As climate impacts become increasingly evident across Michigan, with heavy rains, extreme winter storms, and spreading smoke from Canadian wildfires impacting residents across the state, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has set its sights on environmental protection. and public health for future generations.
The department hosted about 900 people at its Lansing center Thursday to encourage Michiganders to advance the goals outlined in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's MI Health Climate Plan, released in April 2022. The 2nd Annual MI Health Climate Conference opened.
Whitmer is scheduled to speak Friday afternoon.
In his opening remarks, EGLE Director Phil Luce emphasized the importance of taking action to ensure states are prepared as climate impacts accelerate.
Phil Luce, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Director, at the 2024 Mi Health Climate Conference | Kyle Davidson
He also highlighted 1 new developments since the last meeting, including a “groundbreaking” clean energy law, state investments in clean energy and advanced mobility, and the launch of the MI Health Climate Corps, which aims to help communities address climate change. We celebrated multiple achievements on climate change during the year.
Panelists discussed the various climate impacts seen across the state, along with the challenges of ensuring a just transition to clean energy.
While some are touting Michigan as a “climate haven” that is expected to weather the worst effects of the climate crisis, Peter Sinclair, a science communicator who previously worked at Yale Climate Connections, said the University of Michigan's research pointed out and challenged that idea. He noted that six of the most commonly cited climate change havens, including Ann Arbor, are located in parts of the state with the highest projected rates of temperature increase.
Michigan also has unique vulnerabilities, with aging energy and water infrastructure damaged by severe storms and flooding, Sinclair said.
Natasha Baghdasarian, medical director for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), pointed to the health impacts associated with climate change.
Although Michigan is less prone to drought and water scarcity, it still faces concerns such as rising temperatures, heat-related illnesses and air quality concerns from smoke from Canadian wildfires.
Baghdasarian said extreme events such as flooding could result in sewage getting into the water.
Baghdasarian said rising temperatures and warmer winters are also increasing concerns about ticks and Lyme disease.
As temperatures continue to rise, Bagdasarian said, the risk of fungal infections increases as fungi are adapting to warmer environments and become better adapted to living at human body temperatures.
He noted that zoonotic diseases, or diseases transmitted between animals and humans, could also become more widespread as interactions between humans and animals change. Mr. Baghdasarian also highlighted the global impact of disease in the face of climate change.
“When we talk about the effects of climate change and especially infectious diseases, we need to recognize and recognize that we are connected and affected by what is happening far away,” she said.
Natasha Baghdasarian, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Medical Officer, at the 2024 MI Health Climate Conference. | Kyle Davidson
Lara Skinner, executive director of the Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University, touched on the challenges of transitioning to a low-carbon, climate-safe economy.
“How can we minimize job loss and economic downturn, and instead preserve and expand high-quality jobs and sustain families and communities? How do we expand equitable access to quality jobs and build an economy that is fairer, more just, and more vibrant than we have today? These are the questions we are considering.” Skinner said.
“Climate change is often perceived as a purely environmental issue, maybe a technological or scientific issue, but it's not a social, economic or jobs issue,” Skinner said. “And as we've heard from previous speakers, climate change has huge health implications. I would say that climate change is a public health crisis, and equally climate change is probably the greatest social, economic and jobs issue of our time.”
Skinner said the transition to a low-carbon clean energy economy is massive and will require massive disruption to almost every sector of the economy.
Energy and power, vehicle manufacturing, building and construction, energy-intensive manufacturing and industrial activities will all change, he said, adding that thousands of workers are needed to build coal, gas and nuclear power plants. , pointed out that solar and wind farms require hundreds of workers to operate. Far fewer workers are needed.
There are workers and industries that will be negatively impacted by the transition to clean energy. Skinner said it is essential that these workers receive adequate care, have alternative wages, continued benefits, retention and relocation opportunities, and secure priority employment in new industries. Ta.
Skinner said the new jobs created must be high-quality jobs that support families and communities.
“We need to use this transition as an opportunity to build a fairer, more just and more prosperous economy,” Skinner said.
EGLE also invites members of community organizers and groups working to address environmental racism and injustice to help states address the disproportionate impact of climate change on communities of color and low-income communities. We talked about how we could better cope.
Kareem Scales, board co-chair of the Community Collaboration on Climate Change (C4), said climate change and environmental justice are often separated as separate issues.
“In our world, we don't think of these as two separate issues. Similarly, we cannot ignore one and address the other, and we cannot address the issues most disproportionately affected by environmental justice. These same communities are also the first and worst in terms of climate change,” Scales said.
Donna Givens Davidson, president and CEO of the Detroit-based Eastside Community Network, said environmental injustice is visible in urban planning decisions that defy science.
Donna Givens-Davidson, Sylvia Orduño, and Kareem Scales attend the 2024 MI Health Climate Conference. | Kyle Davidson
“When we talk about the environment, we talk about the climate, we talk about protecting our air, water and soil, but we also have to do the work of protecting people. And if the people in our communities are safe, , I promise you the air is fine, too,” Givens-Davidson said.
“If the air is polluted, the water is polluted, the soil is polluted, people are not okay. But as long as we continue to poison people because it makes economic sense for some people , will continue to damage the climate,” Givens-Davidson said.
Givens-Davidson said the industry is seeking efficiency, even at the risk of human health. She also noted the universal nature of justice, which extends beyond Black and immigrant communities affected by racism.
“The reality is that we are all poisoned,” Givens-Davidson said. “There are people in rural communities who don't even understand environmental justice and don't think it's about them. Now their well water is being contaminated.”
Givens-Davidson said communities experience unequal justice, but unless we come together and fight, we won't get justice.
Scales said political advocacy and legal reform are at the forefront of addressing environmental injustice, but they are only part of the solution. If the bill passes, there will need to be a plan for oversight and accountability, he said.
Givens-Davidson also pointed out that policy goes beyond law.
“It's practice. It's execution. It's interpretation,” she said. “It's not just about changing the law. It's about changing the way we think and measure success.”
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