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In my opinion, this source was very useful as it showed some of the negatives of policy-making and clean energy. I like the fact that it shows both sides and not everything is all perfect.

In terms of the main topic, it shows the hardships and the tough process that these laws have to go through in order to make a change.

Also, this source is a few years old, so I assume that the number of politicians thinking about this information has increased as it is more widely spoken about nowadays.

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I believe this source is a scholarly source because it includes an article summarizing the findings of a research project by the University of Michigan. I think the main article alone is a trade source, but the research paper is a scholarly source. Other reasons I believe this is a scholarly source include: lots of data charts and tables, key research findings, maps, and words specific to this certain field.

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Though local government leaders have said that they are going to change laws and head towards cleaner energy policies, only 55% of officials who considered new plans have actually acted on them.

Also, about half of the officials say they even interacted with their colleagues to discuss these cleaner energy policies.

Some jurisdictions say they do not have the funding to afford energy audits

The use of renewable energy is such a new concept that some officials do not have the expertise to properly address. There are so many barriers within the government that make it hard to follow through with these policies.

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Natalie Fitzpatrick

Debra Horner

Sarah Mills

Scholarly Source

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This report presents the opinions of Michigan's local government leaders regarding a variety of energy issues and policies in their jurisdictions, including the relevance of particular energy policies for their communities, whether the jurisdiction has staff or external consultants devoted to energy issues, energy audits in government facilities, barriers to local energy policymaking, and more. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders conducted in the Fall 2019 Michigan Local Energy Survey (MiLES), a special wave of the Michigan Public Policy Survey.

Key Findings

Local leaders were asked about the relevance of five different sustainability-related issues in their jurisdiction. A majority of local officials say regulating placement of energy infrastructure on private property (57%) and improving energy efficiency for local businesses or residents (53%) are either somewhat or very relevant issues in their jurisdiction. Almost half say siting energy infrastructure on public property (45%) and reducing jurisdiction government's use of fossil fuels (44%) are somewhat or very relevant. However, just 23% say planning for Electric Vehicles (EVs) is somewhat or very relevant.

Statewide, 70% of Michigan jurisdictions report having at least considered developing plans or policies regarding energy issues, though fewer (59%) report having actually developed local policies, and fewer still (55%) say they have implemented such policies.

Regarding staffing for energy policy, just 19% say their jurisdiction has someone specifically responsible for addressing energy issues, including employees, elected leaders, or external organizations/consultants.

A majority (52%) say they rarely or never engage with their residents on energy issues.

Few (15%) report collecting data about energy use in either public or private buildings, either on a voluntary or mandatory basis.

Approximately four in ten Michigan local governments statewide have had energy audits conducted for at least one type of government facility, most commonly the jurisdiction hall or county administration building.
Among jurisdictions that have not had audits conducted on any government facilities, more than half say such audits are just not a priority for the jurisdiction, while about one in five say they do not have sufficient funding to conduct an audit.

* Finally, among the approximately 30% of Michigan local governments that have not at least considered energy issues, officials cite a number of barriers to considering energy issues. About two-thirds say that lack of expertise to develop policies, costs associated with developing energy policies, and having more important priorities are barriers to addressing energy issues locally.

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Energy Issues and Policies in Michigan Local Governments

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This report presents the opinions of Michigan's local government leaders regarding a variety of energy issues and policies in their jurisdictions, including the relevance of particular energy policies for their communities, whether the jurisdiction has staff or external consultants devoted to energy issues, energy audits in government facilities, barriers to local energy policymaking, and more.

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I think this source is very important to my topic because it shows how Michigan is transitioning to clean energy. It provides large energy companies that are changing their methods into healthier ways, and it also explains what the public should expect in the upcoming years.

It does a good job in showing only Michigan's activity in this field and it backs up my main topic well

Though the article is very biased and it is from an activist club for the environment, it showed that there really should be change with the way our energy is being produced, and we are achieving that change.

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I believe this source is a popular source because it screams general public. It is very informing as it tells the Michigan citizens that they want to make our health and environment the top priorities. Other reasons I believe this is a popular source are because there are other news articles embedded in the article, there are advertisements, and it acts to persuade others to join this cause.

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This source is pretty intense and one-sided, considering it's a national club for environmental activism.

There is a pretty in depth summary of all that has been going on with the recent developments with cleaner energy and overall, the Sierra Club's accomplishments.

