to jump in and say, “Hey, look what we got: some shiny toys that can maybe help out.” We want to learn from community members, neighborhood associations, community workshops, churches and places of worship, what’s going on in the community.

Can you share some of JustAir’s accomplishments that you’re most proud of? 

When I first started JustAir, I was thinking cities wouldn’t want to support something like this, but I’ve been proven wrong. I’m seeing a lot of cities being proactive around their environment and protecting the health of their community. I’m excited to see that trend moving in the right direction. 

One thing I’m really proud of is the deep community work that we’ve done. For example, in Grand Rapids last week, we had a community air quality workshop, where we had residents learn about the project that we’re doing in a zip code with one of the highest environmental justice scores in the state of Michigan, a predominately Black and Brown community. We wanted to make sure that they had control over where the monitors go up. We’re deploying seven monitors within that community. Community members got to learn about air quality, learn about the project, and, most of all, got to learn what this monitoring device does and where it goes. 

Community members were saying, “Hey, this asphalt plant is something I’m concerned about.” “Hey, my kids are going to school here. I would love to learn what they’re breathing, if they’re spending the majority of their time and their week at that facility.” “Oh, this highway rips through our community. Let’s put a couple of monitors up there.” This is some of the feedback that we’re getting.

When you’re doing this work, it’s important not to just come and say, “Hey, we’re going to just throw monitors up, and off you go.” It’s important to work with the community and get people up to speed and understanding what it is that they’re reading and how to make decisions based on the data we’re providing.

Why is neighborhood-level air monitoring so important? 

We need to pay attention to the water we drink, the food we eat, and the air we breathe.

We look at the expiration date on our food, we are very strict around the quality of our drinking water. And we should have the same rigor around the air that we breathe. 

Because of the 1970 Clean Air Act, many major urban cities have maybe one, maybe two, or three reference monitors. But where you are in relation to that reference monitor will have a large impact on the quality of your data and how relevant it is to you. If I live three or five miles from a monitor, that has a different flavor than if I’m a couple blocks away. The goal with neighborhood-level monitoring is pretty straightforward: the more granular we can get, the more relevant data can be to every resident to make sure they have access to clean air. 

What causes air quality differences based on neighborhood?

There are a lot of different potential causes. I live next to a highway with high trucking traffic. Studies say you shouldn’t live 1,500 feet from heavy-density trucking traffic – where I live is less than 1,000 feet from the Ambassador Bridge. That can result in emissions of black carbon (soot) and CO₂. Some of those emissions, especially on hot days where ground ozone is elevated, can exacerbate long-term diseases like asthma or COPD, or even accelerate cognitive issues, from childhood development to Alzheimer’s, and cancers as well. 

I’ll look at it in twofold: one, what are sources of air pollution? It could be industrial activity, like trucking traffic. I also look at what mitigating factors are not present. For example, tree canopy. Trees cool our communities down a bit. If lowering the heat can help limit pollutants catalyzing and affecting humans and also absorb a lot of the chemicals, this is what’s good. We try to avoid the concrete jungle. 

There are preventative things that we can do – tree canopying, electrification, and things like that. And then there are all the sources that are contributing.

We need to add more of the good stuff and remove some of the bad stuff that can impact a neighborhood disproportionately, depending on where they’re located.

What neighborhoods are most impacted by air pollution?

Often we see communities that are right on the edge of an industrial zone, fenceline communities, having to deal with higher rates of asthma and higher rates of emergency visits related to pulmonary diseases. 

We even know that certain communities’ home values are affected: because of the soot that may be on the exterior of their house or because their house shakes a bit or has infrastructure issues. We’ve heard from community members [in Detroit] that at certain times of the day, trucking traffic shakes their homes’ foundation, and that can distress them. Sleep may be a little bit more difficult, which can also add to the stress. There are so many different factors, not just from a health perspective, but mental health, too. 

Your quality of life and your ability to enjoy this life shouldn’t be determined by your skin color or where you were born. Pretty simple.

From an economic perspective, if you have asthma or you have issues that you are more vulnerable to triggers, that can affect you and your workplace. You’re hurting people’s pockets. 

In education, there are studies that have shown that for kids in higher polluted areas, and even service workers, on high-pollution days, near-term memory is limited. That can affect your test scores, your attention span, and your day-to-day work. When you look at disparities, it threads the needle through a lot of different major topics that are important for life: economics, your health, and also your community. 

