Clean Energy Advocates Pan Gov. Snyder’s Special Message on Energy and the Environment

Clean energy proponents are calling on Gov. Snyder to not delay another year, and show leadership on energy efficiency and renewable energy

Contact: Jessica Tramontana, jessica@progressmichigan.org, (517) 974-6302

LANSING – The Clean Energy Now (CEN) coalition is criticizing Gov. Rick Snyder for failing to use his Special Message on Energy and the Environment to propose bold and specific goals for increasing energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy like wind and solar power in Michigan.

Although two-thirds of Michiganders strongly support clean energy, according to a statewide poll taken during the election, the Governor fell far short of becoming a champion on this issue, even though doing so would create thousands of new, long-lasting jobs and build a promising new energy economy for the entire state.

“The Governor is neglecting the growing clean energy industries in Michigan,” said Nic Clark of Clean Water Action. “Stronger clean energy and efficiency standards are common sense solutions to the problem of dirty coal plants across our state. We’re calling on the Governor to listen to the people of Michigan and lead the way in clean energy, which can create thousands of jobs and lower utility costs.”

Clean energy advocates have long touted the countless health benefits of moving away from fossil fuels, especially coal, which harm the public and boost health care costs by polluting the air, water and ground with heavy metals and other dangerous contaminants. Michigan residents also strongly support clean energy development and oppose burning more coal, and in recent years have repeatedly asked state officials, including the Governor, to support stronger renewable energy and energy efficiency standards because of their clear economic and environmental advantages.

Advocates say it’s crucial to act on these issues quickly, and for utilities to understand that they can, like so many other utilities elsewhere have, make a profit while producing energy in a far more sustainable manner.

“Governor Snyder says he wants to be proactive on energy issues, but has fallen short of committing to expand our renewable energy standard.  His leadership is desperately needed at this critical juncture if Michigan is to move ahead,” said Anne Woiwode of the Michigan Sierra Club. “While we welcome his recognition that coal is bad for Michigan and that energy efficiency is critical, the Governor has called for talk and not action. The debate over clean energy has been underway for more than six years in Michigan and it is clear that renewable energy is best for Michigan’s economy because it creates jobs and cleans up our precious natural resources.  We were disappointed the Governor did not say that, but instead criticized clean air standards that will help protect our health and environment.”

The governor today did call for Michigan to have a dialogue and use the legislative process to increase renewable energy development. While clean energy advocates have always welcomed such a dialogue, they also believe that it’s up to the Governor to lead on the issue. That is why they are urging him to propose new renewables and efficiency standards now, not in another year.  

Given that an election day poll showed that 73% of Michigan voters support more renewable energy in Michigan, his proposal would likely get a very warm reception from Michiganders.

“We urge the Governor to make his actions speak louder than his words today,” said Jim Dulzo of The Michigan Land Use Institute. “The governor has a golden opportunity to make Michigan a leader in clean energy, but he’s not yet taken it. By utilizing low cost energy efficiency and wind and solar power, we can create a more prosperous, cleaner and better Michigan. Since he’s invited a statewide conversation on next steps for the state’s energy systems, we will work very hard to convince him those should be bold steps--the kind that strong leaders take.”

Members of Clean Energy Now are asking Michigan residents to sign the petition below, and send a message to Gov. Snyder that he’s taking Michigan in the wrong direction with his energy policies. The petition asks the Governor to take a strong leadership stance on clean energy, and move the state in that direction as quickly as possible.

The petition can be found at: www.cleanenergynowmi.org/take-action/

The audio from a telepresser held this afternoon can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1ljrmalom24y4ag/CEN%20telepresser.m4a

Sierra Club Statement on WE Energies and Wolverine Cooperative Partnership and Presque Isle Coal Plant Retrofit

CONTACT: Emily Rosenwasser, Emily.Rosenwasser@sierraclub.org, 312-251-1680 x119

MARQUETTE, Mich – WE Energies and Wolverine Power Cooperative announced a partnership today to pursue joint ownership and invest between $130 million to $140 million to install emission controls at the Presque Isle coal-fired power plant.

In response to today’s news, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Representative Tiffany Hartung issued the following statement:“Burning coal at the Presque Isle power plant has affected families in Marquette for almost 50 years. Installing emission controls to protect clean air is an important step for protecting public health in Michigan. However, WE Energies and Wolverine Power Cooperative’s decision to spend millions of dollars on continued dependence on coal is shortsighted. Using that money to instead make investments in clean, renewable energy like wind and solar could provide clean air and a sustainable clean energy economy in the Upper Peninsula.

