Opinion

The 
Energy 
Information 

Administration 
estimates 
that 

utilities are the biggest source of 
carbon emissions in Michigan at 
36.5%. Within utilities, the EIA 
estimates that 92%of the state’s 
electricity is produced from non-
renewable energy sources, with 
4 out of 10 power plants running 
on coal. Even though wind energy 
production, the largest source of 
renewable energy in Michigan, has 
more than quadrupled between 
2012 and 2019, wind energy still 
only amounts to an abysmal 5%of 
the state’s electricity production. 
EGLE should come up with a 
clear plan on helping utilities 
generate more renewable power 
and have legal provisions to hold 
utility companies accountable to 
their goals. While it helps that 
Michigan’s two largest utilities 
announced plans in 2017 to cut 
down carbon emissions, with 
DTE Energy in particular stating 
it would go carbon neutral by 
2050, such targets will remain 
unachievable 
without 
sound 

regulatory support and oversight 
through instruments like tax 
breaks, carbon pricing or power 
purchase 
agreements. 
The 

executive directive doesn’t give 
any insights into these policy 
elements.

Beyond utilities, transportation 

is the second largest source of 
emissions in the state at 32.4 
percent. This high percentage 
poses 
two 
problems. 
First, 

Michigan 
has 
limited 
public 

transportation facilities and is 
highly dependent on automotive 
vehicles for personal travel. To 
significantly reduce emissions, 
Michigan either has to provide 
an 
exhaustive 
and 
efficient 

public 
transportation 
system 

or promote the use of electric 
cars with an extensive charging 
infrastructure. 
Both 
options 

require targeted and rapid action 
by the government and auto 
manufacturers.

Second, the Michigan auto 

industry 
directly 
employed 

291,000 workers in 2017 and 
contributed 
to 
$157 
billion 

to the state’s economy. With 
California, 
New 
Jersey 
and 

several other states recently 
announcing plans to promote 
electric vehicles, these jobs 
are likely to be affected if auto 
manufacturers do not invest in 
electric cars. Michigan will also 
lose a portion of the $4 billion 
in state and local corporate 
taxes the auto industry pays 
(as of 2017) if the industry fails 
to adapt. EGLE’s plan should 
therefore 
carefully 
balance 

public convenience, employment 
opportunities 
and 
economic 

impact 
while 
still 
pursuing 

an 
aggressive 
path 
towards 

carbon neutrality. While it is 
encouraging that the executive 
order asks the Department of 
Treasury to “explore taxation 
and revenue strategies to fit 
Michigan’s 
changing 
energy 

production mix” and minimize 
loss of employment, it remains to 
be seen if the plan will deliver on 
those directives. 

Additionally, one thing that 

any environmental plan needs to 
consider is the disproportionate 
impact 
that 
environmental 

damage has on people of color 
and low-income communities. 
Just this past August, EGLE 
began 
an 
investigation 
into 

whether it violated the civil 
rights of East Detroit, a primarily 
low-income, 
non-white 
area, 

by allowing the expansion of a 
massive toxic waste plant that 
had already violated numerous 
safety regulations in the area, 
endangering the residents of the 
community. While this instance 
does not directly involve climate 
change, it shows a blind spot 
within EGLE to the hazardous 
effects 
of 
environmental 

waste and pollution that are 
disproportionately 
placed 
in 

poor and minority communities. 
It is of utmost importance that 
if EGLE undertakes the large 
project 
of 
achieving 
carbon 

neutrality by 2050, which it 
absolutely should, EGLE also 
makes a concerted effort to 
combat environmental racism in 
all of its forms, as environmental 
justice must be a part of any 
effective plan to address climate 
change.

