ere’s no time to waste to mitigate climate damage

You’ve probably noticed that over the last decade we’ve seen unprecedented ooding, less snow, hotter summer heat waves and worse air quality. At the same time, decades of state rollbacks on landmark environmental policies and lack of much-needed modern policy solutions have left our environment vulnerable to degradation, and people vulnerable to pollution.

e good news? We have a unique opportunity with the new Legislature to combat climate change, while also creating lasting protections for Michiganders and the natural places we love. In her inaugural address, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for continued e ort toward carbon neutrality, saying, “Let’s tackle climate change headon while: creating jobs, lowering costs and protecting our air and our lakes, both Great and small.” e challenge? ere’s a lot to do and little time to waste.

First, we must change the rules of the game For over a decade, Michigan has su ered the consequences of administrative rules and procedures that have systematically eroded environmental protections to the bene t of polluting industries. To heal these wounds and make government function better for Michiganders, we need to reverse these policies, cut red tape and restore transparency and citizen engagement in decision-making processes.

Second, we should put combating climate change and protecting our environment front and center in the state budget. Currently, Michigan is sitting on at least $5 billion in surplus revenue at its disposal. We should use $1.5 billion of that available money to implement the ird, let’s clear the decks and take up the many great policies with bipartisan support that are teed up for immediate action. is includes protecting our children from dangerous lead exposure by passing ‘Filter First’ legislation to equip all child care centers and schools with ltered drinking water devices, and by ensuring all kids in is means enacting a comprehensive climate proposal that includes sourcing 60 percent of our energy from renewables by 2030 and going 100 percent carbon-free in our electric grid by 2040. We all need to be driving cleaner cars, so the state should create incentives to help us get in them. And we need strong standards that require 100 percent of all new heating equipment sales to be electric by 2035.

MI A ordable, Healthy Homes Plan, a historic opportunity to tackle Michigan’s housing crisis, help lower monthly utility costs, remove toxins like lead from our houses, and make our homes climate-friendly, with supports for electric appliances, heating and cars.

Let’s put $1.35 billion toward cutting transportation emissions and reducing road deaths by building commuter rail routes, improving bus operations and creating more safe pedestrian and bike infrastructure. Let’s conserve our natural spaces and improve our parks by investing $500 million in our State Parks Endowment Fund.

Michigan are screened for lead exposure. And we should pass building code updates to ensure our buildings and homes are more energy e cient.

Fourth, let’s get bold. We must pass historic, equitable policies that combat climate change. We have more environmental champions at the helm of legislative leadership and in the executive branch. Michiganders consistently demonstrate that our natural resources and communities are the beating heart of our state and that protecting those things is a priority. is is the key moment for us to think big and make impactful reforms in the face of climate change.

We must make sure everyone, especially those of us in communities hardest hit by storms and heat waves, has ample opportunity to participate in building a climate-friendly future for our state. All of these steps are cornerstones of meeting the goals in Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan. ey will also create jobs, boost our economy, protect our health, and contribute to a thriving, resilient Michigan — a Michigan we will all want to call home even if our climate changes. Bold environmental and climate action simply means protecting Michiganders and the places we love. As we embark on this new year, the opportunities to create lasting protections are abundant. Climate change isn’t slowing down, and our land, water, and air will continue to feel the impacts. at means we as Michiganders will, too, unless we turn those opportunities into action.

CRAIN'S LIST |

Michigan Credit Unions

Ranked by 2021 assets

ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com

|ThislistofcreditunionsisofthelargestsuchinstitutionsinMichigan.InformationissuppliedbythecreditunionsandtheNationalCreditUnionAdministrationDecember2021reports, ncua.gov.Thisisnotacompletelistingbutthemostcomprehensiveavailable.NA=notavailable.NOTES: 1. LakeMichiganCreditUnionofGrandRapidsandUnitedFederalCreditUnionofSt.JosephmergedinOctober2016. 2. SucceededMarkShobe asCEOinApril. 3. SucceededPeteGatesaspresidentandCEO,e ectiveNov.1. 4. SucceededCherylDeBoeraspresidentandCEO. 5. SucceededMichaelPoulosaspresidentandCEO,e ectiveOct.15. 6. SucceededKarenChurchaspresidentandCEO onFeb.26. 7. VibeCreditUnionandOaklandCountyCreditUnionmergedinJanuary2019. 8. NamedpresidentandCEOinJuly.ReplacedAllanMcMorris. 9. FormerlyEducationalCommunityCreditUnion.RebrandedasArborFinancialCreditUnion, e ective Aug. 8, 2017.

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AUTOMOTIVE Piston Group

The Piston Group announced the appointment of Rosana Moura Garbacik as general counsel. She will be responsible for coordinating the overall legal affairs of the company, including direct support of internal constituents and interfacing with external counsel as required by the business. Garbacik comes to Piston Group with 15 years of North American and Latin American experience.

Public Relations

Marx Layne & Company

Marx Layne & Company is pleased to announce that Michael Odom has been promoted to Senior Vice President. Since joining Marx Layne in 2006, Michael has delivered high-quality public relations results for clients that include Fortune 100 companies, nonpro ts, and privately held ventures. Active in leadership roles in the Hispanic and LGBT communities, he brings a wealth of experience in areas of community engagement, diversity, and inclusion to the clients he serves.

SOFTWARE

WorkForce Software

Advertising Section

TECHNOLOGY Incite Analytics

Insurance

Globe Midwest Adjusters International

Globe Midwest Adjusters International is pleased to announce that Leonard Cradit has joined the rm as Regional Vice President and head of our West Michigan of ce. Leonard brings more than 35 years of awardwinning real estate and sales experience to his position. Leonard’s extensive experience gives him a unique understanding of how to provide clients with a signi cant advantage throughout the property insurance claims process.

Real Estate

Advocate Commercial Real Estate Advisors

Advocate Commercial Real Estate Advisors is pleased to welcome Diane Weisberg as Senior Vice President in the Detroit Of ce.

NONPROFIT

MIU Men’s Health Foundation

Andrea Hamilton has been named executive director of MIU Men’s Health Foundation, a nonpro t organization dedicated to men’s health advocacy. In this role, Hamilton, former divisional vice president for Rocket Mortgage, will be responsible for expanding the organization’s presence in metro Detroit and overseeing its signature events: Men’s Health Event, Run for the Ribbon, Blue Monday, and Cogs & Kegs. Hamilton is a graduate of Adrian College and a member of Alpha Phi International Fraternity.

INDUSTRY

Diane has over 18 years of commercial real estate experience representing both local and national companies with their real estate portfolios. She has extensive experience with tenant representation, portfolio management, and long-term strategic planning.

Achievers Advancing Their Careers

Neumarker

Razzino

WorkForce Software, the rst global provider of integrated employee experience and workforce management solutions, announced the addition of two seasoned SaaS executives to its leadership team to support the company’s continued business growth, geographic expansion programs and uphold its position as the number one workforce management software provider in the market.

Incite Analytics, the leader in innovative, data-driven digital solutions that help companies solve complex business problems, names Rita Brasler CEO. Brasler’s appointment marks the company’s new focus on driving growth and product innovation to address the increasing amount of data being created by a wide variety of industries. Brasler joined Incite in 2011 as a business intelligence developer and has since excelled in increasingly responsible roles including most recently as COO.

Comerica Bank’s COO to be based in Southeast Michigan