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Home > Clean Energy Future > Stop the Michigan Coal Rush Stop the Michigan Coal RushThe "Dirty Energy Caucus" Tries to Give COAL for Christmas - Take Action!!Just before the holidays, and right before the state decides whether to issue air pollution permits for two new dirty coal plants, pro-coal lawmakers tried to ram coal down the throats of Michigan citizens. If successful, the antics of the Michigan "Dirty Energy Caucus" will cause huge increases in utility bills and saddle Michigan with expensive, dirty power for decades. On Thursday afternoon Dec. 17, Senate Republicans added poisonous amendments to HB 5220, which renews and increases fees to support the state's important air quality program. In making permit decisions, the outrageous amendments actually prohibit the state from considering whether or not Michigan needs new coal-fired power plants and whether or not cleaner and less expensive energy options exist. The amendment guts consumer protections and would ensure huge profits to corporate coal barons - at our expense! Both the amendment language and the underhanded legislative maneuvers to move the bill without public input are an insult to the democratic process! The bill was rushed through the Senate and then to the House without any committee hearings and no opportunity for public comment. Fortunately a group of hard-working State Representatives who are staunch friends of the environment fought hard to prevent the bill from passing in the House. They blocked the bill from moving forward, and it will now be sent to a conference committee, where three House members and three Senate members will determine its fate. Please THANK the lawmakers who stood behind us! (It's critically important to cheer these folks on - they are butting up against their own leadership and their friends in the labor community to help us, the environmental community!! They deserve considerable thanks and support for their hard work!) This issue is NOT over! Immediately after the Holidays, this bill will be in motion again. Please check back to stay abreast of this most important issue! (And, Happy Holidays to YOU from us here at the Sierra Club. We truly appreciate the actions you take to help us win the fight for clean energy!!) Take Action NOW - to thank our clean energy Champions! Tell CMS Energy CEO David Joos to Move Beyond Coal!
Consumers Energy, CMS Energy’s Across Demand for electricity is declining and the price of pollution is rising, whether due to global warming, toxic air emissions, or leaking coal ash. Instead of replacing aging infrastructure with more dirty coal, CMS Energy has the opportunity to earn returns on large capital investments in energy efficiency and clean energy, unleashing innovation and creating thousands of jobs for Consumers Energy is at a crossroads, and 100 Coal Plant Proposals STOPPED nationwide since beginning of the coal rush this century!Find out about Michigan's successes here! THANK YOU! Thousands tell Michigan Department of Environmental Quality that Michigan Needs Clean Energy and Efficiency, NOT more dirty coal!The facts are in: the only smart choice for Michigan's economic and energy future is to invest in needed clean energy projects and the tens of thousands of jobs those will bring, not unneeded dirty new coal plants. Governor Granholm and DEQ Director Steve Chester must make the right choice for Michigan's future --choosing energy efficiency and clean, renewable, home-grown energy for Michigan's ratepayers instead of dirty coal, or our state's families will be saddled with astronomical electric bills, more polluted air and water, and increasingly contaminated fish and land. Tell Governor Granholm and Director Chester you support them in protecting Michigan's future by choosing energy efficiency and clean energy, and turning down all the proposed coal plants in Michigan! Governor Granholm and Director Chester can protect Michigan families and ratepayers from paying for the full cost of $5 billion wasted on dirty coal plants proposed by Consumers Energy, Wolverine Power and Holland Board of Public Works! Michigan's economic future depends on investing our energy dollars wisely, in the cheapest and cleanest sources of power over the longterm, starting with energy efficiency, because once those investments are wasted on dirty, unneeded coal plants, Michigan will never be able to move into the 21st Century. Urge Governor Granholm and Director Chester to move our state forward by pulling the plug on the unneeded, expensive and dirty coal plant proposals in Michigan! THANK YOU! Rally for Clean Energy Jobs a SUCCESS (and a Great Time!)
 Under a perfect sky, hundreds gathered to send a message to Governor Granholm and her Department of Environmental Quality that her goal of bringing Michigan into the future with Clean Energy Jobs depends on turning down the up to six dirty new coal plants still proposed in Michigan! Enjoy a 30 second video showing highlights of the day, with speeches from Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Director Bruce Nilles, State Representative Alma Wheeler Smith, Belinda Bardwell and Frank Ettawageshik of the Little Traverse Bay Band of the Odawa Indians, Doris Allen of Voices for Earth Justice, Father Charles Morris of Interfaith Power and Light, Terry Miller of Lone Tree Council, Sarah Mulhkoff of Clean Water Action, Producer of the YouTube "Climate Denial Crock of the Week" series Peter Sinclair, Casey McKreel of 350.org, Brandon Knight of MI Student Sustainability Coalition and many more! Many thanks to the musicians who donated their time to add their voices to the fight for Clean Energy Jobs in Michigan: Hawks & Owls, Emma and Will, Andrew Sturtz, Clyde, and The MacPodz .
