govoteenvironmentWhile HRWC does not endorse candidates, we can give you some helpful information in guiding your voting decisions.

First of all, PLEASE VOTE!  So many issues in Lansing and Washington, D.C. affect our watershed. Every person who can vote and who has any concern for the environment and the Huron River should take the time on November 4th to go to your precinct and vote.

Michigan House, Senate, and Governor

Half of the State House and Senate districts in our watershed are in play this election season. These representatives and senators will make important decisions about water quality and the environment in the coming years. The Governor plays a pivotal role in not only producing and signing legislation, but in implementing state laws. Here are some issues you will want your candidates to address:

  • Energy – climate change is one of the biggest threats to watershed health, and we need legislation that supports renewable energy and encourages energy conservation.  Vote for candidates who support energy efficiency and renewable energy policies.
  • Biodiversity – the state legislature has been acting to limit the Department of Natural Resources’s ability to manage for and promote  biodiversity in State parks. Find out which of your candidates supports Michigan ecosystems.
  • Hydraulic fracturing – commonly referred to as “fracking,” this practice is increasingly utilized  to obtain natural gas from deep beneath Michigan lands. No statute exists that requires the contents and volume of potentially hazardous chemicals used in fracking to be publicly disclosed. Additionally, no statute exists that requires oil and gas drilling to use Michigan’s water withdrawal reporting requirements. Find out how your candidate stands on requiring full disclosure of fracking chemicals and measures to ensure fracking will not result in depletion of Michigan’s most precious resource – our water.
  • The Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality have suffered severe budget cuts in the past, leaving them both understaffed and underfunded, thus compromising the departments’ abilities to adequately protect our natural resources, communities, Great Lakes, and recreation areas. Vote for candidates who strongly supports funding these agencies.

U.S. House and Senate

I’m sure you’ve seen the ads (yuk) for the race to replace Senator Carl Levin, who is retiring. In addition to that race, all 6 House seats in the watershed are in play this year.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed two major measures this year that will require legislative support for successful implementation:

  • Waters of the U.S.  As HRWC’s blog from last week details, the EPA is proposing rules to clarify which tributaries and wetlands qualify for protection under the Clean Water Act.  The rules would restore protections to 60% of the nation’s waterways.
  • Climate Change.  The Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan proposal would cut carbon emissions by power plants 30% by 2030.  This proposal is the United States’s biggest effort so far to limit greenhouse gases.

Ask your House and Senate candidates if they support these two initiatives.

Some environmental groups do endorse candidates and provide more guidance on elections, such as Michigan League of Conservation Voters and The Sierra Club.  Also, this issue of Earth Island Journal provides a roundup of electoral races nationally.

More information about U.S. and State Districts and Candidates

Your congressional districts (including a map) and current representatives

U.S. congressional candidates

Your state senate districts and candidates

State Senate district map

Your state house districts and candidates

To find your state house district