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Ann Arbor and Warren: A Tale of Two Economies

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

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Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor is once again held up as the example of the direction that Michigan needs to point its economy.

Excerpt:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan's economy is the worst in the country, dragged down by its dependency on an ailing auto industry. But in a lab at Accio Energy in Ann Arbor, engineers Dawn White and David Carmein are driving in a different direction.

They have built what they call an "aerovoltaic" device, a two-inch loop of piping that generates electricity -- without moving blades or turbines -- when air flows through it. The engineers' next step: linking a series of these loops into screens that they see eventually generating wind electricity where windmills are too big, dangerous or noisy to go.

Innovative companies like Accio are common in Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan, where a highly educated population has created a burgeoning economy, and a street-corner conversation can develop into a company and create jobs.

Michigan's economic future rests on making the state look more like Ann Arbor, and less like Warren, 50 miles to the northeast, where factory buildings and warehouses built on the riches of the Big Three auto makers bear signs saying they are "priced to sell." The latest blow came earlier this month, when Chrysler LLC shut down its two plants in Warren as part of its bankruptcy filing.

Read the rest of the story here.