Credit DTE Energy
DTE Energy and state regulators have asked the Court of Appeals to reconsider a decision affecting a permit for the utility s new gas plant.
The company is building a billion gas plant in St. Clair County.
Nick Leonard is the executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. He says the Court of Appeals rightly decided that state regulators ignored their own permitting process.
Leonard says regulators did not require DTE to study pre-existing ozone levels before they issued a permit.
Ozone can hurt people with lung problems as well as young children and even healthy people who exercise outdoors.
Overview
The economic shutdown and ensuing impact has been tough for many Michigan nonprofit organizations. In many cases, giving is down, and the environmental sector is feeling the squeeze moreso than human service organizations.
Many groups that depend on earned income through education or other in-person means and/or in-person fundraising have been especially hard hit. It takes time to pivot to new models. Philanthropy has been stronger for groups that address basic human concerns like hunger, shelter, career retraining etc., while donations to environmental organizations, where the need appears less pressing, are fewer.
The Michigan Nonprofit Association tracks giving trends, and notes a bright point: donations of less than $250 were up in 2020, which speaks of the generosity of Americans. Overall, nonprofits are not closing at the same pace as local retail businesses, perhaps because the the stock market and endowments have stayed strong.