Why Detroit's wildfire smoke crisis is a call to bring back EV and solar tax credits | Opinion

A Wayne State professor argues that the hazardous wildfire smoke blanketing Detroit is a direct result of climate change driven by carbon emissions from fossil fuels. The op-ed links the extreme air quality readings to federal policies that have rolled back tax credits for electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind power. The author calls for reinstating those incentives and closing coal and gas plants to cut carbon output. He warns that without action, Michigan could see a return of the deadly wildfires that swept the state in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The piece frames clean energy subsidies not as a political choice but as a practical tool to reduce the conditions that create catastrophic wildfire seasons. It connects local air quality events to broader climate policy failures.