Turning Metro Green
With all the talk of going green and clean, just how sustainable is Metro Detroit becoming? Over the last year Metromode has run across a growing number of businesses, leaders, and initiatives that are trying to nudge Michigan’s economy and lifestyle toward the greener end of the spectrum. This week we round up evidence that our region is putting its money where its mouth is
Political leaders, media outlets and policy organizations are all talking about the green movement and clean technology. From sustainable practices to eco-sensitive urban planning to start-ups tasked with making us more energy efficient, less polluting and healthier for this great blue and green orb we call home, many see the trend fueling the next great economical movement (and hopefully not a bubble ready to pop).
So, how has Metro Detroit been fairing in this slow starting revolution? From green roofs to eco-sensitive entrepreneurs to sustainable initiatives, Metromode has looked over the stories we’ve covered in the last year and come up with an encouraging snapshot of the people and businesses that are helping to transform Michigan’s rustbelt into a green belt.
Going Green On The Cheap: Low Impact Development
Sometimes it’s the little things that count. What might seem like flower gardens or stretches of grass can be valiant guardians of the health of the region’s waterways. Low impact development uses native plants to minimize the impact of water overflow into lakes and streams — and looks pretty doing it.
Ethical Entrepreneurs
Making good and making a buck are not necessarily contradictory ideas. Here’s a quartet of green collar companies who are t
rying to do right by both Michigan’s economy and the environment.
Making Water Work For Metro Detroit
Sometimes abundance rather than necessity is the mother of invention. With our incredible water resources and critical mass of world class engineers, Michigan is poised to become the center for innovations in hydro engineering and water management.
The economy is struggling. Real estate is in a spiral. How do you make the case for green building when businesses are just trying to survive? And what about those who want to go green but can’t quite reach LEED standards? Is there any consideration for their eco-friendly choices? Metromode looks at how the future of sustainability is coping with the challenges of today.
It’s the urban trend all the kids are talking about! Green roofs are taking root in cities across America, reducing pollution and creating energy efficiency. Metromode looks at how Metro Detroit can emulate the success of the Ford Rouge Plant and move up from the back of the pack.
PODCASTS & VIDEOS
METROMODE RADIO: Michigan’s Power Grid’s Command Central
In February, Governor Granholm formed a wind advisory panel. It’s a diverse group from industry, government and academia. The group will tell the Governor that Michigan’s power plants are old. They need replacing. But not with coal. Instead they’re saying: “Go out onto the Great Lakes to look for wind.”
Metromode Radio: Sustainable Energy In Michigan
The Michigan Sustainable Energy Coalition brought international experts to the state’s capital this week to discuss the changing energy landscape. Only a couple of lawmakers attended and Michigan Now’s Chris McCarus was the only reporter there. The event showed how hard it is to shift the focus from the old economy to the new one.
Ann Arbor’s Veggie Fueled Party Bus
Ann Arbor’s B2B Party Bus is everything sustainable new urbanist hipsters ever dreamed of: An entrepreneurial enterprise that runs small scale private transit on secondhand cooking oil in order to transport young party-goers around downtown.
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