CLOSUP publications

This report presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders regarding “Complete Streets” policies, which encourage local governments to take into account all road users—including pedestrians, bicyclists and transit passengers of all ages...

A growing body of literature has demonstrated a relationship between an individual’s personal experience with weather and their views on the existence of global warming. In particular recent studies have shown that temperature and precipitation...

Extraction from the Marcellus Shale—one of the most robust natural gas deposits in North America—represents the potential for economic growth and environmental degradation. There is little federal oversight concerning natural gas extraction...

This paper provides a brief discussion on the demand for silica sand mining in Wisconsin and Minnesota and explores the reasons for different levels of industry development in the two states. These reasons include geology, rail transportation...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders and officials from the state’s county road agencies regarding the relationships between local governments and county road agencies, as well as local officials’ ratings of road...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on issues in their communities related to public transit services, including satisfaction with transit options as well as factors that encourage or discourage transit...

States producing gas and oil have long levied severance taxes at the point of extraction, commonly placing most revenues into general funds. These taxes have assumed new meaning in many states amid the expansion of gas and oil production...

The surge of American states’ adoption of policies to mitigate climate change in the late 1990s and 2000s appeared to constitute a first wave of expanding use of market-based policy tools such as carbon cap-and-trade in the absence of binding...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders' views on a variety of issues regarding ethics at the state and local levels, including how ethical they believe Michigan's state and local government leaders are, what types of ethics policies...

The purpose of this study is to begin to develop a comprehensive assessment of the relative activity of the US states in developing environmental policies. We did this by developing eleven policy categories varying across different environmental and...

The fall 2014 version of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) finds 60% of Americans believe that there is solid evidence of increasing temperatures on Earth. These findings represent a moderate rebound from the three-year low...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders on a range of issues surrounding roads and bridges in their jurisdictions, from their current condition and maintenance to state and local road funding. Findings in the report...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a major new greenhouse gas reduction initiative in June 2014 through the release of its proposed Carbon Pollution Standards for Existing Power Plants. Better known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP), EPA...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders' evaluations of their jurisdictions' employee pay and fringe benefit rates. Findings in the report are based on the statewide survey waves of the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS),...

In February 2014, owners of farmland in 14 townships in Michigan were sent a mail survey about their opinions of wind energy, recent investments in their homes and farms, and their future plans for their land. A total of 1,210 landowners—72% of all...

This report presents findings on the presence and use of formal financial planning and management policies in Michigan local jurisdictions, based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the Spring 2014 wave of the Michigan Public Policy...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of privatizing—or contracting out—public services or government operations in their jurisdictions. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the...

The extraction of shale gas—mainly through the process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”—has become a central if contentious area of energy policy in the European Union (EU). Like their US counterparts, European policymakers are attracted by the...

The Canadian province of Québec has the largest reserves of shale gas in Eastern Canada, but Québeckers are in the midst of a heated debate over the desirability of exploiting this resource. At issue is the controversial technique of hydraulic...

This report summarizes main findings of a comparative survey project, with a focus on explaining why attitudes toward fracking in Quebec are markedly different than in Pennsylvania and Michigan. The report is divided into three main parts. First the...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of their jurisdictions’ fiscal conditions and the actions they are taking in response to ongoing and widespread fiscal challenges. The findings are based on responses from six...

Given the large economic, environmental, and social implications from the issue of shale gas and the process to extract it of hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling (or “fracking” as it is commonly known), it is not surprising that...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the bonds – economic and otherwise – between their jurisdictions and the Great Lakes, their support or opposition to policies designed to protect the health of the...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the direction in which the state is headed, as well as their evaluations of the job performance of Governor Rick Snyder, the Michigan Legislature, and 14 individual...

Conventional wisdom holds that a carbon tax is a political non-starter. However, results from the latest version of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) provide evidence of substantial public support for a tax on the carbon content...