April 10, 2009
As renowned climate scientist James Hansen recently told federal lawmakers
on the 20-year anniversary of his first congressional testimony on climate
change, this is our “last chance” to change course. The world around us has
been in a period of profound ecological change, like an invisible cancer
that has spread so far that the external signs of organ damage are now
unmistakable. The Arctic is melting at a pace 50 years ahead of what
scientists anticipated only a short while ago. Now radiating out over 900
miles, Arctic warming is defrosting tundra and overheating and killing
boreal forests, releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Unbridled carbon emissions are currently increasing at a speed that outpaces
even the worst-case climate forecasts of the 4th Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change report in 2007.
Larry J. Schweiger, President & Chief Executive Officer, National Wildlife
Federation
The tragedy of the situation, if we do not wake up in time, is that the
changes that must be made to stabilize the atmosphere and climate [also]
make sense for other reasons. The changes would produce a healthier
atmosphere, improved agricultural productivity, clean water, and an ocean
providing fish that are safe to eat…
James Hansen, Climate Scientist
We reject the notion that we have to choose between good jobs and a clean
environment. It’s not one or the other. It’s both or neither.
Leo Gerard, International President, United Steelworkers
More Events and Action Items below this oh-so-important announcement on
another proposed coal plant expansion!
Defend the planet! Fight coal! Coal plant expansion is incompatible with
climate change abatement, contributing 40% of the potent greenhouse gas CO2
to the atmosphere, and threatening Michigan’s growing renewable energy
sector at the very moment worldwide demand is on a steep ascent.
Consumers Energy is proposing a mammoth 930 megawatt dirty coal plant in Bay
City, when demand for electrical energy, by its own report, is on the
decline and there are far better alternatives at hand.
Consumers Energy is now predicting an additional 5% decline by 2018. (DTE
now predicts its consumers’ energy use will fall 6% between now and 2013!)
Yet, as we have read in our own Grand Rapids Press, Consumers is asking for
a double-digit ratepayer increase, an increase which, by the way, has
nothing to do with capacity expansion and ignores the very real threat of an
imposed carbon emission charge, both of which would be passed on to the
ratepayer the moment construction was committed or a tax levied.
Make a difference! Join the chorus! Attend at least one of three Public
Hearings April 14 and 15 and/or submit your comments electronically. May 6
is final deadline for comments. (See below.) Carpooling to the hearings is
being arranged; contact
jan.oconnell@sierraclub.org .
Location: Bay Valley Resort & Conference Center, Royal Troon Rm, 2470 Old
Bridge Rd., Bay City, MI 48706
Tuesday, April 14
6:00 – 7:00 p.m., Informational session in Open House Format
7:00 p.m., Hearing
Wednesday, April 15
12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Hearing
4:30 p.m. Rally
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Informational session in Open House Format
7:00 p.m. Hearing
Sign up for more information and share with your friends; go to
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bay-City-MI/Clean-Energy-NOW/58977829354?ref=nf
.
Need transportation to the rally Wednesday, April 15, 4:30 p.m.? Register at
www.mipowershift.org
. just $10.00 covers food and transportation.
Go to
www.CleanEnergyNowMi.org for more information and to submit up to 3
letters to the Department of Environmental Quality. (Personalized letters
have more influence, even if only a sentence or two is added to a form
letter, and original drafts are even better. One does not have to have a
Ph.D. to make an important difference!)
Some Important Bay County Coal Plant Facts:
If approved, this expansion of the Bay County Karn-Weadock coal plant will
emit an additional 8.1 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the
atmosphere every year for the next 50 years. The draft permit contains no
limits on greenhouse gas emissions and fails to account for the cost of CO2
regulation.
Besides CO2, the expansion would deposit 1820 tons of nitrogen oxides, 2154
tons of sulfur oxides and 911 tons of particulate matter into our atmosphere
every year.
Such pollutants can cause or contribute to asthma and other respiratory
ailments, heart problems, and premature death.
According to the MI Department of Public Health, Bay County has a higher
rate of heart disease and respiratory disease than either Saginaw or the
state average.
Lower emissions limits should be required.
The plant would spew 64 pounds of mercury every year, much of which would
end up in nearby lakes, rivers, and streams.
Mercury can impair neurological development in young children and fetuses.
And would harm subsistence fishers and sports fishers by contributing to
already elevated mercury levels in fish.
Better alternatives should be pursued.
Consumers’ projections of energy need are inflated and outdated.
Energy efficiency and renewable energy sources (such as wind, solar, and
clean biomass) are cleaner options that would create jobs right here in
Michigan.
Energy efficiency is the cheapest form of power
There is unused generating capacity that should first be utilized.