Apart from policy measures 

to 
curb 
emissions 
from 

corporate 
bodies, 
the 
plan 

should also encourage citizens 
to take individual steps to reduce 
emissions. An example of an 
individual step is reducing use 
of private vehicles by carpooling 
or using public transportation. 
Michigan should take inspiration 
from 
California’s 
High 

Occupancy Vehicle lane policy, 
for instance, which encourages 
citizens to carpool and drive 
electric cars. Another personal 
step 
is 
reducing 
per-capita 

meat consumption. The meat 
industry is responsible for 14.5% 
of greenhouse gas emissions 
annually. This high number is 
because, first, making space 
for farms and livestock clears 
trees, which results in a large 
amount of carbon being released. 
Second, cows, sheep and goats 
release high levels of methane 
through feces and burps. Third, 
99% of farmed animals live on 
factory farms, which use fossil 
fuels to power their machinery, 
make fertilizer and ship their 
products around the world. Even 
if completely cutting out on meat 
is not a viable option for each 
individual, just reducing beef 
consumption can make a huge 
difference: For each 50 grams of 
protein, beef production emits 
17.7 kg of CO2 compared to 2.9 
kg for poultry or 1.0 kg for tofu. 
Even when compared to reducing 
the use of unsustainable food 
packaging, 
reducing 
meat 

consumption is more effective 
at lowering GHG emissions. One 
would have to avoid all food 
packaging for 11 years to reduce 
the same amount of CO2 as one 
year without meat. If everyone 
reduces their meat consumption 
by 25%, which is equivalent to 
avoiding meat about two days a 

week, it could lead to a reduction 
of 82 million metric tons of GHG 
emissions per year. Consciously 
choosing to avoid meat on specific 
days each week is a simple way 
individuals and families with the 
means to do so can address their 
own carbon footprint. In their 
emissions reduction plan, EGLE 
should include such practical 
measures that citizens can take 
on a day-to-day basis along 
with incentives and penalties to 
encourage compliance.

The 
timing 
of 
Whitmer’s 

executive directive also raises 
questions about the strength 
of the commitment. With the 
highly contested and polarized 
U.S. presidential election just a 
month away, it is conspicuous 
that the Democratic governors 
of several states released their 
plan to tackle climate change 
around the same time. California 
Gov. Gavin Newsom released an 
executive order on the same day 
as Michigan to end in-state sales 
of gasoline-powered automobiles 
by 2035. However, there are 
significant legislative barriers 
these states have to overcome 
in order to actually enact these 
plans, 
calling 
into 
question 

the efficacy of these orders. 
In Michigan, for example, the 
state legislature is controlled by 
the Republican Party, who will 
likely be unwilling to approve 
sweeping 
emission 
reduction 

plans during an election year, 
particularly 
given 
that 
the 

Republican-controlled 
U.S. 

federal government withdrew 
from 
the 
Paris 
Climate 

Agreement. 
Such 
legislative 

barriers, combined with the 
executive order’s striking lack 
of details, begs the question if 
this is merely a tactic to swing 
undecided voters. But regardless 
of the potential political motives 
behind 
the 
executive 
order, 

climate change is a timely issue 
and deserves action now. Even 
if Whitmer’s order was only 
meant as a publicity stunt, the 
state of Michigan should use 
the opportunity to fully address 
carbon emissions and create a 
plan for a clean energy future.

While the commitment to 

carbon neutrality by 2050 is 
encouraging in an era when the 
existence of climate change is 
not agreed upon in national 
politics, the quality of the 
eventual plan will vary wildly 
based on what it contains. A 
plan that contains real solutions 
for 
public 
transportation, 

renewable 
energy, 
corporate 

abuse and environmental racism 
will be effective — one that is 
vague on these issues will be a 
waste of time. Ultimately, we 
will not be able to pass judgment 
on the actual plan until it comes 
out at the end of next year. For 
now, we encourage individuals 
to look for personal ways to 
reduce carbon emissions to the 
best of each person’s ability 
and urge the EGLE to create a 
plan that will address the real 
threat climate change poses to 
humanity.

ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor

Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE

Editor in Chief

BRITTANY BOWMAN AND 

EMILY CONSIDINE

Editorial Page Editors

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

JORDAN HUNTER | COLUMN

On the consumption of Black deaths

Ray Ajemian

Zack Blumberg

Brittany Bowman
Emily Considine
Elizabeth Cook

Jess D’Agostino
Jenny Gurung
Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Min Soo Kim

Zoe Phillips
Mary Rolfes

Gabrijela Skoko

Joel Weiner
Erin White

Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE

Editor in Chief

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

Wednesday, October 7, 2020 — 8
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

L

ast Wednesday, the cops 
who killed Breonna Taylor 
got away with murder. 

It’s not lost on me that the 

announcement that only one cop 
would be charged — with “wanton 
endangerment” for shooting into 
neighbors’ apartments and not 
Taylor herself — came out on 
the 65th anniversary of the day 
Emmett Till’s murderers were 
declared not guilty. I saw the posts 
on social media, with the photos 
of Till and Taylor held up together 
to remind Black Americans that 
nothing has changed. Sixty-five 
years and Black Americans still have 
our lives taken from us while our 
murderers live out theirs. In this 
country, Black lives don’t matter; 
not to the health care system and 
certainly not to policing bodies 
across the nation.

But certainly, Black deaths do. 
In the age of social media and 

the Internet at large, visuals of 
Black people both dead and dying 
seem to be readily available. A quick 
Google search of the video of George 
Floyd’s murder warrants upward 
of 8.3 million results, 8.3 million 
ways to watch a man die a horrific 
death over a “counterfeit” $20 bill. 
The worst part? Floyd isn’t the first 
Black victim of police brutality to 
have his final moments filmed and 
broadcasted for the world to see. 
One of the first instances of police 
brutality to ever be caught on camera 
caused enough outrage to spark the 
1992 Los Angeles Uprising, and the 
victim, Rodney King, survived.

The ones who would follow 

wouldn’t be so lucky. In 2014, 
we watched Eric Garner die in a 
chokehold on Staten Island, N.Y. 
Two years later, it was Alton Sterling 
being shot point-blank in Baton 
Rouge, La. and Philando Castile in 
St. Paul, Minn.

These 
videos 
are 
posted, 

reposted, retweeted and saved 

over and over; but why? Raising 
awareness and sparking outrage 
appear to be the biggest reasons. 
It’s necessary, some insist, to make 
sure this irrefutable proof of the 
violence of policing bodies is seen by 
as many people as possible. Without 
these videos, they cry, how will the 
world know of this horrible evil that 
has only plagued our country since 
the advent of the camera capable of 
recording film?

In their choice to utilize —and 

in some instances, capitalize off of 
— Black deaths to potentially raise 
awareness and spark outrage, well-
meaning social media activists are 
perpetuating the same violence 
against Black people that led to the 
gruesome events caught on tape 
with no reward. We have 30 years of 
visuals of Black deaths at the hands 
of the police, do we really need more 
of it?

Char Adams, a reporter who 

focuses on race, gender and identity 
issues, argues that we’ve gained 
nothing from all of this. These 
pictures and videos haven’t gotten 
us any closer to ending police 
brutality. Floyd was still suffocated 
to death despite the viral status of 
the Garner, Sterling and Castile 
videos. Jacob Blake was still shot 
by police in Kenosha, Wis., which 
is only a five-hour drive away from 
where Floyd was murdered three 
months before. The circulation of 
the Floyd video didn’t stop Kenosha 
police officers from shooting Blake 
in the back seven times.

So Black deaths, posted on 

Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and 
elsewhere, are not going to save 
us. To share or repost these videos, 
especially without warning, is to 
perpetuate the same anti-Black 
violence that is put on full display. 
It’s traumatizing especially for 
young Black Americans, who must 
watch someone who could be our 
brother/sister/mother/father/aunt/

uncle/cousin or even us suffer for the 
whole world to see. It’s traumatizing 
to see that white America can ignore 
decades of Black Americans’ dismal 
relationship with the police, only 
paying attention once our suffering 
is put on gruesome display. 