With the cost of coal on the rise and Michigan families shouldering the burden in rates and health costs, we will continue to pressure WE Energies and Wolverine Power Cooperative to make the right decision to invest in clean energy and drop plans to build an unnecessary, expensive and polluting coal plant in Rogers City.”

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Sierra Club Hosts Free Screening of The Sky is Pink at Kalamazoo Public Library

Media Contact: Gail Philbin, gail.philbin@sierraclub.org, 312-493-2384

Event Focuses on Environmental Issues in Southwest Michigan

The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter presents a screening of The Sky is Pink, a short film about horizontal hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. “fracking”) by Josh Fox, the Oscar-nominated director of Gasland, Tuesday, Dec. 4, from 7-8 pm at the Kalamazoo Central Library, Van Deusen Room, 315 Rose St., Kalamazoo.

Southwest Michigan residents concerned about the quality of their water, air and natural resources are invited to this free event, which will focus on important regional environmental issues such as fracking and the Kalamazoo River Tar Sands oil spill  and how concerned citizens can get involved. The “25x25” effort – getting utilities to use 25% renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2025 -- to make Michigan a leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency will also be discussed. To RSVP, email William Strong at williamstrong@sbcglobal.net.

The Sky is Pink is an 18-minute documentary about New York state’s urgent crisis of drilling and fracking, a brutal but increasingly popular method of extracting deep-seated natural gas that recently has come to southwest Michigan. Exempt from environmental regulations, fracking blasts 3-7 million gallons of chemical-laced water into rock to release gas.  The result is air pollution and toxic water wells that can produce flaming faucets, as shown in “Gasland,” and even earthquakes.

The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter has been working with legislators on a package of bills to delay its actual practice in order to strengthen regulations to protect people from the fallout of this dangerous process. Learn more at www.michigan.sierraclub.org/issues/greatlakes/Hydrofracking.html

For more information, email williamstrong@sbcglobal.net.

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Thousands of Clean Air Act Violations by DTE Spurs Legal Enforcement

Clean Air Advocates Say Michigan’s Aging Coal Plants Pose  Major Public Health Threat to Communities

Contact: Emily Rosenwasser, Emily.Rosenwasser@sierraclub.org, 312-251-1680 x119
 
DETROIT - Yesterday, the Sierra Club filed a notice of intent to sue the Detroit Edison Company and its parent company DTE Energy for at least 1,330 violations of the federal Clean Air Act at DTE’s St. Clair, Belle River, and Trenton Channel coal-fired power plants. Each of the coal-fired power plants listed in the suit threatens the health and safety of Michigan families across the state by emitting toxic pollutants, including mercury, at levels that exceed clean air safeguards.

“DTE operates one of the oldest, dirtiest coal fleets in the country despite public support from Michiganders for clean energy,” said Patrick Geans, Organizing Representative for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Detroit. “We are determined to protect public health and create jobs in the clean energy field, and that's why we're taking action on behalf of people DTE is hurting with toxic pollution from its coal-fired power.”

As a state, Michigan receives almost 60% of its electricity from coal plants, which are on average 50 years in age. DTE Energy, the largest utility in Michigan, relies on coal-fired power plants for 80% of its energy portfolio. Each of the St. Clair, River Rouge, and Trenton Channel coal-fired power plants is over 50 years old, and lacks modern pollution controls as required by federal law. According to the Clean Air Task Force, the St. Clair/Belle River, River Rouge, and Trenton Channel coal-fired power plants contribute to 267 deaths, 434 heart attacks, and 4,180 asthma attacks each year collectively.

“Michigan families pay $1.5 billion dollars in health costs associated with coal, including asthma attacks, heart disease, and cancer. We can no longer continue to rely on dirty and outdated coal-fired power plants that are only making the health threats we face worse,” said Geans. “It’s time that DTE Energy brought Michigan into the 21st century by eliminating the burden we all face by DTE’s reliance on old, dirty, and expensive coal-fired power plants.”

According to a 2012 Summer Energy Appraisal by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), DTE consumers were the hardest hit by rising energy costs, with their monthly bills rising from $67.81 to $76.97 – a 13.5 percent increase over last year. The rate increase comes as a result of the increased cost of importing coal from other states.

“Just this past summer, DTE customers saw their electric bills rise nearly 15% because of the increasing cost of burning coal in Michigan,” said Rhonda Anderson, Organizing Representative with Sierra Club’s Environmental Justice program in Detroit. “As the costs of coal go up, so too do electricity bills for hard working Michigan families, including those who can’t afford increased rates. By moving beyond dirty coal and onto clean, affordable energy like wind, we can reduce the threats we currently face from DTE’s coal-fired power plants.”

