by Brian Allnutt, in partnership with Planet Detroit
Demolitions, lead, and Detroit’s kids: Ahead of Detroit’s vote on city Proposition N — which seeks to raise $250 million to demolish 8,000 homes and secure 8,000 more — the Detroit Free Press revealed that in 2018, Detroit continued with its demolition program in five ZIP codes — 48202, 48204, 48206, 48213 and 48214 — identified as high-risk for childhood lead exposure in a 2017 Detroit Health Department report, even after it said it would halt non-emergency demos in those areas. The Detroit Health Department said there was no evidence of a connection between demolitions and elevated blood levels in 2018 and 2019. However, another city analysis of the period between 2014 and 2018 showed children living within 400 feet of demolition were 19% more likely to have elevated blood lead levels within 45 days of the teardowns. Children exposed to two or more demolitions were 63% more likely to have elevated levels. (Detroit Free Press)
Lead testing down: The state’s ability to track lead contamination in Michigan children was likely compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bridge reports that between March and July of this year, 32,000 children were tested for lead, half the number from the same period in previous years. Many families have skipped doctors’ appointments, and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs have moved to virtual visits where physical interventions like lead testing aren’t possible. Early detection of lead poisoning is crucial because it can’t be reversed, although its impacts can be mitigated via nutrition and special education. Tom Largo at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Resources said the state may consider drive-through blood testing. (Bridge Michigan)
A ‘diesel death zone’? A lawsuit filed Tuesday is challenging the sale price for the former Michigan State Fairgrounds, claiming it was undervalued and that the sale should trigger the city’s Community Benefits Ordinance. Detroit City Council approved the sale of the 138-acre site Tuesday to a development team for a 4-million-square-foot Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center. Councilmember Raquel Castañeda-Lopéz — who voted against the sale — raised concerns about the environmental impact of the project. She wants to see air quality and health impact studies to document baseline conditions. Communities like those in California’s Inland Empire have been raising concerns about air pollution associated with expanding Amazon facilities. Some physicians call areas with logistics hubs and freeway interchanges “diesel death zones” because of their severe health impacts. (Detroit News, Metro Times, Curbed, LA TImes)
Ferndale lead advisory: The city of Ferndale issued a lead advisoryafter water sampling revealed five residences that exceeded state water quality standards. The city conducted 31 samples of residences with lead service lines. The city emphasized that the water source is still safe, but that roughly 30% of the city has lead service lines and more sampling is needed to determine the scope of the problem. Oakland County will be distributing free water filter kits to qualifying Ferndale residents on October 28 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Gary Kulick Community Center, 1202 Livernois. (Freep)
‘Zero’? General Motors will rename the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant “Factory Zero” because it will be building “zero emissions” vehicles exclusively by 2030. The company had threatened to close the plant entirely a few years ago. GM’s plans to build its electric GMC Hummer there may make one question what “zero emissions” even means. A report from Duke University said that the energy required to produce the average car clocks in at around 76,000 kilowatt-hours, or the amount of juice used by a 3,200 square foot home over five years. One can imagine that the Hummer would involve even more embodied energy — and that doesn’t even get at where the power to charge its batteries will come from. (Freep)
Hair without harm: Planet Detroit’s Jena Brooker has a story in Crain’s about two University of Michigan graduate students who are using the invasive wetland plant phragmites to make synthetic hair extensions without plastics. Jannice Newson and Nana Britwum’s company Lillian Augusta has developed a prototype for this plant-based, biodegradable synthetic hair — made specifically for Black women — that they’re calling “hair without the harm.” Traditional synthetic hair is usually worn for several months before winding up in a landfill or the ocean, and often contains carcinogens like PVC and acrylonitrile. (Crain’s Detroit Business)
EcoWorks’ new hire: EcoWorks — a Detroit non-profit focusing on community development, sustainability, and energy efficiency — has named Bryan Lewis as its new Executive Director. Lewis most recently ran EcoWorks’ Youth Energy Squad where he worked in Detroit Public Schools to help students lead sustainability initiatives in their communities. Lewis is a member of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Michigan Advisory Council for Environmental Justice. In June, Planet Detroit wrote about EcoWorks’ previous director Justin Schott and the group’s push to make its staff and leadership more representativeof the communities of color it primarily serves. (Planet Detroit)
Carbon capture? Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources recently announced a pilot program to sell carbon credits for tree planting in the Pigeon River State Forest near Gaylord. But do such programs really create a net reduction in carbon emissions? “One of the fundamental problems with offsets that are used to justify increasing emissions is that they are inherently unverifiable,” Jim Walsh, senior energy policy analyst with Food and Water Watch said. (Midwest Energy News)
Prop 1: Proposal 1 on the Michigan ballot has been a hot subject of debate among environmentalists. The measure would change how the state uses money from oil and gas extraction to pay for purchasing and making improvements on public lands. The various funds and how they’re structured is extremely confusing. Planet Detroit’s Nina Ignaczak explains them in Detour Detroit. In Midwest Energy News, Detroiter Tom Perkins asks if the new formula would incentivize more drilling, with some saying that the proposal could require more natural and gas extraction to fund development projects going forward. The Free Press has weighed in against the measure, citing the Sierra Club’s opposition and their belief that Michigan needs a more sustainable source of revenue for public lands. Meanwhile, leaders of a number of land conservancies and conservation groups, including the Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and the Six Rivers Land Conservancy signed a letter in Bridge expressing their support for the measure. They argue that the proposal ensures all future mineral rights revenue in the state will go to public lands and that the new funding structure will help increase access to those spaces. (Detour, Midwest Energy News, Freep, Bridge)
Prop N: Detroit will be voting on Proposal N this year, which would approve the sale of $250 million in bonds in order to demolish or secure thousands of Detroit. Detour provides a good rundown of the issue. The Freep said it’s a hard choice to make, but ultimately endorses a no vote on the measure. They claim the Duggan administration hasn’t done enough to address residents’ concerns over the environmental impacts of an expanded demolition program among other issues. (Detour, Freep)
