Six months ago, an American artist living in Europe stripped an abandoned Detroit house for an elaborate art project. After taking the facade to Europe, he left the shell of the home behind after promises to complete the demolition.

The block that the house stands on is not full of similar, derelict properties that have come to be the first image in people’s minds when they think about Detroit. In fact, the block is made up of well groomed homes, and the empty shell sticks out like a sore thumb.

Detroit Building Authority Brain Farkas said, “The fact that this artist can come in here and leave something like this is completely unacceptable.”

Indeed, neighbors and officials alike are disgusted that the artist would leave such a mess for neighbors to live with, while profiting from so-called “ruin porn” — the exploitation and glamorization of the city’s decay.

Other areas of the city are dealing with the exportation of parts of buildings, too. Earlier this month, pieces of a building were set to be auctioned off by the elite art auctioning company Sothebys but were pulled from sales after a complaint about “rightful ownership” of some of the items.

According to two historic preservationists, the items, fragments of a Tiffany Studios-designed glass mosaic ceiling from the Farwell Building, were most likely stolen from the building years ago.

The Farwell has stood empty since at least 1984, and it has been stripped over the years.

Tiffany Studios, the celebrated glass designer, specialized in stained glass windows, lamps, and other decorative pieces. The company was known for their artful manipulation of the colorful glass, which is transformed from raw materials at a temperature of 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit.

According the website Historic Detroit, the Farwell’s lobby was once “inlaid with thousands of tiny Tiffany glass pieces.”

With thousands of buildings laying vacant, the looting and scraping of historic buildings has long been a problem in Detroit.

You’re still going to have to brush the snow off, but if everything goes as planned, scraping ice off your car’s windshield could be left squarely in the rear view mirror. According to Tech Times, researchers and scientists from the University of Michigan have developed a solution to the incredibly frustrating and time-consuming process of scraping off ice buildup on a cold winter morning.

The study behind the new spray-on coating formula meant to break down ice buildup was led by Anish Tuteja, a professor of Materials Science and Engineering at UM. The research was published in the journal Science Advances and is the first real solution to this issue that’s found real success.

“Researchers had been trying for years to dial down ice adhesion strength with chemistry, making more and more water-repellent surfaces,” said Materials Science and Engineering graduate student Kevin Golovin. “We’ve discovered a new knob to turn, using physics to change the mechanics of how ice breaks free from a surface.”

The substance itself is described as a clear, rubbery solution that can be sprayed onto car windshields, airplanes, and other surfaces that require protection from being frozen over.

Instead of using water-based solutions, which is the typical choice of previous studies, the UM team of researchers decided to investigate how rubbery surfaces can effectively repel ice formations. The result was combining synthetic materials, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS), and silicone oil to create the new ice-repellent product.

During testing, even though the formula didn’t completely eliminate ice from forming on things like car windshields, it made it so that the stuff that did collect was incredibly easy to brush off. The explanation behind this is a phenomenon known as interfacial cavitation.

The potential for this new product is pretty open. For instance, water damage and freezing alone account for about 22% of all homeowners insurance claims, which average out to $4,024 per claim.

The researchers believe that the product could begin to see uses in the commercial frozen food packaging industry within the next year, but it might take a little longer before you can use it to save yourself from a cold morning scrape.

“Using this technology in places like cars and airplanes will be very complex because of the stringent durability and safety requirements, but we’re working on it,” Tuteja said.

Energy-efficient technology is providing the citizens of Michigan with energy at a lower cost.

The Property Assessed Clean Energy program (PACE) is used to fund renewable and efficient energy.

“PACE is designed so that the energy savings generate the funds to make the bank payments, which the township collects through our property taxes,” Gary Thompson, the COO of Powers Distributing Inc, told Crain’s Detroit Business.

PACE “encourages people to make sustainable improvements,” Thompson added.

Crain’s Detroit Business reported that, by installing a rooftop solar panel, investing in LED lighting, and other energy-efficient technologies, Powers Distributing has saved an average of $2,000 per month of energy bills.

Other agencies and companies in Detroit and nationally are actively trying to reduce their carbon footprint and these energy-efficient technologies can help save money, save the environment, and save lives. According to The Detroit News, the Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to put into place a new regulation on carbon.

The EPA’s rule would require states to cut emissions from power plants. Over the next 14 years, Michigan is required to cut emissions by near 40%.

For now, however, the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily placed the EPA’s rule on hold, and a final ruling on the matter is not expected until at least 2017.

PACE is one of the only programs in Michigan that is helping homeowners with their energy-efficient finances. The only other program in the state is called Michigan Saves.

Michigan Saves works more for smaller businesses, schools, and residential homeowners. The program has helped over 400 customers with over $12 million in energy-efficient projects over the last four years.

Upgrading cooling and heating systems, solar panels, wind turbines, LED lighting, water usage cutbacks, and other basic upgrades are qualifying factors to be considered for financing from the programs.

In many cases, such updates are vital to cutting the costs of heating, cooling, and power. For example, trimming energy costs by using fans can save on the cost of air conditioning by about 12 to 15%.

Jared Swallow, director of the nonprofit arena in Bloomfield Hills, has been working on energy-efficient solutions to cut energy costs.

“Our electricity savings will pay for the project and free up cash for other projects,” Swallow stated. “It’s a really great program.”

Drug issues in Detroit have recently ranged from open discussions about the decriminalization of marijuana to a citywide major drug bust.

On Tuesday, a hearing at Hamtramck City Council took place regarding a proposed anti-marijuana law.

The majority of the hearing was spent by allowing residents a three-minute time limit to speak publicly on the matter. Not everyone was focused on the topic at hand, as the first man who begin to comment specifically talked about the towing of his ice cream truck.

Many of the following speakers opposed the anti-pot law. According to the Detroit Metro Times, since 1972, 20 Michigan cities have voted for a reduction in marijuana-related penalties.

Other states have already implemented their own new policies on marijuana. In October of last year, California passed Prop 47 which reduces drug possession charges, as well as non-violent thefts, from felonies to misdemeanors.

Just a few days before these decriminalization discussions, however, there was a massive “rush hour” drug bust by the Detroit Police Department.

The Detroit Police Department dubbed the bust “Operation Restore Order: Rush Hour.” They initiated operation “Rush Hour” in an attempt to reduce crime and the drug problems in Detroit, largely due to a rise in robberies and shootings across the area.

CBS Detroit reports that the citywide crackdown resulted in a total of 31 arrests, 19 of which were felony arrests, and 12 misdemeanors.

Along with the arrest number, “Rush Hour” resulted in a total of 478 moving violations, 52 impounded vehicles, and the inspection of 50 gas stations.

The drug bust resulted in major confiscations as well. About 40 grams of cocaine, nearly 20 grams of heroin, and eight guns were seized during the operation.

The Detroit Police Department added, “We are committed to reducing crime within the communities and improving the quality of life among Detroit Residents.”