Many Michigan energy and power companies have agreed to shutting down more of their coal power plants, which will allow for less pollution. DTE and Consumer's Energy are among those listed.

Also, there are many other proposals listed with the Governor, power agencies, and counties to acknowledge the issues and transition into decarbonization/create a cleaner state.

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The Sierra Club

Popular Source

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Michigan became a national leader in clean energy investments in recent years. More than 100,000 jobs have been created and $10 billion invested in solar component manufacturing, advanced batteries, wind turbine construction, energy efficiency and more. The shift to clean energy in Michigan is well underway - our biggest challenge is to make sure that politicians in Washington, in Lansing and in our hometowns don't block our clean energy future. Our state needs a clean energy future. Learn more about what the Sierra Club is doing to promote energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy in the state.

DTE Energy Must Do Better!

The Sierra Club is partnering with a large coalition of organizations, businesses, lawmakers, and concerned citizens to push DTE Energy to promote clean energy through their IRP process. Learn more about what an IRP is and how you can help here: https://dtecandobetter.com/

2022 Victories and Highlights
For those who care about clean energy and climate justice in Michigan, 2022 was filled with meaningful progress.
As a direct result of Sierra Club's legal interventions and public advocacy, Michigan's largest utilities are moving beyond coal toward clean energy and making deeper investments in efficiency and storage.

Consumers Energy committed to building 8 GigaWatts (GW) of renewables and retiring their J.H. Campbell plant in 2025, 15 years earlier than previously planned. They also rejected three gas plants, expedited their energy storage buildout and provided over $30 million in shareholder money for low-income bill assistance.

DTE gave $8 million to Environmental Justice (EJ) community projects and retired their River Rouge, St. Clair and Trenton Channell coal plants. The utility recently proposed building more than 15 GW of renewables, repowering their Belle River coal plant to gas in 2026 (was scheduled to retire in 2028) and retiring two units of the Monroe coal plant in 2028 (12 years earlier than previously planned). However, they plan to keep burning coal at the other two Monroe units until 2035.

Both DTE and Consumers Energy were persuaded to do better at addressing energy burden disparities, specifically in Detroit and Flint.

Sierra Club helped Michigan's municipal utilities and governments make progress too.

After years of public organizing, Grand Haven's Board of Light and Power abandoned its proposed gas plant and is finally starting to address the legacy of toxic pollution at Harbor Island.

In November, the Lansing Board of Water and Light retired its last coal-burning plant, the Erickson Power Station.

In December, the Michigan South Central Power Agency terminated its gas plant proposal because it was too expensive.

Oakland County passed a transit millage and allocated funding to build out its Sustainability Unit.

Ann Arbor passed a climate millage to fund programs to help achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2030.

Overlapping all of this:

Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Council on Climate Solutions finalized their MI Healthy Climate Plan to achieve statewide net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and included moving beyond coal by 2030.

Federal elected officials passed the Inflation Reduction Act. While it has flaws, it remains the nation's single largest clean energy and climate investment in history and is expected to dramatically speed up the decarbonization of the power, transportation and building sectors.

Thank you to all the Sierra Club members who supported our efforts this year! Next year, we'll focus on pushing the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to improve DTE's recently filed energy plan. Strong turnout at the hearing on December 12 was a good start for holding DTE accountable for substantive climate improvements, including many who testified calling for the shut down of the Monroe coal-burning plant, the third largest climate polluter in the nation.

Want to learn more or get involved? Take action here or email mike.berkowitz@sierraclub.org.

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Michigan became a national leader in clean energy investments in recent years. More than 100,000 jobs have been created and $10 billion invested in solar component manufacturing, advanced batteries, wind turbine construction, energy efficiency and more.

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I like this source because it provides information about nearly every topic you can think of in this field. Although I could not summarize all of them - due to the fact that they didn't all relate to my topic - the ones that I could summarize were very helpful.

The source provides another angle that I have not seen before.

Lower income Americans may not be able to access EV transportation, and this can slow down our mitigation efforts. This is an unfortunate circumstance, but perhaps we can create a cheaper method for these citizens.

Hydrogen energy provides cleaner and long lasting energy for airplanes and larger vehicles that other types of energy may not be able to do.

