For Friday, Jan. 20, 2023
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1 – Switching from a gas to electric vehicle would benefit nine out of 10 American households, a University of Michigan study says.
Those households would have a lower transportation energy burden, spending a smaller percentage of their income on vehicle fuels. Those same households also would be generating less greenhouse gases, according to the study.
The benefits wouldn’t extend to lower-income households, the study says, particularly in areas including Michigan and other Midwest states.
Contributing factors include winter temperatures that impact battery performance, electrical grids that rely largely on fossil fuels and electricity prices that are higher than gas prices.
The benefits of EVs would be most pronounced in the American West, in places like California and Washington, and the Northeast, in places like New York.
Electric vehicles currently account for just 1 percent of the vehicles on American roads.
The study says households in benefitting locations could cut their annual transportation costs by $600 or more by buying a new electric vehicle. Their annual carbon footprint could be cut by more than 4.1 metric tons.
h/t Grist
2 – Michigan is out with new fish consumption guidelines for rainbow smelt and carp from seven different lakes across the state.
The updated 2023 guidelines recommend limiting your consumption of certain locally caught smelt and carp.
This is based on elevated levels of PFAS substances that can build up in fish and in people who eat the fish.
Servings of smelt from Lake Huron should be limited to six per year. The number is lower, at four per year, for Higgins Lake in Roscommon County.
PFAS are often called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment. They were used in manufacturing, firefighting and consumer products, including at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda. PFAS has been linked to cancer and liver and kidney damage.
– Mr. Great Lakes is heard Friday mornings in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes
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Mr Great Lakes 
[…] By the way, fish is healthy to eat but you need to limit your consumption in some cases to avoid contaminants like mercury and PFAS. […]