Now is the time! Repower, Refuel and Rebuild America right here in
Mid-Michigan! Attend a hearing on the 14th or 15th. Submit written comment
to the DEQ by May 6.
OTHER Events and Action Items
Wednesday, April 15, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m., Annual ACLU of Michigan Western
Branch Bill of Rights Reception honors PROACTIVE as the Western Branch 2008
Civil Libertarian of the Year, in the Wealthy Theatre, 1130 Wealthy SE,
Grand Rapids. The award will be accepted by Kathi Harris and Angela Nelson
at 6:45 p.m. Preceding remarks by Tom Logan, Branch Chair, Kary Moss,
Executive Director, ACLU of Michigan and Tierney Eaton, Michigan Election
Coalition. Complimentary hors d’oeurves, soda, coffee and non-alcoholic
wine. Visit www.aclumich.org.
Saturday, April 18 and 25, and/or May 2, 9:30 a.m. – noon, starting in E.
Grand Rapids, Canvass with Friends of Transit and other supporters of the
Silver Line Rapid Transit System millage proposal. A $40M infrastructure
investment ($32M in Federal money and $8M in State) in our Grand Rapids
community hinges on the passage of this proposal guaranteeing the
community’s ability to fund operations at the project’s scheduled completion
in two years. If the millage fails, the investment will go elsewhere, and
this opportunity may not repeat itself. While this is not economic stimulus
money, it will in fact, as history has shown, promote environmentally-sound
development along the proposed public transportation corridor, provide an
estimated 405 permanent jobs, and fast, economical, accessible
transportation for many others. To volunteer, contact Ruth Kelly at
ruthkelly@yahoo.com or 447-1682. If
you would like to print and mail Friend to Friend cards, or view an
informative power point about this exciting project, I can respond to your
request. shirleykallio@msn.com .
Friday, April 24, 3:00 to “whenever,” Help plant the seeds for a sound
school board! Join a “Meet and Greet Fundraiser” for Tony Baker and Wendy
Falb, two exceptionally fine candidates, endorsed by the Kent Co. Democratic
Party, for the Grand Rapids School Board. Hosted by Kathi Barkan, Cherie
Giles, Ruth Kelly, Wendy Marty, Linda Ortman and Julia Turner at 213 Sligh
NE. Learn more about Dr. Tony Baker and
http://www.tonyforgrps.com/index.html and about Dr. Wendy Falb at
http://www.electwendy.com/
Thursday, April 30, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., Blandford Nature Center, 1715 Hillburn
Ave. NW, Grand Rapids 49504. The West Michigan Group of the Sierra Club
invites members, friends and the curious public to a Dessert Reception and
Informational Program with Chapter Membership Chair Leigh Fifelsky.
Across the nation, the Sierra Club has, year after year, provided
extraordinary leadership on some of the most critically important
environmental issues of the day. Our Michigan Chapter is no exception. The
Chapter numbers upward of 17,000; our West Michigan Group has a membership
of about 1700, and includes Mason, Lake, Osceola, Oceana, Newaygo, Muskegon,
Ottawa and Kent Counties. And we are interested in everyone!
Leigh will be providing an interesting overview of Sierra Club organization
and function as well as issue priorities and campaigns at the national,
state and local level. We welcome your participation. Please rsvp to me,
shirleykallio@msn.com .
Thursday, May 7, 7:00 p.m. at Gerald R. Ford Museum Auditorium, Saving the
Jews: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Holocaust, a presentation by the author,
Robert Rosen. Register for this free event at
www.allpresidents.org
.
Thursday, May 14, 7:00 p.m., Crib Full of Blues, a benefit for In the Image,
McFaddens, 58 Ionia, SW, features blues harmonica player Jason Ricci.
Advance tickets $25 each. Check Jason out at
http://www.jasonricci.com/ In the Image provides much needed clothing
and household items, entirely without charge to the recipients and without
sacrifice of human dignity. This year In the Image has seen loss of revenue
and dramatic rise in need. Support their effort as you can. Enjoy the
fundraiser. And/or consider an online donation at
www.intheimage.org .
Make sure YOU and those you know, can vote in future elections! In August
2006, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land put 165,000 registered voters’
names on a “voter cancellation” list based on mail marked as undeliverable.
This means that you may have been removed from Michigan’s voting rolls after
the November 2008 election and that you are NOT eligible to vote in any
upcoming elections.
All Michigan voters are potentially at risk, but especially individuals who
did not vote in the recent presidential election or in the preceding federal
primary election.