What might people find surprising about air quality justice?

They might not realize that air quality is something that we can change, that we can improve.

People might think, “Oh, air quality is the air quality. I have to either move or tolerate what I’ve been born into.” The most important thing in this work is to realize that we do have an active voice and agency over what we like to accept as citizens or residents, or taxpayers. It’s essential to start with that. 

Another cool nerdy thing is how one of the biggest contributors to water pollution is air pollution. That makes sense; things settle in the water. When we focus our attention on the Great Lakes and our other sources of drinking water, we have to be very mindful of the air surrounding that. 

Now, a lot more studies are coming out about the effects of air pollution on our brains. We have always known about asthma and cardiovascular issues. Not to downplay how critical those are, but we should also know that memory and early childhood development are extremely affected by air pollution. Our children are our future, and I want to make sure they have a safe space to learn and grow and thrive and be the best that they can be. That one surprised me, how air pollution can directly affect the brain. And more so, it drives in how important it is for us to continue doing good work and for our communities to thrive. 

You just launched a new dashboard with neighborhood-level air monitor data. Tell us a little bit about it: How should people interact with it? What do you hope for it to accomplish? 

People can access the dashboard now at JustAir.app. Right now you will see just Detroit and Grand Rapids, but we’ll have a few more coming in in the next couple of weeks. Our hope is to bring together all of the different monitoring organizations and folks that are doing this work into one portal so that we all have access to the data and are able to share those insights. 

We built this public dashboard to try to be as easy as possible to read. The goal is for you to know in real time what the air quality is closest to you. JustAir exists because there are so many gaps within data around air quality monitoring, depending on how far you are from a monitor. And so 1) you’re able to see that in real time and 2) you’re alerted when air quality may be unhealthy for you, and you may need to alter your planning for the day to help mitigate your exposure. We are raising awareness and also sharing instructions on what you can do to protect yourself and your family.

When people come to the dashboard and are concerned about the air quality around their home, what steps can they take? 

In the environmental justice community, if you say the world is on fire, make sure people have a fire extinguisher. We want to make sure that people have the tools to protect themselves. 

Moderate air quality is fine unless you’re severely sick and have some of these underlying illnesses. Be thoughtful about it, but typically, we fluctuate between moderate and good air quality every day. 

When it hits unhealthy, we give people tips, like, hey, if you can afford it, roll your windows up and put your AC on. Maybe limit your exercise outside today around this affected area. This may be a good time to change your filters because outdoor air quality influences your indoor air quality. And those are important things. 

We’re now accustomed to wearing masks because of COVID, but people wear N95s all the time in Mexico and other countries because of the pollution. Maybe throw on a mask as you go about your day-to-day and limit your exposure. 

We give tools and tips, near-term things, but also long-term things: go support your local plant or flower store and get some plants in your home. These are the things that we try to inform residents on what they can do to take control over the issue that they may not have control over.

What are your goals and next steps for the dashboard?

Right now, we’re tightening up our text messaging. You can try it right now on the signup page. When you sign up with your name, email, etc., you’ll start receiving texts. We want to get to a point where community members can go to a link and type in their phone number and see the stats for their zip code: to see how many alerts they received, things that are happening in our communities, and recommendations. Almost like a personal air quality report card for you. 

We pride ourselves on trying to distill the information in our analytic insights. It’s a lot of data, you can imagine. I’m pulling readings at almost one- to five-minute intervals. How do we take that data and derive what are the causes for these anomalies, and what are the solutions that could come about? For example, if I see a pollutant like NO2 spiking at 3 pm by a school every weekday, that tells me something. Maybe parents or school buses are idling when they pick up their children. Going through the data and just thinking creatively through the weird anomalies and asking what could be happening there. We can automate that process, and it’s going to be exciting. That gets us closer again to decision-making and solutions versus spending a lot of time looking through hundreds of thousands of rows of data. 

As a co-chair of the data monitoring working group for the air quality collaborative in Wayne County & Detroit, what do you hope to accomplish? 

Collaboration is so important. There’s unique issues that happen at a community level that we may not share with other communities. For example, southwest Detroit may have certain pollutants, versus the east side of Detroit, which will have different issues that have to do with Stellantis [the Stellantis Jefferson North Assembly Plant, which designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge brand vehicles].