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I believe that this source is a trade source because it is one large source that includes separate topics of interest all in one. Also, the entire source is put together by a lot of researchers in this field at the University of Michigan. It includes what U-M is doing to advance our renewable energy and also news of what is going on in this topic in other places of the world.

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This source is very different as it includes a whole webpage of topics that you can explore. I clicked on the 'Energy Future' page so it relates more to my topic; I will be summarizing this.

Electric vehicles are very beneficial, but as I have not seen before, they may leave low-income Americans behind.

Some states have higher electricity costs than others

EV transportation can be a little bit pricier

In low-income areas, charging stations and EV transportation are scarce.

Hydrogen energy

Hydrogen is the most abundant element and it would be super effective if we could use it for energy.

The US has invested $6 billions into Hydrogen energy across the country

We still need to make technological advancements to promote this idea more.

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This source is very beneficial to my topic because it successfully recaps Michigan's plans for the future to reduce carbon emissions and phase in a clean way of producing energy. It perfectly outlines my main topic, but it really outlines this specific topic of mitigation.

Mitigation is the act of reducing the severity of an effect. We simply cannot just get rid of climate change as it is, but we can mitigate and adapt to it. In this source, it describes what Michigan is going to do to decrease our greenhouse gas emissions and how it will help us. They mention that our new plan will cause a decrease of harmful health effects, it will make our economy more efficient, and more jobs will open up. In my opinion, this plan is leading us in a perfect direction and I hope other states are doing the same.

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I think this is a popular source because it appeals to the general public of Michigan and it applies to their future. This source also provides a popular issue, it is written by journalists, and provides references within the text via hyperlinks.

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Climate change is proving to be detrimental to states' governments, and Michigan is one of those states.

Michigan aims to cut down on emissions of greenhouse gases by 52%.

The goal year to complete this by is 2030 - Michigan Healthy Climate Plan

Michigan Healthy Climate Plan

60% of energy production has to be clean electricity (wind, solar, nuclear)

No more coal-powered plants

Incentives for electric vehicles

Recent funding ($9-12 billion) will help boost the new phase of ideas

More jobs will be created

Everything will be more efficient as heating/cooling bills decrease, the cost of wind and solar will decrease, and consumers won't have to pay for gas.

Lastly, the health of all will be better and there will be less contaminants in the air.

Less asthma cases in time

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University of Michigan

Many researchers

Trade Source

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Securing a clean, sustainable and vibrant energy future requires a multifaceted approach.

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Ashna Aggarwal

Courtney Bourgoin

Kyle Clark-Sutton

Jacob Corvidae

Olivia Ashmoore

Popular Source

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Michigan: A Climate, Clean Energy Comeback Story

Michigan is proposing an ambitious plan to slash its planet-warming emissions while simultaneously bolstering its manufacturing prowess, revitalizing the auto industry with a transition to electric vehicles, and working to protect its robust natural treasures and resources.
This story is part of a series of stories based on RMI analysis of how key US states are deploying real climate solutions.
Everyone loves a good comeback story. With a Governor committing to bring investment back to the state, improve neglected infrastructure, and take the health of residents seriously, the state of Michigan is hoping to make its mainstream media narrative of underinvestment one of the past.

For Governor Gretchen Whitmer, that includes tackling climate change. It's a problem that, if left untreated, would be detrimental to the state's economy, which is dependent on its clean water sources, agriculture, and the auto industry.

Michigan is now one of the several US states proposing an ambitious plan to slash its planet-warming emissions while simultaneously bolstering its manufacturing prowess, revitalizing the auto industry with a transition to electric vehicles, and working to protect its robust natural treasures and resources.

This year, Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) - a new agency created by the Whitmer administration - released the Michigan Healthy Climate Plan, which outlines policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

But questions about the plan remain - namely, will it go far enough to prevent the worst impacts of climate change in the state?

New analysis from 5Lakes Energy, the Michigan Environmental Council (MEC), NRDC, Energy Innovation, and RMI found that, if fully implemented, the climate plan would reduce emissions by 50 percent - nearly reaching Michigan's stated goal of 52 percent.

Our research shows Michigan's climate plan sets the state up for success to deliver on emissions reductions targets and unlock a suite of economic and public health benefits for Michiganders in the coming decade. But going even further - through additional policies and strong implementation of the current plan to hit or exceed 52 percent - would compound those benefits and deliver the climate resilience needed.

