LANSING - Investment in restoration and protection of the Great Lakes could provide $7 to $13 billion worth of "tangible benefits," including a boost in tourism-related employment along coastal counties. The plan, developed by the MI-Great Lakes Plan, Lt. Governor John Cherry and the Office of Great Lakes, outlines how federal, state and local officials
DETROIT - Ford Motor Company is rapidly rolling out a bevy of hybrid plug-in electric vehicles, starting with a commercial van in 2010. A Focus Battery-electric car is due in 2011 and even more electric-powered cars and trucks in the years to come, as Ford, like GM and Chrysler, gets electric. To listen, click on
DETROIT - Not to be outdone by General Motors and Ford Motor Company, Chrysler also showcased its electric concept vehicles that will be rolling on the automakers' ENVI (short for Environment) electric powertrain, which provides 40 miles on a single electric charge and 400 miles of total driving range. To listen, click on MITechNews.MediaRica.Com a>>
SOUTHFIELD - Grown-ups please take note: More than 800 students from throughout Michigan have come up with ingenious ways to re-use, recycle and preserve water in the year 2100 and beyond. For instance, in the year 2176 homes in the ?New Southfield? will be WE-DOMES (Water Efficient Dwellings Optimizing Maximum Energy Self-Sufficiently) and in Navajoville,
KALAMAZOO - Strong winds will be welcome at Kalamazoo Valley Community College from now on, but not on Jan. 27-28, thank you. Those are the tentative dates for crews to use a large crane to lift a trio of 25-foot blades to the top of a 40-yard tower on the Texas Township Campus, install them,
LANSING - Governor Jennifer Granholm this week signed bills into law that are aimed at improving the environment by controlling phosphorus pollution in the Great Lakes. PA 426 (SB 362 ) and PA 427 (SB 152 ) would mainly apply to household cleaners, limiting the level of phosphorus to .5 percent by July 1, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS - As much as 20 percent of your heating bills can be from poorly insulated foundations. So Great Lakes Superior Walls, which uses foam and other insulating properties, can save homeowners a lot of money each year on their energy bills. To listen, click on MITechNews.MediaRica.Com a>>
GRAND RAPIDS - If you want to save hundreds of dollars each year on your heating and cooling costs, perhaps upwards of one thousand dollars, you ought to have a home energy inspection done, says home energy auditor Gary Hammerlund of www.homeenergyinspections.com. To listen, click on MITechNews.MediaRica.Com a>>
LANSING - Consumers Energy will be able to charge more for its natural gas service and Detroit Edison more for electricity, but both increases were substantially below what the utilities requested under orders issued Tuesday by the Public Service Commission. Edison was allowed an $83.6 million increase in its rates, but that was below both
DETROIT - Cash-starved General Motors has put plans on hold for a new factory to build the Chevy Volt hybrid engine in Flint. The move is part of GM's efforts to reduce expenses as it appeals to the White House for federal aid of at least $8 billion to stay in business for the next