Press Room

Legislature Must Stop Dirty Coal Plants as New Report Warns Great Lakes at Risk

Citizens group urges Legislature to act after report warns jobs, health are in danger

LANSING – The Michigan Legislature must act now and prevent as many as seven proposed dirty coal-fired power plants from being built in the state after a new report warned that dangerous greenhouse gases emitted from coal plants threatens the Great Lakes, Michigan jobs and the health of citizens, a citizens action coalition urged today.

“This report repeats what scientists, experts and citizens have been warning for ages: That building more dirty coal-fired power plants will lock Michigan in the energy dark ages and burden our state with outdated technology that will harm jobs, our environment and the very health of our families,” said Anne Woiwode, director of Sierra Club-Michigan. “As Michigan’s elected leaders debate the direction of Michigan’s energy policy going forward, our Legislature must show leadership and invest in clean, renewable energy that will help Michigan attract new investments, while fighting global warming. By stopping dirty coal-fired power plants, we can protect Michigan jobs and the health and safety of Michigan’s citizens.”

Lake Erie’s levels could drop more than 3 feet, to 6.5 feet, by 2066 because of several factors, including pollution, overdevelopment and the unchecked release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and mercury, warned the report, titled “State of the Strait: Status and Trends of Key Indicators 2007.” Written by 75 scientists from nearly 50 government, business, academic and public-interest groups, the report studied the Detroit River and western Lake Erie for three years. The reports contributors include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Windsor, Environment Canada, the International Joint Commission, and the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. In reporting on the study Monday, the Toledo Blade wrote: “The largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions are coal-fired power plants, automobiles and industrial plants.”

“It’s time for Michigan’s leaders to put old-fashioned, dirty, greenhouse gas-emitting coal-fired power plants on the shelf permanently and invest in clean, forward-looking renewable energy sources that can create the good-paying jobs of the future while protecting our environment,” said Dan Farough, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Investing in green power and energy efficiency will strengthen Michigan’s energy independence and make our state a leader in energy. As this new report warns, our jobs, our safety and our future are at stake and we must stop new coal-fired power plants from being built in Michigan.”

Progress Michigan and the Sierra Club are part of a coalition called Clean Energy Now that recently launched a statewide campaign to stop the onslaught of proposals that would build up to seven new dirty coal-fired power plants in Michigan. The campaign urges citizens to sign a petition that calls for no new permits for more coal-fired plants, a move that would give Michigan citizens an avenue to decide their own energy future, not one that is determined by powerful lobbyists for big utility companies. To learn more about the campaign, go to www.nocoalrush.com. The Legislature is currently debating statewide energy policy.

“Michigan is at an energy crossroads and this new report on lake Erie warns us that we must make a critical choice now that invests in clean energy, not dirty, polluting power plants,” said David Holtz, director of Michigan Clean Water Action, which is also a member of the Clean Energy Now coalition. “The best way forward for our state and our citizens is investing in clean, renewable energy that will create good-paying 21st-Century jobs and safeguard our precious Great Lakes – not dirty coal plants that threaten our health and our quality of life.”

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