What's in the Plan

The Michigan Healthy Climate Plan includes a variety of proposals to help the state meet its economy-wide emissions reduction goal - including clean electricity generation targets (60 percent by 2030), pledging to phase out remaining coal-fired power plants by 2030, and creating incentives for electric vehicles and charging stations.

Our analysis finds that the following critical policies are the most significant drivers of emissions reductions in the plan:

A clean electricity standard that requires 60 percent of energy production by 2030 to come from clean sources like wind, solar, and nuclear.

Phasing out of coal-fired plants by 2030.

Building electrification by setting a sales standard that requires 21 percent of all new appliance sales to be electric by 2030 and increasing building efficiency in new buildings by 20 percent through adoption of the 2021 Model Code.

Incentives for consumers to purchase EVs and targeting an EV sales goal of at least 50 percent for light-duty passenger vehicles and at least 30 percent for heavy-duty EVs - both by 2030.

Together, these policies achieve an additional 34.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emission reductions, or half of emissions by 2030, relative to policies before the plan.

Together, the four policy targets result in the 50 percent emissions reductions. Data: Michigan Energy Policy Simulator.

In addition to what's currently proposed in Michigan's Climate Plan, recent funding from the federal government - roughly $9-$12 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure package and historic investments from Congress' Inflation Reduction Act - could accelerate the state's progress with suites of investment in clean energy, climate-smart infrastructure, electric vehicle manufacturing incentives, and energy efficiency measures.

For Douglas Jester, managing partner of 5 Lakes Energy, the new funding is even more reason the state should push further to hit its climate-aligned target (52 percent). "The incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act make the transition even more affordable and bringing those funds to Michigan will add employment and income," he says.
Unlocking Economic and Public Health Benefits
Our analysis also finds a myriad of strong additional benefits beyond emissions reductions that would result from Michigan's climate plan.

Our model finds that Michigan's Climate Plan will lead to over 64,000 new manufacturing jobs (in job years) by 2030 compared to policies before the plan due to new solar projects and EV charging infrastructure, the retrofitting of existing buildings, and the manufacturing of numerous technologies such as wind turbines.

"If Michigan can match ambitious planning with strong implementation, the state will be a case study of how investing in a clean energy transition can be a major driver of job creation, economic development, and growth," says Aaron Brickman, senior principal with RMI's US Program, working on a new initiative to facilitate clean energy investment across American regions. "While other manufacturing sectors continue to stagnate or decline, the stage is set for a clean energy and cleantech manufacturing golden age."

And it's not just the manufacturing workforce that will benefit from the plan. The state-wide economy will feel the boost as increased energy efficiency slashes consumers' heating and cooling bills, the cost of wind and solar steadily decline, and electric vehicles insulate drivers from fluctuating global fuel costs. Our analysis shows Michigan would benefit from at least a 2 percent increase in GDP by 2030 with the policy in place - a major gain for a state that has struggled to recover from previous economic downturns.

For the Health of Michiganders

Cutting climate-warming emissions also delivers huge health benefits by improving air and water quality. Michigan's climate plan would successfully reduce health harms by closing polluting facilities like fossil fuel plants, reducing poor indoor air quality from the burning of gas in buildings, and minimizing sources of emissions in the transportation sector like internal combustion engine vehicles.

In total, we find that Michigan's Climate Plan avoids over 200 deaths and over 3,000 asthma attacks a year by 2030 when compared to current policy. On top of improving the quality of life for all Michiganders, health benefits lead to a more productive workforce and lower the cost of healthcare.

"The state has an opportunity to put the health of Michiganders first by implementing the climate plan and taking even more ambitious action to move us away from fossil fuels," said Charlotte Jameson, chief policy officer of the Michigan Environmental Council.

It is well known that polluting facilities are often sited in low-income and marginalized communities that have also been victims of historical underinvestment, leading to public health crises. That reality has been painfully felt in Michigan where lead-prone pipes have led to multiple water crises and Detroit's residents continue to struggle with some of the nation's worst air. By reducing emissions across the economy, Michigan can make a down payment on correcting historical injustices.

On the Cusp of Comeback

Michigan's Climate Plan gets the state within a razorblade margin of hitting its climate target while making investments in the state's manufacturing expertise, working to correct decades of environmental injustice, and giving communities more tools to deliver on a better, more livable and resilient future.

