Michigan’s second-largest city wants its residents to drive less, switch to electric vehicles, and use less energy, according to its 95-page draft of a climate action and adaption plan.

The city of Grand Rapids’ climate plan uses the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by municipal operations in 2008 as its benchmark, setting a goal to reduce their emissions by 85% by 2030 and 100% by 2040.

The plan will try to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions by 62.8% per capita by 2030, with 2019 as the benchmark. The plan has six chapters: energy (more solar use), healthy homes (less electric use; income-based electric rates), commercial buildings (less energy use), transportation (more carpooling and cycling, denser developments), natural systems (more trees and rain gardens), and food systems (more urban agriculture and composting, less food in trash).

City residents create emissions by heating their homes and businesses, driving for work and the family, and going shopping.

The three largest sources of emissions are buildings (40%, with single and multifamily residential accounting for 28% and commercial buildings accounting for 11% of the total), the transportation sector (30%, with gasoline-powered vehicles accounting for 18%), and industrial facilities (25%). Commercial energy, solid waste, upstream impacts, and other factors account for the remaining emissions (about 17%).

More than half of public comments on the draft opposed one or more of its six chapters, Michigan Capitol Confidential previously reported.

The draft plan calls for reducing by 80% the carbon dioxide created by the electric grid by 2030, reducing vehicle miles traveled by 10% by 2030, boosting electric vehicle adoption by 4.5% annually, and increasing the number of miles traveled in electric vehicles by 22.5% by 2030.

“While electrification of vehicles is needed to reduce emissions in the transportation sector, electric vehicle options are often more expensive, less accessible, reinforce traditional single occupancy vehicle usage, and pose potential waste and safety issues,” the draft said.

The plan aims to retire the city fleet and replace it with electric vehicles, pilot a city e-bike fleet with charging infrastructure, and train or hire specialized technicians to service city fleet EVs.

Buildings should use less energy, the plan says. For 10% of all existing commercial buildings, the plan aims to reduce energy use by 20% annually and move 5% of existing commercial buildings annually from gas to electric heating.

The plan aims for 5% of all existing residential buildings to reduce energy use by 20%. It also calls for all new residential buildings and 1% of existing buildings to meet the International Energy Conservation Code 2018, and for all new residential buildings and 11% of existing buildings to switch to electric heat each year.

Grand Rapids is accepting feedback on the climate action plan through Feb. 17.

Cities with more trees and vegetation tend to have milder temperatures and better air quality, said Jason Hayes, director of energy and environmental policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “Replacing non-native grasses with native species and reducing impervious surfaces, also recommended in the chapter on natural systems, helps decrease demands on water and sewage infrastructure.”

The energy chapter, however, encourages the use of solar power, “an expensive and unreliable energy source often linked to coal-powered electricity, stolen intellectual property, and the labor of imprisoned Uyghurs in Chinese labor camps,” Hayes wrote in an email.

The chapter on housing suggests that the city advocate for affordable electricity rates, but Michigan is pursuing net-zero emissions by 2050. Mackinac Center research shows that statewide net-zero mandates will raise the average monthly residential electricity bill from $118 in 2022 to between $180 and $290 by 2035.

This increased electricity cost will hurt commercial businesses and residents and will increase their monthly electricity bills by 53% to 146% by 2035, Hayes said.

The chapter on food supports more urban agriculture, but that undermines the stated goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Hayes said.

”Fruits and vegetables grown in urban farms and gardens have an average carbon footprint six times greater than that of conventionally produced produce,” a 2024 University of Michigan study concluded.

“Instead of squandering time and limited tax dollars on ineffective climate programs,” Hayes wrote, “city officials in Grand Rapids would better serve taxpayers and residents by concentrating on fundamental issues: crime prevention, reliable and affordable utility services (water, sewer, and garbage), road maintenance, and education.”

Injecting more money into taxpayer-funded early education centers doesn’t necessarily bring better results, according to a recent study from the University of Virginia.

Over the past 10 years, numerous public school districts in Michigan have asked taxpayers to permission to borrow money for new preschool centers.

School leaders and taxpayers alike may be disappointed with how things turn out, however. “Preschool programs have long been hailed as effective interventions, yet our study reveals a more nuanced reality,” said Margaret Burchinal, a research professor at the University of Virginia’s Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning

“While many presume their positive impact, rigorous evaluations show a mix of outcomes, including both successes and setbacks and, in some cases, no discernible long-term effects. It's imperative that we design preschool programs to uniformly promote school success, especially for children from families with low income."

More research is required, Jade Jenkins, an assistant professor at the University of California-Irvine School of Education, told CapCon in an email. ”We need to get into details within the model about what makes early education work best,” said Jenkins, who is a co-author of the study.

In Michigan, St. Johns Community Schools put forth a bond proposal in the May 2024 election for a new early education center, with cost estimates ranging from $16 million to $20 million.

Voters rejected the proposal, though the district plans to ask voters again, according to emails Michigan Capitol Confidential obtained through an open records request.

School leaders continue to spend millions on expanding preschool programs despite meager evidence that they work, said Christian Barnard, assistant director of education reform at the Reason Foundation.

“It’s unwise to divert scarce resources toward expensive early childhood programs that are ineffective and that aren’t very popular among families,” Barnard wrote in an email to CapCon.

Academic performance in the state has been stagnant since at least 2013, despite increased spending.

In the graph below, the red line shows the percentage change in K-12 state spending, and the other lines show the percentage change in reading and math performance on the NAEP (often dubbed “the nation’s report card”) since 2013. The spending number is for cumulative change and the data for math and reading represent year-to-year changes.

MCPP

The Annie E. Casey Foundation ranked Michigan at 41st in the nation for education outcomes in a June 2024 report. Three out of four (72%) fourth graders in the state are not proficient in reading. Eighth graders fared worse, with 75% of eighth graders not proficient.

Yet Michigan is among the five states with the highest percentage of early education benchmarks met, according to Simple K12, a teacher-training organization. It evaluated states using a report from the National Institute for Early Education Research.

Supporting children’s development is essential Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, minority vice chair of the House Education Committee, said in an email to Michigan Capitol Confidential. But, she said, we should scrutinize the emphasis on early education.

“Research has shown mixed results, at best, when it comes to the long-term impact of large-scale early education programs,” Greene said.

“For many children, early literacy and social skills flourish best in home and play-based environments, not in formalized settings,” Greene wrote. “Rather than pushing for uniform early education, we need to support parents as the primary educators in those formative years, allowing young children the play and exploration foundational to literacy and learning success.”

This is the second in a series that explores the growth of government-based early childhood education programs.