Social Determinants of Health in Detroit
Our health and lifespan aren’t just consequences of direct access to doctors and hospitals. They are influenced by and interconnected with factors that relate to where and how we live.
Black infant mortality rates spiked in Detroit after record low in 2019 – Planet Detroit
Black mothers and babies fare worse than white counterparts in the city and state–and it’s worsened since the pandemic. Here’s why and what’s being done to address it.
Detroit Audubon will change its name, citing need for a 'more inclusive posture’ – Planet Detroit
A naming committee will seek input from members in selecting a new name, aiming to finalize the change by Sept. 1.
Detroit Audubon grapples with future after national group retains name of enslaver and eugenicist – Planet Detroit
BIPOC Birders of Michigan founder April Campbell said the decision by National Audubon to keep its name is “a big middle finger to people of color.”
State regulators ask EPA to ignore Detroit air quality data, paving way to avoid ozone regulation – Planet Detroit
Ozone is a known cause and trigger of asthma. The asthma mortality rate in Detroit in 2017-2019 was about three times the rate for Michigan.
State regulators approve settlement in DTE’s long-term energy plan. Here’s what it means. –
DTE and Consumers would pay more for lengthy and frequent outages, but critics say proposed disincentives are too weak to be effective.
Metro Detroit's worst ozone year in a decade sparks Sierra Club lawsuit against EPA – Planet Detroit
At issue is how much of the ozone problem is due to wildfire smoke.
DTE agrees to shut down coal-fired Monroe plant in 2032, three years ahead of schedule –
The agreement includes investment in renewable energy and storage, energy efficiency, bill assistance and energy equity. It also gives favorable treatment to DTE shareholders, advocates say.
Michigan House Dems propose legislation to incentivize home solar and batteries – Planet Detroit
The bills would offer utility rebates for solar and battery storage and require operators to recognize those systems as grid assets. Low-income customers would receive higher incentives.
Legislators introduce bills to lift solar cap, restore net metering and establish ‘fair value tariff’ for distributed generation – Planet Detroit
Current state law requires utilities to purchase excess energy from residential solar owners for any power they send back to the grid up to 1% of the company’s average peak yearly load.
Bilingual contractor training program aims to boost city’s lead abatement work in Southwest Detroit – Planet Detroit
The health of people with diabetes, hypertension and obesity improved when they could get free fruits and vegetables with a prescription from their doctors and…
Detroit proposes changes to city’s lead enforcement code; activists sound alarm – Planet Detroit
Proposed changes to the City of Detroit’s rental ordinance governing lead paint inspections were approved by the Public Health & Safety Standing Committee Monday and will head to City Council for final approval next week.
Meet Detroit's parent lead activists – Planet Detroit
DLEAD was launched in May of 2019 as a Wayne State University’s Center for Urban Studies program under the leadership of Director Lyke Thompson. Iselda Esquival serves as the group’s coordinator.
Fewer kids were tested for lead poisoning amid the pandemic. This pop-up clinic aims to change that trend. –
When Alashna Moore took her 4-year-old son Aishani to sign up for preschool at United Children and Family Head Start on Harper in early August, she took advantage of an unexpected opportunity to test him for lead poisoning.
A mobile health unit stationed in the parking lot behind the school building was staffed with health care professionals ready to test for lead poisoning and provide other family health services. Moore decided to get her son tested.
A mobile health unit stationed in the parking lot behind the school building was staffed with health care professionals ready to test for lead poisoning and provide other family health services. Moore decided to get her son tested.
Auburn Hills votes to opt out of SMART bus service
For the past two years, Christina Cowart has relied on the bus to get to and from her retail job selling baby clothes at the Great Lakes Crossing mall in Auburn Hills. The Pontiac resident takes the bus from the Phoenix Center to a bus stop on Baldwin on the west side of the massive mall, a 20-minute, 5-mile ride.
"I come out here and catch this bus to make money for my family," she said. "And I'm not the only one."
Cowart and other carless commuters like her may have no way to get to work nex
"I come out here and catch this bus to make money for my family," she said. "And I'm not the only one."
Cowart and other carless commuters like her may have no way to get to work nex
Activists sound alarm on proposed changes to monitoring lead found in rental properties
Any home built before 1978, when Congress banned lead in paint, is at risk of having lead paint. It aims to mitigate or abate lead in 450 Detroit homes in the 48209 zip code, prioritizing those with children, who are especially vulnerable to lead exposure. The program has faced obstacles between the pandemic and a shortage of contractors.
Is housing an environmental justice issue? In Detroit, yes.
Outlier Media’s The Dig has published this story in partnership with Planet Detroit.
Nora Rodriguez has lived three places in her life, all in Southwest Detroit. Nearly everything she needs is nearby—her job, friends and family, grocery stores, restaurants and more. But every house is also close to factories or highways. Where she lives now, on Dragoon Street, is just blocks from I-75 and a frequent route for truck traffic. It’s also less than two miles from Zug Island, an industrial site on th
Nora Rodriguez has lived three places in her life, all in Southwest Detroit. Nearly everything she needs is nearby—her job, friends and family, grocery stores, restaurants and more. But every house is also close to factories or highways. Where she lives now, on Dragoon Street, is just blocks from I-75 and a frequent route for truck traffic. It’s also less than two miles from Zug Island, an industrial site on th
MPSC considers requiring utilities to account for public health costs of future electricity generation
Electricity generation from coal and gas-fired power plants exact an inequitable health cost that utilities should account for when planning for the future.
That’s according to testimony submitted on April 28 to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) by the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center on behalf of 23 individuals and organizations.
MPSC opened the docket in August of 2020 as part of an effort to better integrate resource planning with planning for distribution and transmission.
That’s according to testimony submitted on April 28 to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) by the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center on behalf of 23 individuals and organizations.
MPSC opened the docket in August of 2020 as part of an effort to better integrate resource planning with planning for distribution and transmission.
Climate Resilience on Detroit's East Side
FIRST PLACE - Environmental Journalism for 2019
Detroit Society of Professional Journalists
Detroit Society of Professional Journalists
Why Michigan is the center of the 'pickleverse'
SECOND PLACE - Best Feature Story for 2019
Detroit Society of Professional Journalists
Detroit Society of Professional Journalists
The Fight Over Wind Power in Lake Erie
Black People Are Dying Of COVID-19 At Alarming Rates. Here’s Why.
Not even the coronavirus epidemic has stopped abortion foes from protesting outside a Detroit clinic
Michigan’s online grocery sector surges amid coronavirus pandemic
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