Wildfire smoke at times last week made Detroit’s air quality the worst in the world — that’s in a place that consistently gets terrible grades for heavy pollution.

So, how is our health impacted by poor air quality?

Dr. Garen Wolff is an allergy and immunology physician at the Detroit Medical Center. She says people with asthma are having to use inhalers too often.  

“It should be (used) less than twice a week, but when we have poor air quality for long periods of time, I have patients using their rescue inhaler every day and that’s not healthy for the lungs to do,” says Wolff.

Dr. Wolff spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent about the health consequences of breathing smoke-filled air.  

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.

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Over the past four months, northern Michigan has experienced a series of extreme weather events.

In March, an ice storm caused tens of thousands of utility customers to lose power. In April, record-breaking precipitation caused rivers and lakes to flood, ripping apart roads. Now, smoke from Canadian and Minnesota wildfires has been creating air quality alerts. 

Before the smoke blew to metro Detroit, it hit northern Michigan first, choking that part of the state with a blanket of smoke. 

Climate change is affecting everyone, but effects can very depending on the location. What are things like for residents of northern Michigan? And, how are they preparing for future extreme weather events?

Vivian La is a climate solutions reporter for Interlochen Public Radio and Grist. She spoke about the northern Michiganders trying to adapt to climate change — and those who are trying to maintain the status quo — with The Metro’s Sam Corey.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.

Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Many Michiganders feel powerless over their own electrical power. That’s because, despite approved rate hikes, when a storm hits the power can be out for days before utility companies like Consumers Energy and DTE Energy are able to restore it. 

But while many are disappointed with the performance of Michigan’s utility companies, some regulators point to progress as outage time has decreased by about 23% since 2019. 

How are Michigan’s utility companies held accountable for their actions? And, what kinds of improvements are taking root?

Dan Scripps is the chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission, which regulates DTE Energy. He says the utility’s performance has been improving. 

“Last year… DTE for the first time in at least 25 years… was actually in the top quarter of utilities when you consider performance across the whole year.” 

Scripps joined host Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss what is being done to restore and upgrade the state’s aging grid. 

DTE is a financial supporter of WDET. Our newsroom observes a clear boundary between funders and editorial content, and we do not serve the agendas of those who support us. 

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders lost power over the weekend of July Fourth, prompting a conversation about the fragility of the electrical grid in the face of climate change.

Regulators have approved rate hikes to facilitate infrastructure updates, but modernization of the scale needed will take years. Despite the fact that consumers won’t reap the benefits immediately, residents are having to pay for the upgrades now.

Democratic lawmakers have proposed solutions: Fair compensation for power outages, guaranteeing improvement of utility services, ensuring customers aren’t contributing to CEO bonuses and more. But these bills are gaining little to no traction, often deprived of a hearing.

Why can’t politics fix this issue? What does it say about those we’ve elected in the state legislature?

Colin Jackson is a reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He says Republicans are concerned with rolling back clean energy standards, while Democrats prioritize regulation.

“I think when you talk about lowering energy costs and lowering power costs and utility costs, that is something that you do see both sides of the aisle talking about quite a bit,” says Jackson. “It’s just the approach to it in general varies drastically.”

Jackson joined The Metro’s Robyn Vincent to discuss why gridlock in Lansing has meant a less stable electrical grid.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.

Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Researchers say the composition of Michigan’s forests may change in the future.

For the past 28 years, scientists from Michigan State University have taken a census of seedlings from 10 species in the Manistee National Forest.

Bailey McNichols is a postdoctoral scholar at MSU. She says their annual seedling census tracks responses to change.

“Forests are likely to exist in this location and they are likely to be resilient to the changing climate but we might just see a transition in the composition of these forests.”

McNichols says researchers predict Michigan’s growing season will become warmer and wetter, changing which species of trees will thrive in the state.

“And if those are the conditions which are predicted to exist in the future then it’s likely that we’re going to see more of five different of the ten species which were more Red Maples, more Ironwood, more Black Cherry, and more Red Oak and White Oak.”

McNichols says in contrast, Sugar Maple, Basswood and White Ash are among the species expected to decline.

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

For nearly 20 years, the U.S. has been closing its coal mines. Coal became too expensive, and gas, solar, and wind power are cheaper and more efficient options. Now, the Trump administration is spending roughly $700 million to revive the coal market, using a 1950 wartime law. 

The people behind this shift are often the ones who say the market should dictatee decisions and the government should stay out of it. They argue the shift is practical, citing rising power demand from AI data centers and the need for reliable electricity.

Naomi Oreskes, a historian of science at Harvard and author of “The Big Myth,” believes other factors are at play. “I think the important point to make here is that there is no rational economic, social, or environmental argument for sustaining coal as a primary fuel, and certainly not for reopening closed coal plants,” she said. 

Oreskes joined host Robyn Vincent on The Metro to talk about the Trump administration’s move to revive the coal industry and how politics and power factor into what we believe is practical — or possible. 

