blog advertising is good for you

Recent Posts

Wednesday briefing and open threadWednesday briefing and open thread

Happy Wednesday! Hail to the Victors. Ann Arbor makes the "most well-read cities" list: Ann Arbor has a lot of bookworms, according to a new list by Amazon.com. The online company on Tuesday released its annual list of 20 of the "Most Well-Read Cities in America," and Ann Arbor has… »

Effort to recall Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder faces opposition – FROM THE LEFTEffort to recall Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder faces opposition – FROM THE LEFT

With friends like these... The group working to recall Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Michigan Rising missed a campaign finance report deadline by a few days this month. Though this isn't entirely uncommon given the unnecessarily complex and cumbersome reporting methods they use, it was still a… »

Teacher Job Satisfaction Suffering as New TV Attack Ads Set to AirTeacher Job Satisfaction Suffering as New TV Attack Ads Set to Air

According to a study by Metlife, as reported on in The Nation, job satisfaction is dropping amongst teachers.  Only 44 percent of teachers described themselves as “very satisfied,” and almost a third of teachers are considering leaving the profession.  This news comes as the conservative… »

Tuesday briefing and open threadTuesday briefing and open thread

Tuesdays are just plain sexy, aren't they? Let's start with some Great Lakes. First, here's the Hoekstra trying to trade our lakes for some oil: From the MDP release: “Even most Republicans have supported the ban on drilling in the Lakes because they recognize that a disaster… »

Tell Hoekstra and Romney NO on November 6Tell Hoekstra and Romney NO on November 6

As you know, the 2012 elections are less than six months from now and the stakes are higher than ever. Whoever wins this election will determine whether our nation will continue to move to a new tune or rewind the same old song. We want leaders who can relate to and implement measures that will… »

The Return of EAGTruth.comThe Return of EAGTruth.com

As many of you know, Kyle Olson has operated out of Michigan for 8 years now, working for secret funders to demonize public school unions. For years he focused on the MEA, but he has since gone national, parading as a school reformer in order to play the press and blame school employees for every… »

Monday briefing and open threadMonday briefing and open thread

Yes! I love Mondays! Let's brief! Julie Mack has an interesting observation on marriage equality: The fact is, it's hard to fashion a convincing case that gay marriage undermines American values or hurts society. If you accept the idea that homosexuality is a biological trait… »

Snyder to consider deregulation of 18 industriesSnyder to consider deregulation of 18 industries

I've chatted a little about the proposal to eliminate state licensing for certain professions. See here, here, and kinda here. Here's a little closer look at the subject. Let's start with how it started. The Michigan Office of Regulatory Reinvention (ORR) put together an advisory board of 14… »

Welcome

Green Jobs for Blue Waters

posted this on November 18th, 2009.

This week I've been in Israel, on a trade mission to cultivate water technology economic development in Michigan. As co-chair of the joint Michigan-Israeli working group on water technology, I know there's great opportunity to diversify our economy and create jobs — while leveraging our most precious natural resource, the Great Lakes.

I want to be clear: I am not proposing to sell Michigan's water. Companies seeking to use our water should locate here in Michigan — where they can have all the water they need. Instead, through our Green Jobs for Blue Waters initiative, I want to position Michigan as North America's center of excellence for water technology. Right now, water technologies are a $500 billion global market — but by 2020, that market is expected to grow to nearly $1 trillion. That means great opportunity for Michigan's economy — and that is why we intend on seizing the opportunity, much as we did to become the Nation's leader in advanced battery technology.

Michigan's unique position in the water technology field proves we are at the forefront of this technology.  Michigan's location in the middle of the Great Lakes, which contain about 20 percent of the world's supply of fresh water, has primed the state's successes in agriculture, tourism and the auto industry.  We need to continue to protect water resources and use it wisely for economic development purposes that include retention of current businesses and the attraction of new ones.

We were the first state to sign an official agreement with Israel to develop water technologies for export in the United States. Due to its arid location, firms in Israel have a strong need to effectively and efficiently use their scarce water resources.  Michigan is poised to help them do just that.  With the Green Jobs for Blue Waters initiative, we can provide Israeli companies with the assistance they'll need to be successful in the U.S.. With our water resources and top-notch higher education system, we can provide the perfect environment for water technology research and development. And, with our hard-working advanced manufacturing base, we can improve products and bring them to market [...]

November 18th, 2009 | Tags: , , , | Category: Budgets & Economy | Leave a comment