I’m excited about the collaboration, sharing knowledge, sharing resources, and sharing insight so that we can learn from each other and accelerate the way we do our work more effectively. 

Second thing is that I’m excited to collectively own this work. JustAir, we’re just a small piece of it. With my background, I’m fortunate enough to be able to know what the realm of the possible is from a technical side, but what I am very ignorant of, even having family members and history of members who have done community work and civil rights, I’ve never done community work. Learning from folks like Donele Wilkins [director of Green Door Initiative] and other folks in Detroit working for environmental justice and other community leaders in my city means that I’m understanding how to develop those skill sets and how to do this work the right way. As a collaboration, we can call this work our work, and be an example that all cities can replicate.

[The collaborative recently released a report, From Air Pollution to Solutions: Collaborative Planning for Air Quality in Detroit and Wayne County, outlining plans to use monitors, data, and outreach to advocate for the right to clean air.]

What's your vision for air quality justice?

The fundamental view that I have of the world is this: your quality of life and your ability to enjoy this life shouldn’t be determined by your skin color or where you were born. Pretty simple. 

When I think about the vision for JustAir and justice in general, that’s Detroit. But beyond is just that. You walk out your door and can enjoy the same quality of air and not have to struggle with certain illnesses that another part of the community does not have because they are not overburdened with air quality issues and trucking traffic.

What we’re looking at is equity. All communities within a city context, county context, wherever you want to slice it, should have equal access. That’s our goal: to hopefully not exist. You solve the problem, and you don’t need JustAir anymore. 

What is the pathway forward for JustAir in Detroit and beyond?

Where we’re at now is creating awareness. What makes us have different conversations around things like policy, punitive impact law, anti-highway ordinances, trucking traffic ordinances, rezoning industrial space, and residential space? With data available, we can now have these conversations and raise awareness among community members to say this should be a priority. We can’t fight for what we don’t know. It’s so important for community members to have data access support. When they go vote, or when they go share the issues that they want addressed in their community, there’s something they can actually speak to. That’s number one. 

Number two, climbing the tree, is environmental change. For example, using our data to plan tree canopies. I’ve had conversations in Grand Rapids about using our data to think about truck rerouting and changing the environment from that perspective. To say, “Hey, we should prioritize electrification of school buses in this community because they’re overburdened versus this other community.” How do we be more efficient with our resources to make sure those who need it most get it first? 

And then lastly, I would say the North Star is policy change. Right now, we live in an environment in many states where we’re prioritizing business over looking at the cumulative impact of issues like air quality. I’ll look at a factory that wants to go into my community. As long as you pass code, we’re not looking at how full that bowl is before we put more water into it, more pollution.

When we start looking at the perspective of the community first, we can make policies around that. It’s going to be exciting to not just make policies but to make sure that they’re enforceable and actually incentivizing the right actors, so we can help mitigate their risk. So kids and residents can work, play, and have fun, and have the life they deserve. 

Last, what can individuals and organizations do to support clean air in our communities? 

If I could say one thing, it would be just spread the word, raise awareness. I go to my barber and we talk about the Air Quality Index. That’s a good opportunity and space to share that. You don’t know who’s listening, hearing, or learning. In those spaces of community, share the things that you care about.

We often times carry our problems, but your neighbor is probably going through the same thing. Find opportunities and time in those spaces to share what’s important to you and educate folks around you.

Power is always with the many voices. The more we have people with that microphone and a real echo chamber behind equal access and air quality equity, the better chance we have at creating a better life.

If you are an outsider or organization wanting to help, remember that power rests in the community, and the community should be driving this work. Make sure that you are listening actively, make sure that you put aside your priorities and listen to the priorities of the community. They know what’s best for their families, and we just want to be a support.

An Interview with Holly Groh of VerdiGras, who wrote a children's book based on the Ecology Center's research 

Every March, Mardi Gras produces 2.5 million pounds of trash – including bead throws, trinkets, and doubloons that are characteristic of the celebration. New Orleans resident Holly Groh, M.D. saw this accumulation of trash over her lifetime and decided to act. She envisioned a character, the Smirch of Mardi Gras, who loves the celebration so much that he becomes overridden with greed, eager to fill his own pockets with stuff – the wares of Mardi Gras that ultimately end up in the landfill. The character inspired Dr. Groh to write “The Smirch of Mardi Gras,” a book which illustrates the true fabric of the Mardi Gras festival, a celebration of love and community. With help from the rest of the family, Dr. Groh's daughter, Maggie Groh, illustrated the book, and it has become an entry point for kids and adults alike to get involved in reducing Mardi Gras waste. 