While the rising cost of coal in Michigan has already directly impacted ratepayers, clean sources of energy like wind have become a more viable and affordable energy choice for Michigan families. A 2012 MPSC report demonstrated that the cost of a new renewable energy project is now cheaper than a new coal fired power plant, and the industry has a $6 billion potential.

“The facts are clear: coal is dirty, outdated and too expensive for our state. DTE needs to make the wise decision that will protect families, create local jobs, and shield our state from the threats of coal by moving beyond coal toward a clean energy in Michigan,” said Anderson.

Protect Michigan’s Working Families, Vote Yes on Proposal 2 on November 6th

MEDIA CONTACT: Erin Bzymek, erinb@bluegreenalliance.org, 202-706-6916

Environment Leaders, Local Workers Stand Up for Collective Bargaining Rights and Clean, Safe Workplaces

GRAND RAPIDS, MI --Joining a broad coalition of supporters who are backing better wages and safer working conditions, environmental leaders and local workers today spoke out in support of Proposal 2 in Michigan. On the ballot this November 6th, Proposal 2 ensures that future generations benefit from basic rights that give workers a say when it comes to protecting their health, as well as negotiating and enforcing agreements between themselves and their employers.

“Collective bargaining means safer workers, safer communities and better jobs for all of us. Workers who can collectively bargain not only protect themselves, they also safeguard our neighborhoods, our communities and our environment, and raise up the wages and benefits for all of us,” said Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club.

“It’s important that we pull together to build on that progress and give working families the opportunity to provide better lives for their children, and Prop 2 does just that,” Brune added. 

Proposal 2 protects collective bargaining rights and prevents attempts to weaken these protections in the future.

“Everyone who values clean environments and safe, secure and prosperous communities should support this critical ballot initiative,” said Anne Woiwode, State Director for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter. “The rights secured by Proposal 2 are essential for strengthening and protecting the hardworking, middle-class families who are the backbone of Michigan communities.”

Event participants spoke specifically to the protections that make the middle class strong by ensuring workers have a voice in their workplace and in the nation’s policies, advocating more equitable wages, humane work conditions, and improved benefits.

“Some Michigan lawmakers are doing everything they can to abolish workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain,” said Mark Schauer, National Co-Chair of the BlueGreen Alliance’s Jobs21! initiative. “But, giving Michigan’s working families a voice to negotiate for fair wages, benefits and working conditions that are good for them and safe for our communities and our environment is as important today as it ever has been.”

“We can and we must protect the rights of working people in Michigan,” said Kevin Riley, a meat cutter at Meijer in Grand Rapids. “Putting these rights in our constitution is something the politicians and corporations cannot take away, and it will benefit future generations of Michiganders, both economically and environmentally. We must stand together to protect the right to negotiate for good jobs with cleaner, safer and healthier workplaces.” 

“We cannot afford to go back to a time when corporations could make up the rules as they go along, regarding working conditions, workplace safety, environmental protection and worker pay,” said Ben Scheid, an AT&T worker. “Michigan’s workers and families can’t afford it, that’s why I support Proposal 2.”

The supporters said that without collective bargaining rights our environment is endangered and workers face more risks on the job.

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Paid for by the BlueGreen Alliance for Michigan Jobs and Energy.

The BlueGreen Alliance is a national partnership of labor unions and environmental organizations dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the green economy. Launched in 2006, the strategic partnership now brings together major U.S. labor unions and America's most influential environmental organizations and unites more than 15 million members and supporters in pursuit of good jobs, a clean environment and a green economy. Visit www.bluegreenalliance.org.

DNR Proposes to Double Daily Limit for Brook Trout Despite Opposition by Fisheries Division and UP Anglers

Sierra Club Calls for Public Input and Proposal Put on Hold

 

Media Contact: Marvin Roberson, marvin.roberson@sierraclub.org, 906-360-0288

The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter today called on Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Keith Creagh to put a hold on a proposed doubling of the limit for brook trout in 10 streams in the Upper Peninsula.  The agency announced a proposal to change designation of the streams to a new category that would allow the taking of 10 brook trout per day per person. The current limit of five per person in the both the Upper and lower peninsula has been in place for more than a decade.

The DNR proposal comes even though its own Fisheries Division repeatedly indicated to the Natural Resources Commission that they were opposed to changing the limit.  In addition, a large majority of the Coldwater Resources Steering Committee voted to support the Fisheries Division position in their August meeting. This committee is comprised of various stakeholder groups and charged with advising the DNR on coldwater fisheries-related matters.

