Environment

  1. From trash talk to legislation

    In 1976, three student activists walked across the state, collecting rubbish and publicizing ‘Proposal A.’ They succeeded in passing a radical initiative to recycle aluminum cans and glass bottles, transforming Michigan’s landscape.

  2. Creature feature

    U-M biologists capture super-creepy photos of Amazon spiders making meals of frogs, lizards, and small mammals. Beware: It’s the stuff of nightmares. For real.

  3. Countdown to catastrophe

    The pace of today’s global warming outstrips any climate event since the extinction of the dinosaurs, and experts predict by 2158 carbon could reach levels not seen for 56 million years.

  4. Compostable diapers

    U-M startup Ecovia Renewables hopes to rid the planet’s landfills of disposable diapers; team is working with manufacturers to put a biodegradable material into product prototypes.

  5. Get the lead out

    Copper or lead? That is the question, as U-M researchers use data science to speed the process of finding which Flint homes need new pipes.

  6. All good in the agrihood

    Hope for a thriving Detroit springs eternal (along with fresh produce) at the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative.

  7. Deadly rip currents

    Since 2010, more than 600 people have drowned in the Great Lakes. One survivor, a U-M communicator, turns survivor guilt into life-saving action.

  8. Life's a beach

    Researchers are working in Lake Michigan communities to shore up effects of beach erosion as threats intensify from fluctuating Great Lakes water levels.

  9. Diving into science diplomacy

    Recent diving trip to Cuba is as much about building relationships as it is about advancing science.