We have no videos of Taylor’s 

death and some could say the 
three officers of the Louisville 
Metropolitan Police Department 
won’t face charges for her death 
because we cannot see what 
Taylor did as they stormed into 
her 
apartment. 
What 
we 
do 

have, however, is the continued 
consumption 
of 
Black 
deaths. 

Taylor’s name became a war cry, 
demanding the immediate arrest of 
the officers who took her life. Now? 
It’s a meme, and not a single one of 
the three officers involved have 
been arrested for her death over six 
months later. 

Taylor was an emergency room 

technician and an aspiring nurse. 
She 
was 
someone’s 
daughter, 

someone’s cousin, someone’s best 
friend. Now she’s a quirky caption 
for Riverdale stars to use on their 
risqué Instagram posts and the 
name of a convention where she 
barely appears on the promotional 
flyer. All of it done in the name of 
raising awareness and provoking 
outrage for Taylor’s benefit, but 
Taylor is still dead and the three 
officers have only faced consequences 
for damaging plaster walls. 

Taylor, Floyd and countless other 

victims of police brutality are given 
T-shirts before they are given justice 
and that’s tiring. I’m tired of watching 
people who look like me, who could be 
me being killed with no repercussions 
for their killers. I’m tired of watching 
their deaths on loop just for nothing to 
happen. 

And for our sake, I hope you are, too.

FROM THE DAILY

MI Healthy Climate Plan lacks crucial details
O

n Sept. 23, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order 
that intends to cut carbon emissions, create clean energy jobs and achieve 
carbon neutrality in Michigan by 2050. The order charges the Department 

of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy with the task of drafting a plan to 
achieve these goals, which would need to be submitted to the governor by Dec. 31, 
2021. While The Michigan Daily Editorial Board welcomes such a plan, the devil 
is ultimately in the details, and this order contains almost no details. We believe 
that an effective plan should clearly identify sources of emissions and clean energy 
alternatives, improve public transportation, have provisions to hold corporations 
accountable and address environmental racism prevalent in the state of Michigan.

Jordan Hunter can be reached at 

jhunterr@umich.edu.

S

ince the University of Michigan 
welcomed its students back 
to campus for the 2020 fall 

semester, many students have felt 
torn between risking exposure to 
COVID-19 and remaining isolated. 
Even when people make the choice 
to stay in, some still risk exposure 
if those they live with attend large 
indoor gatherings with no masks or 
distancing. The COVID-19 pandemic 
has complicated social pressures from 
friends, tensions with roommates and 
the natural desire to socialize. Amid 
these complications, Fraternity & 
Sorority Life’s life’s tight-knit, socially 
competitive community intensifies 
groupthink and places undue social 
pressure on members. 

In order to better understand the 

experience 
and 
decision-making 

of FSL members, I interviewed 
three members whose approaches 
to socialization vary greatly: one 
sorority member, whom I will call 
Rachel, who is not going to fraternity 
parties; one sorority member, whom 
I will call Julia, who is going to 
parties at different fraternities; and 
one fraternity member, whom I will 
call Zach, who is attending his own 
fraternity’s parties. 

All three FSL members told me that 

one of the greatest factors driving their 
social decisions is a fear of missing out. 
They said fellow members often talk 
about the parties and social events they 
attend, and not attending parties can 
make members feel they are missing 
out on important chapter bonding. 

“It seems like everyone I live with 

has accepted that getting COVID-19 

is inevitable and are just partying 

while 
they 
can,” 
Rachel 
said. 

“Everyone I talk to says that since 
other people in the house are, there is 
no point in not going. It’s hard because 
I feel like everyone is getting closer 
and making these memories together, 
but I have to remind myself that close, 
real friendships are rarely formed at 
parties.”

The members I interviewed seem 

to count the risk of catching COVID-
19 as analogous to other risks that 
young people take, like drinking or 
smoking. However, the disease’s high 
transmission rate means that if one 

person in a living community adopts 

the risk, they raise the risk factor for 
their entire community. Members 
of FSL who entered the school year 
planning on social distancing said 
they now feel burdened by the risk 
of COVID-19 exposure but without 
the upside of getting to socialize. 
However, this creates a dangerous 
feedback loop wherein people put 
themselves at risk based on the notion 

that they are missing out. They go 
out, making more people feel like 
the odd one out for not doing so, and 
then they contribute to the culture 
of partying with little regard for 
the greater implications on the 
University community. 