The state's next moves - namely considering additional policies to reach its 52 percent target and implementing its current proposed clean energy and climate proposals successfully - could help accelerate its comeback story for years to come.
Part of Michigan State University's 100-acre solar farm on campus. The school retired its on-site coal plant in 2016. Picture credit: Inovateus Solar. The report uses the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) developed by Energy Innovation and RMI to determine the most feasible route to put the state's energy use on track for near- and long-term GHG emissions reductions. The EPS is a free, open-source, peer-reviewed model that allows users to estimate climate and energy policy impacts on emissions, the economy, and public health using publicly available data. The model estimates these impacts through 2050 and considers how policies interact with each other.

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Michigan: A Climate, Clean Energy Comeback Story - RMI

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Michigan is proposing an ambitious plan to slash its planet-warming emissions while simultaneously bolstering its manufacturing prowess, revitalizing the auto industry with a transition to electric vehicles, and working to protect its robust natural treasures and resources. This story is part of a series of stories based on RMI analysis of how key US states are deploying real climate solutions.

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I think this source is really helpful for my topic, and for other people to understand the importances of renewable energy because it speaks not only about the laws in Michigan, but the rest of the US as well. It describes some of the laws and what they mean/how they're important, and explains what the future of renewable energy looks like.

Overall, this article was very important to view and it was really important to me. I have been thinking of pursuing the energy industry -specifically renewable energy- and it gives me the background I am looking for when having interest in this topic.

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I think that this source is a scholarly source because it has a good amount of references at the bottom and uses very specific words that only people interested in this topic would know. There are also no ads to be seen on this page. However, there is no data to present and there are no charts/diagrams/maps, so I am not exactly sure if this is actually a scholarly source. An individual at the University of Michigan published this and it seems extremely credible.

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Currently, 15% of Michigan's energy has to come from renewable resources as the MPSC says, but it will only get higher as the years go on. This number is also known as the Renewable Portfolio Standard, it is voted on in the government, and it's a very important deal.

Compared to other more progressive states like California and New York (who aim to hit 60% and 70%), Michigan has a lot of work to do.

Uniquely, a controversial topic that was proposed is a rooftop solar cap, and Michigan currently caps distributed solar generation to 1% of a utility's average peak load. 1% may not seem like a lot, but Michigan is the only US state that has this regulation. This is basically a debate on whether consumers can manage their end and use the energy correctly, while others think there should be no limit as it would allow for more opportunities.

Other states are discussing the transition to RE more than Michigan, but in the coming years, it will be a huge part of governmental discussions.

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John Gonzalez

Scholarly Source

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I think this source is very helpful because it specifically speaks about how Michigan is trying to change their energy sources, and how they're going to make sure it's clean/efficient. It gives is a look into the future of clean energy and shows us what states are trying to do to mitigate harmful effects on the planet.

I liked that it shed a new light on environmental damage and the cost of doing something like this. Before this, I had never heard of a brownfield and I think it's brilliant to take this action. Granted, this article is from 2010, so it's really awesome to see how clean energy has come in Michigan. I have noticed more solar panels and wind turbines throughout.

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This is a scholarly source because of the fact that I specifically searched on the MSU Library website using the 'scholarly source' parameter. But also, the authors are all either apart of Rutgers or Michigan State University. On top of that, the language is very science-specific words and concepts, and it includes charts and maps.

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In this scholarly source, the aim is to conduct a case study on Brownfields and see whether they are good areas of land to practice the generation of renewable energy. Brownfields -for context- are areas of land that were used previously for development but are now not in use.

With climate change not slowing down and with no other clear solutions, Federal priorities are leaning towards the transition to renewable sources such as: wind, water, geothermal, biomass, solar, etc. to help mitigate our damage to the environment. Although gathering renewable energy is very possible, it can take up a lot of land and even damage some spaces if not maintained correctly.

The results showed that Southeast and Southwest Michigan had the most potential for wind energy

Would provide a lot more jobs for individuals.

Very expensive: ~15 billion dollars in total investment - Solar and Wind combined.

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Renewable energy potential on brownfield sites: A case study of Michigan

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Soji Adelaja

Judy Shaw

Wayne Beyea

J.D. Charles McKeown

Scholarly Source

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How do Michigan's renewable energy laws compare to other states? What are the problems with funding?

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How does renewable energy work to mitigate climate change?

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How has renewable energy become more important over the last few years? What does the future look like?