You may find out if your name is on the voter cancellation list by means of
the following:
Call toll free 877-547-6260
Check online at
www.advancementproject.org/michiganvoters
E-mail
michiganvoters@advancementproject.org
If your name is on the cancellation list, you should immediately contact
your city or township clerk or any Secretary of State Branch Office to
verify, confirm, or update your registration. Visit
www.michigan.gov/vote
for detailed instructions and voter registration information.
This information has been made available through the efforts of Advancement
Project and the Michigan Election Reform Alliance. To learn more about these
voter protection organizations, visit
www.advancementproject.org or
www.michiganelectionreformalliance.org .
Support the EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT! Opponents would have the public
believe that the Employee Free Choice Act is undemocratic. Not so. The
Employee Free Choice Act goes a long way to assure that employer
intimidation, harassment and stall tactics do not interfere, delay and
usually defeat workers’ efforts to exercise their right to organize. And the
exercise of that right serves us all.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich recently observed, “One reason we’re in
the crisis we’re in is because consumers have run out of money….If they
can’t borrow anymore, and they have to rely on sinking wages, the entire
economy is in trouble, because there’s not enough demand out there….The
point of the Employee Free Choice Act is to end intimidation and allow
workers to join unions as they have a right to do. Workers want to be in
unions [nearly 60% say they’d join if they could], and if they did have
unions, they’d have higher wages and benefits. And if they had higher wages
and benefits, they’d have the purchasing power to buy more goods and
services.”
The Employee Free Choice Act would:
Strengthen penalties for companies that coerce or intimidate workers;
Establish mediation and binding arbitration when the employer and workers
cannot agree on a first contract; and Enable workers to form unions when a
majority signs union authorization cards.
Please take a moment to contact your Representative and your Senators in
support of the Employee Free Choice Act!
Contact the office of Rep. Vern Ehlers at 616 451-8383 or 202 225-3831. For
other representatives, call the capital switchboard at 202 224-3121 and ask
for your representative. (If you don’t know who they are, go to
www.house.gov and click
on the map.)
Contact Senator Levin at 202 224-6221 and Senator Stabenow at 202 224-4822.
No need to prepare a speech; a simple sentence or two after you identify
yourself will make a difference.
For more background, peruse the following:
Unions Are Good for the American Economy, by David Madland, Karla Walter,
February 18, 2009, Center for American Progress:
The essence of what labor unions do – give workers a stronger voice so that
they can get a fair share of the economic growth they help create – is and
has always been important to making the economy work for all Americans. And
unions only become more important as the economy worsens.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/02/
aw_goodeconomy.html.
New Report Reveals Why GOP Hates Unions: They Raise Wages, Boost Economy, by
Art Levine, The Huffington Post
…A level playing field for union organizing helps the economy. The higher
wages paid by unions boosts productivity, reduce turnover and can even
improve profits. Partially unionized Cosco…has nearly 40% more in labor
costs than its sister company, Sam’s Club, but has almost double the
per-employee profit margin. “ They invested in the jobs and lowered
turnover….”
In fact, even the Heritage Foundation’s much-hyped index of “economic
freedom” in countries around the world pointed to economies with the highest
rates of unionization in the workforce.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/new-report-reveals-why-go_b_168132.html.
More Good Reading
NUKE NEWS: Spotlight on Sierra Club Activist Ed McArdle
“With more than a quarter century of activism under his belt, Sierra Club
volunteer McArdle is a guy whose opinion carries some heft. And these days,
one of the issues that most concerns him is DTE Energy’s attempt to
construct a third nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Erie near
Monroe.”
http://www.metrotimes.com/news/story.asp?id=13759.
FIRST WAVE: The presidents of two island nations draft escape plans,
anticipating sea level rise, by Cristine Russell, SCIENCE NEWS, February 28,
2009.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/40789/
title/First_wave
THE DIRT ON CLEAN COAL by Ari Berman, April 13, THE NATION.
“Despite rising public concern about global warming and a growing awareness
that coal is an irrevocably dirty business, the industry is spending
millions of dollars on a slick messaging campaign stressing its ‘commitment
to clean.’
Critics argue that ‘clean coal’ means anything the industry wants it to,
pointing out that of the country’s 616 coal plants, none are carbon-free or
close to it. The viability of an environmentally sustainable future for coal
is questionable, and so is the industry’s commitment to cleaning itself up.
The Center for American Progress recently released a report showing that the
country’s biggest coal companies have spent only a fraction of their
multibillion-dollar profits developing technologies to curb carbon emissions
from coal-fired power plants. ‘The ads and other public clean coal
activities are merely designed to delay global warming solutions without
suffering a public relations black eye,’ the CAP report stated.
‘Clean coal is like a healthy cigarette,’ Al Gore likes to say. ‘It does not
exist.’”
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090413/berman