Iowa Global Warming

Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council released a report Monday stating that countries that switch to clean energy technology will create more jobs than countries that stick with dirty technologies, like coal. They state that 2.7 million more jobs could be created within the power sector in the next twenty years.

The report “Working for the Climate” was released because of the Group of 20 meeting in Pittsburgh next week. The groups hope to show the countries involved that clean technology can benefit their economies.

According to the report, 11.3 million people could be working in the power sector by 2030 if changes are made to technology, compared to the 8.6 million that will be without those changes.

Read more here

The large, coal-fired power plants that emit the bulk of Iowa’s air pollution are no longer required to measure emissions of mercury – one of the most toxic chemicals they produce – following the withdrawal of a federal rule last year.

Environmental groups say they are counting on state and federal regulators to put a new monitoring standard in place quickly, but state officials say it could take until at least August before a new standard is brought before the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission for discussion and approval.

At issue is the ability to better measure the mercury infiltrating the state’s waterways, which experts say is notoriously difficult. Mercury, a potent neurotoxin that can also damage the kidneys and lungs, is typically ingested by people when they eat contaminated fish.

Please read the rest of the article here.

Just a short note, but we’ve been hearing that today there will be an announcement about the proposed Marshalltown coal plant. Long story short – looks like those smokestacks have collapsed under public scrutiny and their own weight. As we and our partner groups have noted, once the public had time to fully express themselves, and the US EPA started the process toward regulating greenhouse gases in these sorts of proposals, Alliant was going to have to re-evaluate whether it made sense to build coal plants like Marshalltown. And (I hope!) the answer is no. No, it doesn’t make sense to build dirty coal when Iowa is a leader in clean technology. Clearly.

Thank you to everyone who wrote DNR asking for full public comment, wanted to do more, and most importantly GOT INVOLVED! Not to sound redundant, but ‘the action is where the action is’, and if you’re not involved yet then now is the time.

And of course, if the announcement tomorrow is that they’re going to use the ‘power of the word clean’, well… oops, it’s not over yet. We want to keep you ‘plugged in to the new energy’, so I guess we’ve got more to do!

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources opened up the requisite thirty-day public comment period for a pending permit to construct a new coal power plant in Marshalltown monday. The current deadline is March 20th, but environmentalists are pushing to have that extended to late May.

Central to the arguments against the plant is the state’s refusal to issue permits regulating fine particles and carbon dioxide. Fine particulate matter is a serious health concern, and carbon dioxide, previously not considerable for regulation under Bush-era policies, is currently being reconsidered by the EPA.

The negative health effects of coal are particularly troubling when considering that more than 500,000 children live within 30 miles of Iowa’s coal power plants.

“Iowa should be doing everything it can to reduce its existing pollution, not allowing another massive and dirty source of harmful soot and smog,” said Pam Mackey-Taylor, who follows energy issues for Sierra.

Read more here

See which public comment meetings are happening near you here

Or, send your thoughts to:

Dave Phelps, Supervisor
Construction Permits Section
Air Quality Bureau
7900 Hickman Road, Suite 1
Urbandale, IA 50322
FAX: (515) 242-5094
Email: dave.phelps@dnr.iowa.gov

Title: An Iowa Activist Evening
Location: Iowa Global Warming Offices, 505 5th Avenue, Suite 333
Link out: Click here
Monday Feb. 23, ELPC’s Iowa Global Warming Campaign, Sierra Club, Iowa IPL, and the Sierra Student Coalition are joining to offer a chance for informed and concerned citizens to take concrete action on the following:

Implementing ICCAC Recommendations
How we can stop the Marshalltown Plant
Send your voice to Washington
Get high speed rail service to Des Moines
Mobilizing Neighborhood Climate Leaders

Screening of \”Fighting Goliath\”
A Short Film about the fight against Coal in Texas

Food and film snacks will be served.
Please RSVP: 515.244.3113

Start Time: 6:00pm
Date: 2009-02-23
End Time: 8:30pm

A New Jersey firm has abandoned plans to build a coal-fired power plant in Waterloo, blaming the economic downturn.

LS Power announced Tuesday that it would scrap plans for the controversial plant, which would have produced enough power to serve as many as 500,000 homes beginning in 2013. The firm planned to sell power wholesale to customers in and outside Iowa.

The company’s partner in the project, Dynegy Inc., dissolved its venture last week, citing the credit crisis.

“The neighbors are all ecstatic,” said Don Shatzer of rural Waterloo, who led three years of neighbors’ opposition against the roughly $1.5 billion plant. In addition to stirring up heavy opposition from environmentalists, the plant would have claimed the century farm of 78-year-old Merle Bell just outside Waterloo.

“Merle Bell is going to get to stay in his home,” Shatzer said.

Read the full story here

Loss of financial backing killed a $1.3 billion proposal to build a new coal-fired power plant in Waterloo, LS Power announced Tuesday.

Elk Run Energy Associates, an affiliate of LS Power, announced Tuesday that it will forgo further development on the proposed 750-megawatt Elk Run Energy Station. The project, one of two new plants proposed for Iowa, lost financial partner Dynegy Inc. on Jan. 2.

Read the full story here

Well, former President Bill Clinton just said it on the Late Show with Letterman – individuals can’t solve global warming alone, we also have to have leadership from our government. Honestly, I’m not ‘happy’, as much as it’s good to hear (I’m getting used to hearing nice things from companies that burn a lot of coal, too) because this is a situation that needs real action, and needs it now. Speaking the truth, even when you ARE power, doesn’t get it done. We need help to make this happen. There are a lot of things going on right now – energy legislation in Congress, legal motions and advisory committees on the state level – please, help us make a better future happen by getting involved. You can do so by clicking a link on this site, or by sending an email to asnow@iowaglobalwarming.org.