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Lobby Day Materials

Welcome Citizen Lobbyists!

This Spring we'll be lobbying on two important issues. We'll be advocating for legislation that would establish a moratorium (and other safeguards) on hydraulic fracturing in Michigan and educating lawmakers about improving the state's energy efficiency standard . We are in the process of creating and fine-tuning the reading materials, and will have the majority of them posted by April.  The documents posted under Essential Materials are just that - you need to read these, at a minimum, to feel comfortable lobbying on this issue. You'll find additional documents under Supplemental Materials which will broaden your knowledge in each issue area. Dig in and enjoy! Don't worry about printing them out for Lobby Day because we will provide you with copies of these when you arrive. If you do additional research and find a good document you think we should add to these resources, please send me an email at mike.berkowitz@sierraclub.org. I look forward to seeing you on April 17th in Lansing!
 

Essential Reading

Hydraulic Fracturing

• Fracking Talking Points - this is an outline of your presentation to lawmakers (will be uploaded in mid-March).
• Fracking Position Statement - this is the document you'll leave behind with lawmakers (will be uploaded in mid-March).
   

Energy Efficiency

• EE Talking Points - this is an outline of your presenation to lawmakers (will be uploaded in mid-March).
• EE Position Statement - this is the document you'll leave behind with lawmakers (will be uploaded in mid-March).

Supplemental Reading

• Hydraulic Fracturing
  • Stephen Colbert on Fracking - this will provide you with a good laugh and a solid background on the issues with hydrofracking.
  • NYT Article on Fracking - this article shows that there are documented cases of Fracking contaminating water sources for over 25 years, and that oil and gas industry executives publicly lied about it.
  • Michigan Sierra Club Fracking Website - this site has lots of background info for you, put together by our very own Rita Chapman!
  • NWF Report on Fracking in the Great Lakes - this report from the National Wildlife Federation covers everything from the basics of how Fracking works to the specific legal issues surrounding Fracking. The report is specific to Michigan and Ohio.
  • Fracking Job Report - this is a report from Food and Water Watch that shows that Fracking and Shale Gas development creates very few jobs.
  • Fracking Accident Document - this document contains a list of problematic environmental incidents throughout the United States, showing that we don't want these problems to occur in Michigan.

• Energy Efficiency    
  • MPSC Report - this is the latest report by the Michigan Public Service Commission showing that renewable energy and energy efficiency are cheaper than conventional fossil fuel sources. This shows why we should be hearing toward energy efficiency before extracting
  • Consumers Energy Optimization Website - Learn about how Energy Efficiency works by looking through the utility's websites. This is Consumer's website.
  • DTE's Energy Optimization Website - And this is DTE's Energy Optimization website.