It's not JUST the economy, stupid...

From today's Detroit Free Press:

Environmental issues important to the Great Lakes are getting little respect and few commitments from presidential candidates. The Free Press sent questions to eight top candidates asking their views on tackling invasive species, fixing global warming, diverting Great Lakes water to parched states and supporting $20 billion in funding to restore the lakes, from rebuilding sewers to repairing wetlands. Only Republican Mitt Romney, a Michigan native, responded...

Michigan Rep. Vern Ehlers and three other members of Congress challenged all the candidates last fall to support the Great Lakes restoration funding and make it a top priority. A package of bills has stalled in Congress and needs presidential help to push it forward, they said.

As of Thursday, only Democrat Barack Obama signed the pledge. Even Romney, the candidate Ehlers backs, hasn't signed. But Ehlers said he was not aware of that Thursday.

"I'll have to bring it to his attention," Ehlers said. "He understands the importance of it."

Read the rest.

At least they haven't lost sight of the really important stuff, like who cries on camera, or who goes to what church.


Meanwhile, some good news broke from the halls of government yesterday...

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A proposed nickel and copper mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula hit at least a temporary snag Thursday when the state Department of Natural Resources postponed a ruling on the company's plan.

Director Rebecca Humphries was scheduled to announce whether the DNR would let Kennecott Minerals Co. build and operate the mine in northwestern Marquette County. Instead, she requested more information, a process that could take months. She set no deadline.

The Department of Environmental Quality, the agency that regulates mining in Michigan, granted permits for the project in December. But Kennecott wants to lease 120 acres of state land for its aboveground operations, which requires DNR approval.

Read the rest.

As a DNR official quoted in the article said, "It's a yellow light, not a red light." But it's the first time in a while that regulators have raised any serious questions about the project. Here's hoping Kennecott doesn't have any good answers.