When I made my annual trek to the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce Mackinac Policy Conference recently, I had a special agenda in mind. I wanted to tell as many of the 2,000 attendees as I could that the Michigan Environmental Council would be holding its annual event in Detroit this fall, and we would be recognizing Peter Karmanos with Michigan's highest environmental honor, the Helen and William Milliken Award. While people were delighted that we'd be hosting the event in downtown Detroit rather than in Lansing-a city they almost never find reason to visit-they were befuddled by our choice of Karmanos, the founder and CEO of Michigan's largest technology company, Compuware.

"But why would an environmental organization honor an entrepreneur, a high-tech guy?" most asked.

To each of them I explained we were honoring this successful businessman because of his decision to move Compuware's headquarters from the suburbs to Woodward Avenue in the heart of Detroit and that our event this year would be focusing on Michigan's urban environment.

Protecting Michigan's environment isn't just about the Great Lakes; and it's more than what happens up north where Michiganians love to vacation. Michigan's environment is reflected as much in the condition of our cities-where most of us live-as it is in the stewardship of our natural resources. That's why Governor Granholm's Land Use Leadership Council linked farmland and open space preservation to urban reinvestments and focused many of its recommendations on the rebuilding of our older cities and suburbs. By honoring Karmanos' investment in Detroit, we hope to make these abstract recommendations come to life.

Karmanos' prescient decision to invest $300 million in a new Detroit headquarters and bring 4,000 jobs downtown sparked retail investments, loft housing and new apartments in an area that was literally given up for dead. The new Compuware headquarters and the urban park that Karmanos and others are spearheading will bring people, commerce and excitement back to the city. It's also avoiding farmland loss and the ugly, costly sprawl that would have inevitably come with putting another new corporate headquarters in a cornfield.

Fortunately, I was not the only person at the recent Mackinac Island Chamber Conference that had urban revitalization on my mind. While I found a frustrating residue of old Chamber rhetoric (i.e., just get rid of environmental regulations and slash taxes and all will be well), I heard a refreshingly new measure of honesty and pride as well. Discussions on bridging the racial divide, blight busting, housing, health care, riverfront redevelopment and the importance of neighborhood development organizations were all given a place on the program. General Motors-clearly committed to Detroit's renaissance-shared the platform with startup entrepreneurs, artists and community volunteers in showcasing common commitments and real accomplishments.

Environmentalists are still suspect and weren't invited to be heard. But with less energy focused on scapegoats and more on the potential for cooperation, environmentalists have great opportunities to make a difference. Our recognizing Peter Karmanos' urban investment for the monumental environmental contribution it is, can only help everyone learn some important lessons.