Good news for clean air in Iowa, but Warren and his lackeys at MidAmerican
Energy still want to build a new, radioactive nuclear power station to
replace those nukes. They are the #1 rate regulated utility owner of both
wind and solar in the USA but they still want a new nuke in Iowa. Follow
the money honey, it's all about the money. MidAmerican stands to make
billions of dollars on a nuclear boondoggle with their ratepayers taking
all the risk!
On Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 1:18 PM, Redmond, Jim <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> Congratulations Pam, Wally, and so many others for getting to this stage
> in the campaign of getting beyond coal. The announcement is excellent
> because it informs the public that wind and solar are matching the lost
> dirty megawatts. We are especially grateful in Northwest Iowa because
> theGeorge Neal Plant is just a few miles from Sioux City. Did these news
> releases go out to all Iowa newspapers? If possible I would like to ask
> one or more Sioux City journalists if they would use the excellent Sierra
> club news release and not just rely on a Mid-American release.
>
>
>
> Jim
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements [
> [log in to unmask]] on behalf of Pamela Taylor [
> [log in to unmask]]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, January 22, 2013 11:56 AM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Fwd: NEWS: Sierra Club, MidAmerican Energy Settlement Brings
> Clean Air Victory to Iowans
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Emily Rosenwasser <[log in to unmask]>
> To: Emily Rosenwasser <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tue, Jan 22, 2013 11:30 am
> Subject: NEWS: Sierra Club, MidAmerican Energy Settlement Brings Clean Air
> Victory to Iowans
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> January 22, 2013
>
> CONTACT:
> Emily Rosenwasser, [log in to unmask], 312-251-1680 x119
> Eitan Bencuya, [log in to unmask], 202-495-3047
>
> *Settlement Between The Sierra Club and MidAmerican Energy Brings Clean
> Air Victory to Iowans *
>
> *Retirement of Seven Coal-Fired Boilers Marks 50,000 Megawatts of U.S.
> Coal Announced to Retire Since 2010*
>
>
> DES MOINES, IA – Today, the Sierra Club and MidAmerican Energy Company
> announced a landmark settlement that requires the Iowa utility to phase out
> coal burning at seven coal-fired boilers, clean up another two coal-fired
> boilers and build a large solar installation at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
> The announcement also pushes the total amount of coal generation retired
> or announced to retire since 2010 to over 50,000 megawatts, almost
> one-sixth of the nation’s coal fleet.
>
> In 2012, the Sierra Club notified MidAmerican that it was violating the
> federal Clean Air Act at its Walter Scott, Riverside and George Neal coal
> plants, by emitting more pollution than allowed by its permits. Today’s
> settlement filed in federal court in Iowa resolves those allegations.
> According to the Clean Air Task Force, air pollution from these three
> plants contributes to 45 deaths and 760 asthma attacks annually.
>
> “Clean air, clean water and a booming clean energy economy are part of an
> Iowa legacy that I am proud to leave for my children and grandchildren,”
> said *Pam Mackey Taylor, Chapter Energy Chair of the Sierra Club in Iowa*.
> “Coal’s days are numbered here in Iowa. Pollution from MidAmerican’s
> coal-fired power plants causes major health problems in communities across
> Iowa. Retiring units at these coal plants and installing vital pollution
> controls at the remaining units will help Iowans breathe easier.”
>
> The settlement between Sierra Club and MidAmerican Energy further cements
> Iowa’s position as a national clean energy leader. Iowa passed the first
> renewable energy standard in the country in 1983, decades before most
> states even considered similar standards. Iowa now ranks third in the
> nation in installed wind capacity, draws 22 percent of its electricity from
> wind energy and is a hub of wind component manufacturing in the Midwest.
> The wind industry employs 7,000 workers in Iowa, more than any other state.
>
>
> “Big carbon pollution emitters like MidAmerican’s coal-fired power plants
> are contributing to the climate disruption causing this year’s historic
> drought across the Midwest,” said *Bruce Nilles, Senior Director of the
> Beyond Coal campaign.* “If we want to ensure that droughts do not become
> the new normal for Iowa, other utilities must follow suit to phase out coal
> imported from Wyoming and push Iowa’s strong home-grown clean energy
> development forward.”
>
> Today’s announcement brings the total number of coal plants retired or
> announced to retire since 2010 to 130 plants and 50,717 megawatts, almost
> one sixth of the nation’s entire coal fleet. In 2009 these coal plants
> emitted more than 188 million metric tons of carbon pollution the
> equivalent annual emissions of more than 39 million passenger vehicles.
> These plants also emitted more than 7,600 pounds of mercury, a potent
> neurotoxin, and caused 6,000 heart attacks, 60,000 asthma attacks and 3,600
> premature lives annually.
>
> Meanwhile, as coal plants are retired and only one new coal plant has
> broken ground since November 2008, the United States is also installing
> record amounts of clean energy. During President’s Obama’s first term the
> nation doubled its installations of wind and solar, and in 2012 the US
> installed more wind and solar than coal, gas or nuclear power, with both
> wind and solar having their best year ever. In mid-2012 the United States
> hit the milestone of 50,000 megawatts of wind generation installed,
> producing enough electricity for 13 million American homes.
>
> "This is great news for the people of Iowa and another important victory
> for the Beyond Coal campaign. The retirement of these plants means our
> campaign has achieved an important milestone: we have helped retire more
> than 50,000 megawatts of coal power, while also bringing online more than
> 50,000 megawatts of wind energy. Iowans are joining a growing number of
> citizens around the country who are helping to end our nation's dependency
> on coal and move the U.S. toward a cleaner energy future," said *Michael
> R. Bloomberg, whose Bloomberg Philanthropies has contributed $50 million to
> the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign.*
>
> Tapping into the Sierra Club’s 2.1 million members and supporters, its
> Beyond Coal campaign is working across the United States to end coal
> burning no later than 2030, replace coal-fired power plants with clean
> energy like wind and solar power, and keep the massive U.S. coal reserves
> underground and out of world markets. It is the largest campaign in the
> organization’s 114-year history, and employs more than 170 staff members
> who collaborate with thousands of activists and more than a hundred allied
> organizations nationwide. With a relentless focus on moving the country
> off of coal fired power, the campaign is engaged in more than a hundred
> venues, including the courts, regulatory agencies and in communities where
> decisions about coal mining and coal use are being debated. This includes
> working with workers and communities to help them transition to clean
> energy jobs when local coal plants are retired.
>
> The settlement can be viewed here<http://action.sierraclub.org/site/DocServer/Dkt_3-1__Lodged_Consent_Decree__1.22.13.pdf?docID=12081>
> .
>
> ###
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To
> unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
> [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv
> Lists support site for more information:
> http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To
> unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
> [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv
> Lists support site for more information:
> http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp
>
--
Mike Carberry
319-594-6453
[log in to unmask]
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]
Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp
|
