Iowa joins suit seeking to cut gas emissions
Eight states are claiming five of the nation's power firms are contributing
to the warming of the Earth.
By TONY LEYS <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
July 22, 2004


Iowa joined seven other states and New York City on Tuesday in suing the
nation's five largest power companies for allegedly contributing to global
warming.

The lawsuit claims that the companies are helping change the Earth's climate
by spewing huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Many scientists believe that a growing layer of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases traps heat that otherwise would escape into space. They're
warning that the problem could lead to catastrophic weather changes.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said he and several of his colleagues
decided to act after the federal government declared that it didn't have the
legal authority to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions.

"Global warming is an important issue for our country, for our state and for
our world," Miller said.

He said the consequences for Iowa could include droughts that would
devastate the farm economy.

Carbon dioxide is emitted by every power plant, car and other machine that
burns coal, gasoline or oil. All mammals - including this newspaper's
readers - emit the gas every time they breathe. Miller said the lawsuit
targets the nation's five biggest offenders, who together produce 10 percent
of the nation's carbon dioxide. "It's a place to start," he said.
The petition, filed in New York, doesn't ask for money. Instead, it seeks to
have a judge order electric companies to cut their emissions of carbon
dioxide. Miller said possible solutions include improvements at coal-fired
plants and increased use of windmills.

A spokesman for one of the five companies being sued said his firm already
was taking those steps.

"We are very proud of our environmental record," said Paul Adelman of
Minnesota-based Xcel Energy. For example, he said, his company is spending
$1 billion to rebuild three coal-fired plants. It also is adding to its
windmill farms, which already are the second largest in the nation.
By 2009, Adelman said, the measures will trim 7 percent of the carbon
dioxide emitted for each unit of electricity the company produces.

Miller's deputy, Tam Ormiston, said the promised improvements were welcome,
but he called Xcel's environmental record spotty, adding that the lawsuit
could help hold the company to its pledges.

Tuesday's announcement was hailed by environmentalists, who have been
critical of the federal government's inaction.
"This lawsuit alone will not stop global warming - but it is an important
first step," the Sierra Club said in a statement.

But a pro-business group called the lawsuit "irresponsible political
grandstanding."

"Although the lawsuit alleges harm to the public, the real harm is not the
utility companies that provide electricity to tens of millions of consumers,
but this lawsuit," the Competitive Enterprise Institute said. "It would
force consumers in other states to pay much higher prices for electricity."
The other four companies being sued are American Electric Power Corp.,
Southern Co., Tennessee Valley Authority and Cinergy Corp. None is based in
Iowa.

The seven other states bringing the suit are California, Connecticut, New
Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. Miller said New York
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is leading the effort, which should keep
Iowa's expenses to a minimum.

All eight of the attorneys general involved are Democrats, but Miller denied
that was evidence of a political stunt aimed at embarrassing Republicans
running the federal government. He noted that New Hampshire's Republican
attorney general supported the move.
"It should not be seen as a partisan issue," he said.





Tarah Heinzen
Sierra Club Conservation Organizer
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
(515) 251-3995
[log in to unmask]

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