Beyond authoring “The Smirch,” Dr. Groh formed an organization called VerdiGras in 2011 with her husband and friends. VerdiGras’ mission is to inspire Mardi Gras participants to reduce their waste from the festival. They spread awareness around the issue and work on all aspects of Mardi Gras’ waste prevention.

After forming VerdiGras, Dr. Groh partnered with Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center, to explore the toxic components of beads. Our Healthy Stuff Lab found that 70% of the tested beads contained high levels of bromine, and 33% of the samples contained lead at levels higher than the United States has set the standard for children’s products. (As a result, we recommend children and adults keep Mardi Gras beads out of their mouths and always wash their hands after handling the beads.)

We had the opportunity to talk with VerdiGras founder and author Dr. Holly Groh about her work spreading the word about Mardi Gras waste. 

(This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

As we know, you wrote this touching & beautifully-illustrated book called “Beware of the Smirch.” Can you share how this story came about and what inspired you to write it?

We started our group VerdiGras following the BP oil spill, which happened just after we had lost our home to Hurricane Katrina. My husband’s family had been going to the same place for Mardi Gras for 50 years, but the trash just kept building up in that place over that time. 

After the BP oil spill, it was really poignant to see the Mardi Gras throws in the trash because Mardi Gras throws are largely made out of petroleum-based products.

Despite all the oil that was in the Gulf, there was no change in the number of throws in the landfill, and it was just sickening to those of us who had lost our homes in Katrina. You realize during the experience of losing your home that you don’t need much stuff at all. 

Mardi Gras is not a holiday that is all about stuff – it’s about the experience. 

VerdiGras initially tried to reach adults, but I was interested in including the kids. For me, it was great to see the kids become so creative when I gave them the opportunity to think. I decided it’d be so much fun to have a book that would teach them while they’re still young that we take care of the earth. And that we don’t need all this stuff to have a great holiday, especially because it wasn’t part of the holiday to begin with. It has been a pleasure to read to children and then get their follow-up afterward. Our daughter illustrated the great majority of the book with some help from our other two children, and that was fun to have them included.

Have you always had an affinity for writing children’s stories? If not, what was the process of jumping into that storytelling role for the first time? 

I do everything with spirit as my source – and I found the ideas and the words of this book to be a gift that I could offer about this subject. I’m thrilled to be able to take it to the kids. 

You formed VerdiGras in 2011 with the mission of reducing the waste footprint of Mardi Gras. Can you tell us about the formation of this organization and what work you all do?

We formed after the BP oil spill because a group of my friends and my husband believed in our hearts that we just didn’t need all this stuff, especially because Mardi Gras waste is tremendous. We did not want to be the people with the solutions, but we wanted to represent the people that celebrate Mardi Gras. We found that people, even folks that are very steeped in the business of Mardi Gras, recognize that waste is an issue in these celebrations. It’s just a matter of somehow changing that whole paradigm. 

My mom used to say it was like we were standing on the edge of an ocean liner and trying to push it back into the river to go out to sea – it was gonna take a lot of us, but we should give it a try. So far, we’ve done everything we could with just a sense of fun and a goal to educate and to get educated whenever possible. The data on this issue is just nauseating to us, but I’ve found we can come to solutions by shining a light on what’s going on.

Your book is inspired by research by the Healthy Stuff Lab at the Ecology Center that found that Mardi Gras beads contain high levels of toxic chemicals such as lead and bromine. How has this work inspired your storytelling?

When we first started VerdiGras, I, as a mom of four, knew that there had to be some kind of toxin in the beads because you can just smell petroleum. I wouldn’t have known at the time that it was a petroleum smell, but just some chemical you need to keep out of your children’s mouths. 

At first, I was just able to find that there was lead in the beads. But then somebody told me that there’s a man, Jeff Gearhart, from the Ecology Center that will take your beads and analyze them. 

And I just thought this man fell from heaven. I was like, who are you? He explained that many of the recalls of the toys from China that I would hear in the news were done at his lab. So he’s a hero of mine. 