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.

Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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The record-high rainfall for some parts of northern Michigan — combined with melt from March’s above-average snow — pushed infrastructure to the brink across the region in Cheboygan, Bellaire and other cities.

For some, the flooding was a reminder of our vulnerabilities in the face of extreme weather, which is expected to worsen as our climate continues to shift.

“This needs to be considered not the worst we can experience. This needs to be considered as typical of the future,” said Richard Rood, a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan who studies climate change.

More than half of Michigan’s 2,500 dams have reached the end of their 50-year design life, according to state data. And an estimated $1 billion is needed to pay for all the upgrades needed in the state.

‘Would have been far worse’

Bob Stuber, executive director of the Michigan Hydro Relicensing Commission, peers at the swollen Boardman-Ottaway River in downtown Traverse City. The river saw record-breaking levels from the flood, which came shy of a 500-year flood, according to the city.

“It’s really remarkable how quickly it’s recovered here,” he said.

That recovery is largely thanks to the 2024 removal of the old Union Street Dam, said engineers at the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC). The old dam was upgraded to a different structure for FishPass, the final part of a river restoration project on the Boardman.

“Upstream would have been under two more feet of water, which would have been quite devastating,” said Daniel Zielinski, a principal engineer for GLFC. “We actually had a really great stress test of the system. It functioned really well.”

Stuber said the flooding at Boardman-Ottaway River signals what needs to happen across the state: more dam upgrades and dam removals where it makes sense.

“I think every opportunity we have to remove an aging dam, we should take advantage of it because it’s not going to get better. It’s just going to get worse,” he said.

Dam removals

Conservation organizations like Huron Pines help dam owners in northern Michigan remove small dams on their property. They’ve managed nine removals in the last 13 years.

The organization has seen more interest from dam owners in removals after the recent flooding, said Josh Leisen, senior project manager for Huron Pines.

“There are costs associated with repair, and there are risks associated with having a dam,” Leisen said. “Even if it seems to be in good condition, you get extreme weather events like we just had.”

Removal is often a win-win for waterways and dam owners, he said. Ecosystems get reconnected and owners don’t have to pay for expensive upkeep of aging dams.

But some dams are easier to remove than others. People are often reluctant to give up the lakefront access that dams often create.

“A lot of other industries are sustained by the fact that we have built dams in our systems,” said Heather Huffstutler, executive director for the environmental organization Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council.

Some dams also provide electricity, drinking water or are used for transportation. But Huffstutler sees a growing momentum around small dam removal, which could help mitigate future flood impacts.

“When a river is allowed to use its floodplain and then use those associated wetlands and headwater streams, the less flooding we will see,” she said.

A proposed legislative solution 

Upgrading or removing dams is also expensive. The Boardman-Ottway River dam removal — considered the largest removal effort in the state’s history — cost $25 million for three dams. Huron Pines is managing the removal of Sanback Dam in Rose City next month, with an estimated cost of $4 million.

Funding for half of the Sanback removal comes from a grant program through the Michigan Department of Environment, Energy and Great Lakes (EGLE) — as a response to the 2020 Edenville dam failure. The $44 million state program funded several dam removals, upgrades and engineering studies before it ended last year.

Now, local and state officials are renewing calls for more money and stronger safety regulations.

“Dam safety may be an issue that isn’t partisan,” said Phil Roos, director of EGLE.

Proposed legislation would bolster rules around inspections, private ownership, design standards, and create more funding opportunities for upgrades or dam removals.

“It’s so important to our state that we can come together, and whether it’s passing the legislation that was proposed, or improving procedures or ultimately funding,” Roos said.

State Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, said at a Traverse City roundtable discussion on dam safety that he’s concerned about private dam ownership after the close call at Cheboygan Dam. Michigan owns about 1,000 dams in the state, others are privately owned.

“Somebody made a point, ‘Well, we can’t have private companies owning these things.’ I tend to believe in private ownership but they might be right,” Damooose said.

Flooding in a warming world

Climate change is likely to bring more frequent and intense storms capable of similar floods.

As the climate warms, more water is evaporating. And an atmosphere with increased moisture can fuel intense precipitation, according Rood at the University of Michigan.

Recent flooding “has shown an incredible vulnerability,” he said. “(Dams) are either going to have to be removed or reengineered. Or they’re going to become a set of slowly unfolding failures.”

Luke Trumble, chief of dam safety for Michigan, agrees we’re living in a different climate than when most dams in the state were built. But flooding will still happen, he said.

“It’s a little bit of a misconception that if we fix the dam issue, there’ll be no more flooding,” Trumble said. “There’s still going to be flooding on rivers whenever we get rain like this, or rain on snow.”

There’s still a solution, though.

“What we can do with dam safety legislation is help ensure that flooding is not made worse by a dam failure,” he said.

This story was originally published by Interlochen Public Radio.