Tom Perkins

Tom Perkins is a freelance reporter living in Hamtramck. Follow him at @PomTerkins on Twitter.

A guide to understanding your energy utility in the climate change era

Over the last decade, electric bills in southeast Michigan have jumped while power outages have become more of a problem.…

3 years ago

There’s a renewed effort to curb noxious fumes from idling school buses and trucks

Detroit has an anti-idling law on the books -- but police haven't written a single ticket.

3 years ago

How decades of neglect left Detroit’s power grid vulnerable to powerful storms

While DTE recently blamed Michigan’s growing grid problems on the state’s wealth of “beautiful trees” hitting lines, industry experts and…

3 years ago

Can new Detroit flooding lawsuits succeed where past litigation failed?

Recent metro Detroit flooding lawsuits seek damages to help affected residents with cleanup costs, as well as permanent fixes.

3 years ago

Can Detroit’s urban farms play a role in stemming the floods?

Detroit's recent floods damaged growers' crops and livelihoods -- but urban agriculture may also be part of the solution.

3 years ago

A tale of two census tracts in Detroit and the suburbs

Why do people live longer in West Bloomfield than on Detroit’s east side?

3 years ago

Why Michigan utilities saw profits soar during the pandemic

As Michigan utilities braced for revenue loss during the pandemic, they instead earned up to $30 million beyond what they…

4 years ago

Michigan’s weakened environmental laws lead activists to embrace other tactics

The 1990 election of Gov. John Engler ushered in a new era of deregulation, and, for the next several decades,…

4 years ago