In addition, a DNR survey of UP anglers last summer indicated strong support for keeping the limit at five. The department asked anglers to rate their level of support for the existing five brook trout daily possession limit and the proposed 10 fish daily possession limit --  55% of respondents indicated they supported the existing limit, compared to 17% that opposed the five fish limit. By comparison, 28% of anglers supported and 53% opposed the 10 fish daily possession limit.

“There is little biological evidence regarding how many brook trout can be kept without harming sustainable population levels,” says Marvin Roberson, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Forest Ecologist. “There is absolutely no scientific reason that these limits should be different in the UP from the Lower Peninsula.”

For many years, the fishing regulations for keeping brook trout have been simple--five fish per day per person--but recently, a small but vocal minority of UP residents including the two Natural Resource Commissioners began agitating for the limit to be raised to 10 fish per day per person in the UP only.

With no notice to the public, the Coldwater Resources Steering Committee or stakeholders, the DNR announced on Oct. 15 a proposal to designate 10 streams in the UP in a new category allowing 10 brook trout per day per person. The decision is proposed for Nov. 8, a little more than 3 weeks after the announcement, with no opportunity for public comment.

“To make matters worse, the proposal indicates research on the effects of the regulations will commence after the regulations are changed,” said Roberson. “The DNR has no data on current conditions, and consequently will have no ability to assess conditions and effects after the new regulations.”

Sierra Club Michigan Chapter urges DNR Director Keith Creagh to put this proposal on hold until there can be a meaningful public input and dialogue process, and until baseline data for the streams proposed can be collected and success/failure criteria developed.

The Chapter also urges concerned citizens to contact Creagh at DNR-Director@michigan.gov  or 517-373-2329 and DNR Fisheries Chief Jim Dexter at  dexterj1@michigan.gov or 517-373-3375. Tell them to put this proposal on hold until such public input and research needs are met!

Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Statement on Statewide Screenings of Last Call at the Oasis

Documentary to Show in Six Cities Across Michigan Oct. 22

Media Contact:  Gail Philbin, gail.philbin@sierraclub.org, 312-493-2384

Last Call at the Oasis, a documentary about the global water crisis featuring the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter’s Lynn Henning, will screen in six theaters across Michigan on Monday, Oct. 22. The film will play at the Quality 16 in Ann Arbor; Saginaw 12 in Saginaw; Bay City 8 in Bay City; Kalamazoo 10 in Kalamazoo; Grand Haven 9 in Grand Haven; and Jackson 10 in Jackson. (Contact individual theaters for showtimes.)

Produced by Participant Media (makers of An Inconvenient Truth, Food, Inc. and Waiting for “Superman”) Last Call at the Oasis spotlights Lynn’s work tracking animal factory pollution in Michigan, which has gained international recognition, earning her the International Goldman Environmental Prize in 2010 and a spread in the November 2011 issue of O Magazine.

For details about the film visit www.lastcallattheoasis.com.

In response to the Oct. 22 screenings, Lynn Henning made this statement:

“I am honored to be a part of Last Call at the Oasis.  For more than a dozen years, the Michigan Chapter has been fighting to stop pollution from animal factories, also known as CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations), which are poisoning our water, air and food. The Chapter supports sustainable agricultural practices that are cleaner, healthier, more energy efficient, and produce many environmental and social benefits.  

CAFOs are a huge environmental and public health risk in Michigan. There are 234 in Michigan, and more than 58 have received environmental fines and penalties totaling over $1.6 million to the State of Michigan, yet they continue to receive federal farm bill subsidies.  The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has documented groundwater contamination from animal factories including arsenic, manganese, iron and possibly copper and traced infectious cryptosporidium and giardia in drinking water back to cattle. 

CAFOs reduce our quality of life by causing beach closings, dead zones from algal blooms, fish kills from oxygen depletion, contaminated drinking water, and polluted air.  People living near them are exposed to high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, dust, mold, and poisonous gases, leading to chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, heart attacks, fatigue, anxiety, and depression.  Even urban and suburban residents are at risk—rivers used for recreation and drinking water in cities often originate in agricultural areas affected by CAFOs.

The time has come for Michigan to hold polluting CAFOs accountable under federal and state laws. I hope my appearance in this film helps educate people about what’s really happening to their water because of CAFOs and motivates them to take action.”

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To learn more about a new campaign targeting animal factories the Michigan Chapter will launch in 2013 and how you can get involved, visit www.farmswithoutharm.org  and follow Lynn Twitter @CAFOCrusader.

For more on the Michigan Chapter’s work on the CAFO issue, visit http://www.michigan.sierraclub.org/issues/greatlakes/animalfactorypollution.html