Julia, who regularly attends indoor 

parties at fraternities, explains that 
while she does not believe fraternities 
are safe to visit, her “frat guy friends 
are getting tested regularly and being 
super open and honest, so I feel safe 
in those specific situations.” 

Fraternity party attendees may 

feel relatively unconcerned about 
transmitting COVID-19, as testing 
and symptom checking provide a 
sense of security. However, there 
is still high inaccuracy in testing, 
especially the rapid testing that 
many in FSL are opting to take, and 
the average incubation period for an 
infected person with COVID-19 is 
4-5 days. This means that an infected 
individual 
could 
test 
negative, 

continue to socialize with multiple 
circles of friends and spread the 
disease.

Infected individuals are most 

contagious in the 24-48 hour period 
before they start showing symptoms. 
This means that frequent testing and 
symptom-checking are not effective 
measures for preventing an outbreak 
in indoor settings. According to 
those interviewed, many fraternities 
are currently holding under-the-
radar mixers with multiple different 
sororities weekly. It only takes one 
person at one party to spark the 
spread of COVID-19 into multiple 
houses in just one week.

Elle Jimenez, President of the 

University of Michigan’s Panhellenic 
Association, commented that “The 
Panhellenic and IFC Executive 
boards ... decided together that 
it would be in the best interest of 
our immediate Panhellenic and 
IFC communities, as well as the 
University of Michigan community, 
and the surrounding community 
of Ann Arbor to keep our social 
moratorium in place from March 

11, 2020,” and that “The Panhellenic 
Association at the University of 
Michigan 
actively 
discourages 

attending gatherings that violate the 
current Washtenaw County Health 
Department public health order.”

With a similar script-like tone, 

Ian Ross, President of the University 
of 
Michigan’s 
Interfraternity 

council, described multiple ways 
that Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) 
is attempting to remain in control of 
fraternity social events: “The social 
responsibility committee (SRC) is 
carrying out community checks 
on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 
nights while remaining in vehicles 
and documenting and/or reporting 
and 
inappropriate 
gatherings 

... We have maintained a line of 
communication with the Ann Arbor 
Police Department and University 
of Michigan Police Department 
to discuss our goals for a public 
health informed semester, including 
effective reporting and enforcement 
strategies for off-campus facilities.”

While the Presidents of both 

IFC and Panhel claim to be actively 
enforcing compliance with public 
health guidelines in their chapters, 
the measures they are taking 
are ineffective with no serious 
consequences for members that 
choose to attend unsafe social 
gatherings. When questioned about 
possible underground mixers that 
may be occurring, Jimenez did not 
comment on the subject. Additionally, 
Ross, while acknowledging that 
attending these large gatherings is 
“unnecessary and harmful,” chose 
to note that it is “unfortunate 
that 
individuals, 
regardless 
of 

involvement in FSL organizations, 
chose to attend social gatherings 
that are not in alignment with public 
health guidance,” framing the issue as 
one that the larger U-M community is 
responsible for, not just IFC.

For Zach, there is no guilt or 

worry of contributing to the spread 
of the virus. He places much of the 
blame on the University for imposing 
unrealistic rules and regulations and 
on those who attempt to photograph 
and expose partiers. “Things have 
been pushed inside out of fear of mob 
retaliation here, which I understand, 
but it is not conducive to making 
things better. People are not going 
to stop partying. They will just do it 
more secretly, and therefore more 
dangerously,” Zach said.

LIZZY PEPPERCORN | COLUMN

The normalization of frat parties 

in Fraternity & Sorority life

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

One of the greatest 

factors driving 

their social 

decisions is a fear 

of missing out.

Lizzy Peppercorn can be reached at 

epepperc@umich.edu.

