The Dickinson County Road Commission paves a road with a rubber-modified asphalt that uses recycled tires.

Thousands of tires hitting the roads may end up in them

TIRES: Michigan may have a sustainable answer, at least in part, to fixing its roads: asphalt made from recycled rubber tires. A partnership among state regulators, Michigan Tech and county road commissions is looking to reduce the piles of used tires. State grants support such efforts. We hear from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, a Muskegon official and a Michigan Tech expert. By Anna Barnes. FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, BAY MILLS, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE, LUDINGTON AND ALL POINTS.

John Hartig, the retired director of the U.S.-Canada Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, North America’s only international refuge

GREAT LAKES CHAMPS

GREAT LAKES CHAMPS: A new book by the former head of the U.S.-Canada Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge highlights the importance of grassroots environmental activists in fighting pollution in the Great Lakes region, including contaminated hotspots in the Detroit River, River Raisin, Rouge River and Muskegon Lake. By Jada Vasser. FOR PLANET DETROIT, DETROIT, WKTV, MONROE, ADRIAN, BLISSFIELD, HOLLAND, OCEANA, LUDINGTON AND ALL POINTS.

Wind turbines, like these in Cadillac, put Michigan 17th among the states for the share of power generated by wind.

Advocates hope for big year for renewable energy 

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Michigan ranks 22nd and 17th among the states when it comes to solar and wind-generated energy. Advocates say the state must do better. Raising the cap on the share of energy that comes from solar panels on home rooftops and other sources is one way to improve the state’s renewable energy profile. State senators from Ann Arbor and the U.P. want to require the cap to be lifted. We talk to a leader of a nonprofit promoting renewable energy, the Michigan Environmental Council, an energy business group and DTE. By Jack Timothy Harrison. FOR DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, CORP!, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, BAY MILLS, ST. IGNACE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, WKTV, CADILLAC and ALL POINTS.

Public land in small communities eyed for solar grids

SOLAR: Parks, vacant lots and even former dumping sites are being eyed as sites for solar grids. A pair of unlikely lawmakers – a Republican from the Upper Peninsula lawmaker and a Democrat from Ann Arbor – introduced bills to encourage the building and regulation of community solar power centers in smaller communities. By Dan Netter. FOR DETROIT, IRON MOUNTAIN, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, CORP! AND ALL POINTS.