As Michigan Elders, we are deeply connected to our natural environment, from our beautiful lakes and forests and our rich farmland and orchards to our urban parks and neighborhoods. Our peninsulas are surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, making us guardians and protectors of one of Earth’s greatest fresh water systems. Our group launched in early 2025.
Although many view Michigan as a possible “climate haven,” we already feel the impacts of climate change on our state: worse storms, heavier rainfall (and less snow), and wildly varying, unseasonal temperature extremes. Wildfire smoke from across the continent and particulate pollution from fossil fuel refineries right here already lead to unhealthy air quality, which threaten wildlife, agriculture, and people, especially those living in excessively polluted areas.
Ending our dependence on fossil fuels and implementing a green economy has immediate as well as long-term benefits for public health and well-being. We have a skilled industrial workforce ready to build on a deep history of innovation in our state and devise workable, energy-efficient modes of transportation. We gain strength from our diverse population, who regularly show up with grit and determination to protect our democracy. We are eager to draw upon the people power we have demonstrated in recent years for the sake of our beloved home and all the beings within it.
Third Act Michigan acknowledges that our state encompasses ancestral, traditional, and contemporary land and territories of Indigenous peoples, primarily the Anishinaabeg—Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwa, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. We honor the expertise and leadership of the 12 federally-recognized Indian nations in their historical and present-day defense of the land and water around us; we support the principle of Indigenous sovereignty; and we commit to respectful collaboration in the rebuilding of a sustainable system that nurtures us all.