The Great Lakes State is the center of a nationwide fight over our energy future, and YOUR HELP is needed to put our state on the right path. The State of Michigan could allow three or more new coal fired power plants to be built, adding million of tons of greenhouse gases to the air, spewing large amounts of mercury, acid and smog causing pollutants, and tying our state to expensive, polluting power sources for generations. OR, our state leaders could open the way for a bright, Clean Energy Future, with good, sustainable jobs for Michigan workers, clean air, water and land, and healthier communities. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Michigan Public Service Commission are asking what you think -- and it is critical that you let them know that YOU value a Clean Energy Future for your state and family, and that new coal fired power plants don't belong in Michigan's future. Please weigh in NOW on the proposed Consumers Energy Karn Weadock expansion near Bay City and the Wolverine Power Cooperative proposed new coal plant in Rogers City. Do you have questions, or would you like to volunteer in this critical fight? Contact Tiffany Hartung or Lee Sprague to find out more about these proposals. Michigan has a brief window of time to get it right -- please join us in this critical effort! VICTORY!! NMU DROPS COAL FOR HEATING PLANT!Northern Michigan University (NMU) has asked the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to "void" the air permit issued to the school for its proposal to burn coal and wood in its Ripley Heating Plant. This is the second of eight proposed coal plants to cancelled in Michigan! The victory was the result of combined Sierra Club and student grassroots efforts at the university paired with excellent comments and legal action by Sierra Club's Beyond Coal team. The NMU air permit to install for the proposed coal/wood burner was issued by the DEQ in May 2008 despite many failings identified in comments submitted by Sierra Club. Sierra Club appealed the permit to the USEPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). In February 2009, the EAB found several deficiencies in the state permit, including the failure of the DEQ to require control of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, two potent greenhouse gases. The permit was sent back to the DEQ to fix those problems, but the state agency announced that they would wait for clear direction from the federal level regarding best available control for these greenhouse gases. NMU and Sierra Club had informal discussions about options other than coal, and on May 7th NMU's president sent a letter to the DEQ asking them to "void" the permit. NMU proposes to proceed with using wood as a fuel, which continues to raise concerns for Sierra Club, but has also begun to look seriously at pursuing wind and solar power to meet some of their energy needs. The NMU campus has already put a premium on energy efficiency by building more LEED certified buildings than any other Michigan university, and Sierra Club applauds the Wildcats for deciding to give up on coal!! VICTORY!! LS POWER ANNOUNCES SUSPENSION OF PROPOSED MIDMICHIGAN ENERGY COAL PLANT IN MIDLAND!Michigan's coal rush is beginning to show some cracks as the first of the eight plants actively in discussion in Michigan during the past two years has been put on indefinite ice by its proposer. The MidMichigan Energy proposed plant in Midland was suspended by LS Power on May 1st, and Sierra Club members joined with friends and colleagues in Midland CARES, NRDC and many other Clean Energy Now groups in celebrating this opportunity to move Michigan toward clean renewable energy sources and away from coal! LS Power had resisted complying with the environmental regulations needed to get a coal plant approved in Michigan, in particular meeting standards for mercury emissions. This unwillingness to meet public health and environmental standards was blamed, but one major factor in the demise of this proposal was the decision by its partner Dynegy to drop this project and others in January 2009 after a successful campaign by Sierra Club to point out the financial foolishness of investing in coal plants. Local opposition to the plant was also growing over time, and in the end LS Power apparently decided they'd had enough. Tiffany Hartung, Lee Sprague and former GreenCorps organizer Rob Klavins all did great work on behalf of Sierra Club members in helping educate and motivate folks to fight this ill-conceived plant! THANK YOU GOVERNOR GRANHOLM! We want to thank Governor Jennifer Granholm for moving Michigan forward by leaps and bounds when it comes to fighting global warming, cleaning up electric generation, and putting Michigan on the path to a green energy economy! Governor Granholm has taken bold action requiring all proposed new or expanded coal plants in Michigan to go back to the drawing board -- every proposed plant must demonstrate that there is a need for the power they propose to produce and that there are no "feasible or prudent alternatives" that would produce the electricity in a cleaner way. The Governor's directive puts holds on the four air quality permits to install currently before the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality until these needs and alternatives assessments are completed and the public has a chance to have its say. Please Take Time to THANK Governor Granholm for her actions!
In addition, in her State of the State Address Governor Granholm also announced aggressive goals for moving Michigan forward with clean electric energy that will help fight global warming and produce Michigan jobs. The Governor committed to reduce the use of coal, gas and other fossil fuels used in generating electricity in Michigan by 45% by the year 2020; to weatherize over 100,000 homes; to turn 1,000 buildings, including schools and other public buildings, into electricity producers by installing solar and wind generators; and to change the way utilities make profits by helping Michigan families and businesses save electricity instead of just by selling more.
Governor Granholm's plan has been characterized as the most forward thinking energy agenda in the Midwest, if not the nation, and she deserves our thanks for moving Michigan forward into the 21st Century! Let Governor Granholm know YOU support her actions to move Michigan forward toward a clean energy future!
But our job is not done! Your help is needed to make sure that the coal plant supporters aren't blocking these bold steps. Below is information about the threat posed by the up to eight proposed coal plants in our state.
The Michigan Coal Rush:
Michigan is going the wrong way: more than 95 proposed coal plants around the country have already been denied or withdrawn in the past few years as scientists, investors and state officials have recognized the enormous environmental and financial risks involved. While 2 proposed plants have been cancelled in Michigan, 6 more plants are still alive, and 3 of those are seeking environmental permits right now. Download this slideshow (approximately 750KB PDF) to see current details.
Sierra Club is working with local groups and community leaders across Michigan to stop the proposed new or expanded coal plants. You can help -- at local land use hearings, air permit hearings, water use and discharge permit hearings, and by educating your neighbors, and by joining efforts to convince the state to stop these proposals.
Consumers Energy, CMS Energy’s
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Michigan Beyond Coal Campaign Timeline ACT NOW: Michigan needs Clean Energy, not Dirty Coal- YOUR Comments Needed! VICTORY! Northern Michigan University Cancels Plans to Burn Coal! 5/18/09 VICTORY! LS Power Suspends Plans for MidMichigan Energy coal plant in Midland! 5/1/09 Governor Granholm Slams Brakes on Coal Plant Proposals; Adopts Aggressive Clean Energy Agenda
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