He took the beads, did electron microscopy, analyzed them, and found that there is lead, cadmium, and arsenic in many of the beads. It was so interesting to us that you can’t tell from one bead throw to another which one has the toxins in them. From the studies, Jeff said it looks like they’re melting down computer boards to make the beads, which sounds great, but really those are endocrine disruptors. 

This is anecdotal, but I started hearing about kids that had no exposure to lead in their homes but would have high lead levels from playing with Mardi Gras beads. It was really important to me to get the news out since I’m a mom and a medical doctor. Many people treat Mardi Gras like it’s an adult holiday, but it is largely a family holiday. The beads are generally thrown to children first, so it is easy for them to get exposed to these toxins.

 

Your book has been published for over two years now – what has the reception been like from your community? 

This book is self-published because the message of this book is to have local sources. Our friend David Redmon is the documentarian for “Mardi Gras: Made in China,” which shows how the production of Mardi Gras goods happens in China. Many of the Chinese workers have their hands in vats with nothing to help their lungs, and after finding out what the content of the beads is, it’s alarming to see this, especially since they are getting paid a pittance. 

When you’re at Mardi Gras amongst the festivities, you don’t think about who is making all of the stuff and what their life is like. I’m telling you this because it pushed me to get the book printed locally. With the pandemic, however, the paper for printing books went to toilet paper production, so we had to wait until this last December to get it printed. We are proud it is on USA paper and printed here in town. 

So far, I’ve read to one school, and I think there were like 124 kids – it was so much fun. I’ve only been able to read at one school because of the pandemic when I wasn’t allowed to read in person. I’ve also done a lot of work to help protect kids against digital devices, so my message focuses on face-to-face interaction. When I was able to go read, we all had a wonderful time, and I got to hear the kids’ observations. It’s really eye-opening to see what the kids understand about this issue.

What advice would you give parents and children who are excited about Mardi Gras, but are wary of waste accumulation and toxic chemicals?

Pass the book along to your krewe (Mardi Gras group) as just a fun way to introduce the ideas from the book. The family and the kids can save all their throws to be used to reduce waste, or they can decide to make beads. I’d advise families to act with their pocketbooks; don’t support the accumulation of stuff. My parents came to see Mardi Gras in the 1960s and 1970s, and the beads were made out of bamboo. You can think out of the box! 

We lived in Maui for a year, where they make their leis out of greens, and they are gorgeous.

It’s more about the connections that you make and the voice that you have to say, “We don’t need all of this stuff.” We love being with each other and having fun – just be careful of the beads.

There are no corporate sponsors for Mardi Gras, so everybody who rides on a float does that out of the generosity of their own pocketbook, which is really sweet. The intent is very sweet, so we just have to remember that the footprint of this stuff is enormous, and most of the beads end up in landfills. 

Mardi Gras isn’t the only time and place where beaded throws get passed around. What action steps would you suggest to families or individuals who want to contribute to making a change in their community around toxic waste like this? 

Vote with your pocketbook and remember that all of us have a voice. - Dr. Holly Groh

Just, again, vote with your pocketbook and remember that all of us have a voice. I study ancient teachings for health, and I learned in Hawaii from our friend who’s native Hawaiian that everybody in this world has their unique voice, and we need to put it out there. If people want to make a change and take care of the earth, that would be really positive.

 

This April, Michigan Senate Democrats introduced the Clean Energy Future Plan, a package of bills designed to help support and sustain Michigan’s longstanding fight for climate justice by moving the electric, transportation and housing sectors away from fossil fuels. Senate Majority Floor Leader Sam Singh (D-East Lansing), who introduced the plan alongside Sen. Sue Shink (D-Northfield Twp.),  said these bills are intended to bring aspects of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan into state law, including by making clean energy more affordable and accessible for low-income families. 

The seven-bill package includes measures that would update standards for renewable energy, establish a state-level standard for clean fuel, create plans to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2030 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from homes and business buildings, and allow the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to examine factors like climate change, equity, reliability, affordability, cumulative health effects and emissions outside of carbon when evaluating public utilities.

“We support this effort to take up the Governor’s climate plan and enact legislation–including policies that promote both clean energy and clean transportation–to meet our state’s climate challenge,” says Charles Griffith, Ecology Center Climate & Energy Director.

