The hundredth issue of Metromode seems like a perfect opportunity to look, not backwards, but forward. Where does Southeast Michigan need to be in ten years? In 20?
The answer, my friends, is green, green, green. I know, real shocking to read that in a weekly column that talks about sustainability. But it's true, and pretty much everyone with even just a few brain cells would agree with the sentiment.
Here are a few specific concepts worth implementing in big ways in the Mitten State.
- Embrace wind energy. Not only is it a clean energy source that is in plentiful supply here, but we have manufacturing capabilities that exist in very few other states or countries. Let's get some of those plants back on line and former auto workers back on the clock. Read more details about wind energy in Michigan here.
- Similarly, make solar a part of our energy diet. It doesn't have the generation capacity in megawatts that wind does, but it still can be of great help in lessening our dependence on non-renewable energy sources. Germany gets about the same amount of sunshine that Michigan does and it's used way more there. Let's take a cue from Bavaria. More data and info on solar here.
- Celebrate our water, the Detroit River in particular. As Robert F. Kenndy Jr. so eloquently put it in his Metromode interview about a year ago:
"Ultimately, in Detroit, the city's water is going to dictate its health. [We have an] enormous problem in the Southwest with sprawl development that is irrational, dangerous and careless.
There's a train wreck coming, and the cities that are going to end up with the strongest economies are those with the strongest environmental base, and Detroit can be one of those cities. Detroit has a future based on its waterways, and its water is the best investment that Detroit can make right now: restoring public access to waterways and fighting pollution in waterways.
Detroit -- looking at its landscapes and surroundings -- is one of the greatest places to live, and that value will be recognized by the marketplace and by people."
Read the entire interview here. It's good stuff.
- Think food. Michigan is fifth in the nation in fresh vegetable production and eigth in processed vegetable production. We lead the nation in tart cherries, we're eighth in milk, third in apples...we've got it going on. But we need to do a better job with food distribution and stop sprawl, which reduces the amount of production acreage. Urban farming can certainly play a role in this as well.
- Transit. Drive less. Bike and walk more. Our region has a long, long way to go in these arenas. More bike lanes and sidewalks should be a priority.
- The Big 3 (?) needs to evolve, and this is a much bigger topic than this one column can handle.
Michigan is blessed with abundant natural resources, and figuring out how to leverage them makes good economic and environmental sense.
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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