Have you followed us yet on social media? Stay up to date on Chapter activities, breaking news and uplifting stories by following us on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter)!
Click the logos to find our pages!
Gov. Whitmer must act NOW to ensure the strongest possible climate and clean energy legislation is passed by the Legislature. File photo of Gov. Whitmer with a rooftop solar array.
Urge Gov. Whitmer to Take Strong Action on Clean Energy Now. The Michigan State House has introduced fantastic legislation that will ramp up investments in clean renewable energy, keep electricity reliable even in extreme weather, and protect Michiganders from expensive utility bills. But instead of fast-tracking our transition to renewable energy, the legislation is stalled as utilities fight to keep the status quo.
DTE and Consumers Energy are backsliding on their movement from fossil fuels to clean energy. DTE remains one of the dirtiest utilities in the country, ranking seventh most coal-dependent by 2030 of the 77 utilities analyzed in our report, The Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges. Our interactive dashboard and press release provide the facts to counter the green-washing by Michigan's largest utilities.
The only way to outweigh utility lobbyists and their money is with strength in numbers. Click below to call Governor Whitmer’s office and let her know you want her to ensure that House Bills 4759, 4760 and 4761, as well as community and rooftop solar, become the law in Michigan this year!
The work to shut down Enbridge Line 5 drew advocates to Mackinac Island to urge action. Photo by Bill Latka for Oil and Water Don't Mix.
Litigation on Enbridge Line 5 Intensifies. Two major lawsuits filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, respectively, are at critical stages in different federal appeals courts. The lawsuits seek to force Enbridge’s 70-year old Line 5 pipeline to be removed from state and tribal easements. Amicus briefs are expanding the arguments for and against the state’s and tribe’s interests and signal intensification of the debate. Read more here.
Isle Royale National Park. Photo by Anne Woiwode.
Sierra Club Comments on Isle Royale National Park Wilderness Plan. Isle Royale, Michigan’s only National Park, is an archipelago that has 99% of the landmass designated as federal wilderness. The National Park Service is updating the wilderness stewardship plan and Sierra Club has submitted comments on the proposed plan and draft environmental impact statement. Read Sierra Club's full comments here.
Plastic bags are banned in other states, and now Michigan may allow communities to do the same. Photo by Anne Woiwode.
Legislation Introduced to Allow Banning Plastic Bags. Twenty-two million pounds of plastics end up in the Great Lakes every year. We can significantly reduce these wastes entering our waters by discouraging the use of single-use plastics, including plastic bags. Unfortunately, Michigan currently has a ban on banning plastic bags or adding taxes or fees thanks to a law passed in 2016. Now there is a chance to roll back the ban on local control, allowing the banning of plastic bags. Take action below.
Michigan's elected leaders are beginning to tackle plastic pollution that threatens public health and the Great Lakes. Art Hirsch holds plastic waste along a shoreline. Photo by Art Hirsch.
Michigan Leaders Take Action on Microplastics. Michigan legislators and leaders are ready to take action to protect Michigan ecosystems and human health from the threat of microplastics. Legislators are promoting better control and management of plastics and microplastics. Microplastics are small plastic particles < 5mm (3/16 inch) in diameter found in Michigan waters and beaches. Microplastics and plastics are made of carcinogenic and endocrine (hormone) disrupting chemicals. Learn more here.
The cover of the Winter 1997 edition of The Mackinac newsletter (r).
The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter is Going Digital! Starting in spring of 2024, the twice-annual Mackinac Newsletter will be switching over to a mostly digital format. If you would like to continue receiving a printed edition, please fill out this form.
Michigan Chapter Executive Committee, Sierra Club volunteers and staff, on Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, 2014. Photo by Jan O'Connell.
Vote for the Michigan Chapter Executive Committee by December 1. The Michigan Chapter Executive Committee (ExCom) is elected by Sierra Club members in Michigan. The ExCom sets the state chapter’s priorities and policies, ensures financial stability and solvency, and monitors and evaluates Sierra Club activities statewide. Seven Michigan Sierra Club members are running for the four at-large spots open this year. Their willingness to serve illustrates the strong commitment to grassroots activism that makes Sierra Club the most effective environmental group in the country.
Mail in your filled in ballot found in The Mackinac newsletter for fall 2023 mailed to Sierra Club members in Michigan.
Voters must include their Sierra Club membership number or name and address in order for their vote to count. Details on voting are found on the webpage and in The Mackinac newsletter. All votes must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2023.
Huron Valley Group winter outing in the University of Michigan Saginaw Forest. Photo by John Metzler.
Your Bequest to Sierra Club Secures a Better Future. When Rachel Carson, noted author and marine biologist, died at the age of 56 she left a substantial bequest to the Sierra Club, including the royalties from the future sales of her book Silent Spring. It was her legacy that led the Sierra Club to create the Rachel Carson Society. Even those who can’t make a large gift to protect the environment during their lifetime can still make a difference for generations to come by remembering the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter and/or national Sierra Club in their will or estate plans.
Those who name the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter in their will or estate plans become members of the Sierra Club Rachel Carson Society that honors and recognizes individuals who make a commitment to protecting Michigan’s wild places and the Great Lakes. Find out how you can ensure your environmental legacy through a bequest by contacting Elayne Elliott at elayne.elliott@sierraclub.org.
Students from Weston Academy in Detroit, paddling with Wilderness Inquiry and Detroit Outdoors on Belle Isle this September. Photo by Garrett Dempsey.
Explore and Enjoy: Wilderness Inquiry Canoemobile in Detroit. The Detroit Outdoors Collaborative, part of our Sierra Club Outdoors for All Campaign, welcomed the Wilderness Inquiry Canoemobile floating classroom to Detroit on September 27 for four days of paddling on Belle Isle. Over 300 Detroit students, home school families and community members had the opportunity to paddle in a 10-person canoe. For many, this was their first time in a canoe!
A host of local partner organizations and agencies collaborated to organize the four-day event as well as offer land based environmental education and activities. The Canoemobile visit marked the beginning of Detroit's Thrive Outside Days, a monthlong embrace of making time to go outside and connect with nature and one another. Click here for a curated list of weekly ways to get outside and thrive this October.