One aspect of the plan that has inspired conversation among environmental organizations is the clean fuel standard and how that will affect corn ethanol production and use. The Ecology Center supports a well-designed fuel standard that would move us away from petroleum and higher-carbon biofuels toward electric vehicles and other climate-friendly fuels. 

Overall, we are glad to see the Governor’s climate plan coming to fruition. We especially appreciate that Michigan legislators are prioritizing communities made up of higher proportions of people of color and people who are economically struggling. As Senator Shink has noted, “These residents often suffer the worst effects of pollution from power generation and are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.'' As we fight to preserve our planet, we must create within our state an ecologically just and sustainable home.

by Sarah Hughes, Ecology Center Communications Fellow

We’re finally leaving behind another long Michigan winter.  You might have been one of the half a million plus households who lost power during February’s ice storm, some for nearly a week. Just as the power came back on, a few hundred thousand lost power again, once more due to storms. The weather is growing more intense and unpredictable each year. And unreliable power can disrupt and sometimes even endanger our lives.  Access to affordable, reliable power remains essential for all Michiganders. 

For those who rely on medical equipment powered by electricity to stay alive, consistent and affordable power is not only a matter of comfort but one of life and death. Unfortunately, energy costs aren’t coming down anytime soon, as DTE is currently seeking approval for rate hikes to increase already-soaring electric bills. 

Many Michiganders are therefore faced with an impossible choice: to heat or eat.

Or, more precisely, to spend their income on excessively high energy bills or on groceries, medical bills, or transportation. They are cornered into making hard choices about what critical life expenses they’ll pay for each month. And people with the lowest incomes carry the highest energy burden, spending the highest percentage of their income on energy, and are most likely to have homes that are not energy efficient. Their homes are wasting energy, leaving them shivering and uncomfortable, even unsafe, while they’re still left paying a fortune. Yet utility companies are asking to raise prices even more.

Michigan customers already pay some of the highest rates for electricity, yet have the worst reliability in the Midwest. Independent consumer reports have clearly shown this time and again. Not being able to afford your electricity costs can be overwhelming, and changing the system might feel like an impossible task. But we absolutely do have the power to change this inequitable arrangement, to insist on affordable, reliable energy access for all. 

Advocacy works. It did in the last DTE Rate Case.

In January 2022, DTE applied for a $388 million rate increase. But the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) only approved about 7% of that – about $30.5 million – ensuring that a typical residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours of electricity per month would only see an increase of 71 cents, or 0.78%, on their monthly bill. Based on the evidence and arguments made by those who officially intervened in the case (including the Ecology Center), as well members of the public who testified at public hearings, the Michigan Public Service Commission found that DTE’s proposed expenditures were not justified.  

In fact, we’ve seen the impact of advocacy time and again.

In addition to fighting harmful proposals like DTE’s, the Ecology Center has fought for energy equity through efforts like promoting renewables and energy efficiency as well as transportation electrification programs. Our efforts worked: we held off DTE's efforts to lower the amount homeowners and businesses receive for electricity generated by solar panels.

But now we are back at it again.

DTE has come back to the MPSC with the largest proposed rate hike for residential customers in the state’s history: $622 million. That would result in a whopping 19% increase for residential customers on top of the rate hike implemented in January. We had a lot of success with the last rate case, since DTE only received about 7% of what they proposed. But less than two months later, they’ve already re-applied with an even bigger request. 

Ecology Center Legislative and Policy Director Alexis Blizman explains, “DTE is continually filing cases asking for rate increases. These rate increase inquiry cases include as much as 5,000 pages of testimony that are virtually impossible for any one group to completely review. That's one reason why nonprofits like the Ecology Center join with other nonprofits, like the ELPC, Vote Solar and Union of Concerned Scientists–to share the load. But to avoid this unending cycle of utility companies applying for rate hikes and nonprofits and citizens resisting them, state intervention is essential: we need pervasive, deep-rooted change in order to protect energy equity and affordability for all.”

To accomplish these goals, we’re going to need your help--so keep an eye on this space.

There will be plenty of engagement opportunities: to submit public comments, and to put pressure on the legislature to encourage the MPSC to better protect energy equity and affordability for everyone. Since utilities companies have huge teams of lobbyists and resources, and give millions of dollars to politicians--on both sides of the aisle--it’s going to take real grassroots efforts to create change. We had a lot of success with the last rate case–let’s keep that momentum going and make sure access to a heated home isn’t a privilege but a right.