A hundred years ago, Michigan was a cut-over wasteland. Unsustainable logging practices had left most of the state covered in stumps, detritus and land with zero economic or ecological value.
But some very smart people decided to reclaim the land. The State of Michigan established the largest system of state forests in the nation. Four national forests were created. The National Park Service and state park system also began to amass land that would later become one of the nation's best park systems.
An exploration of this history can be found in the book "Planning a Wilderness" by James Kates:
Book Review: Planning a Wilderness
Google Books: Planning a Wilderness
The result is that Michigan now boasts a forestry and forest products industry that generates $11 billion annually and 150,000 jobs.
MI Forest Products Council
Michigan also now boasts a tourism industry that contributes more than $18 billion to Michigan's economy. Much of that tourism is centered on the state forests and parks recreated throughout the 1900s.
MI Economic Development Corporation
And the redevelopment of Michigan's forests is just now reaching full maturity. Michigan now boasts healthy wolf packs, bears that wander as far south as Saline, Manchester and Toledo, beavers in the Detroit River and badgers throughout the state. Someone even spotted an actual live Wolverine in the Thumb a few years back.
I mention all of this because Detroit and Michigan are at a similar point in history. While it appears more likely that the auto industry will survive in some form, empty factory lands and oversized cities create large sections of land with little economic value.
However, if one looks closely enough, the beginnings of a movement similar to the restoration of Michigan's forests can be seen.
Solar Energy: Yes, there is a solar industry in the Midwest. Just today, Ford Motor Company announced the sale of a surplus factory to several solar panel manufacturers. The project could create thousands of jobs:
Wixom Solar Deal: Detroit Free Press
And just an hour away in NW Ohio, a company named First Solar is the world's largest producer of solar photovoltaic cells. And that makes sense, given the Toledo area's longtime expertise in glass production. First Solar will create the solar panels for the largest solar farm east of the Mississippi in Upper Sandusky, OH:
Ohio Solar Industry
Upper Sandusky Solar Farm
Wind Power: It is difficult to keep track of all the wind farm activities within an hour of Detroit. Michigan's Thumb is a hotbed for wind farm development. Two projects have already been constructed. Two more are on the way. Wind farms are also being planned for SW Ontario and NW Ohio. In my hometown of Monroe, MI, there are plans for both a small wind farm and a factory to produce the towers for wind turbines.
Thumb Wind Farms
Monroe County Wind Farm/Tower Factory
SW Ontario Wind Farm
Detroit is also being considered as the site of new federal wind turbine testing facility:
Detroit Wind Turbine Testing Facility
My home county of Monroe is also home to one of the four largest coal burning power plants in the country. I have always hated the brown streak that is produced across the sky. However, a recent project has greatly reduced some of the pollutants from that plant:
DTE Plant Pollution Reduction
And a new nuclear facility slated for NE Monroe County promises to produce lots of power without the carbon dioxide emissions of the coal plant:
Fermi III
In the midst of all this activity, there is a growing set of greenways in Metro Detroit. In the past, I have counted up all of the state, federal and local park land and area nature preserve land in a rectangle from Toledo to Windsor to Lansing and down to the Ohio border. I came up with more than 300,000 acres. That is roughly half the size of a national forest that one might find in northern Michigan.
And there are many, many efforts to expand these parks and link them with trails. There are, honestly, far too many to list here, but I will give you a couple of sites to look at to see some of the developments:
m-bike.org
My Blog: The Erie Hiker
MI Trails and Greenways Alliance
In my area, the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge follows the coast of Lake Erie from the Ohio border all the way up to the border with Detroit. It is a fantastically beautiful area and the refuge now either owns or manages 5,000 acres. And new additions and habitat projects are happening almost every day. It is really a great, great project:
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
There is also a lot happening related to urban farming and the local foods movement.
Detroit Agriculture
Now, just to take you full circle. I opened with a little bit of history. The sustained, long-term plan that created Michigan's forest products and tourism industry needed an overarching vision. The state and federal governments played incredibly important roles in restoring Michigan's forests.
The Senate is considering whether to fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. It should:
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
The quick bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler also let these two companies off the hook in terms of cleanup of their old, unwanted industrial sites. While Motors Liquidation Corp. is technically responsible for these sites, I believe that the federal government at least has a moral responsibility to develop a long-term vision to clean up these areas.
GM No Longer Responsible for Old Factory Sites
And the best idea is that federal and state officials begin to bring all of these fantastic "green" developments together into a long-term vision like the plan that brought the forests back.