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Dear Senator, I respectfully urge you to VOTE NO to any new coal-fueled power plants in Michigan. Nations around the world, and various States in this great nation are already realizing the enormous health, financial, and environmental risks inherent in coal. Only you can help to stop this problem in Michigan. We need your help today to stop the construction of dirty coal-fueled power generating plants (along with their toxic emissions) in Michigan. Coal is dirty to handle and worse to burn. And we know that the industry's "clean coal" message is more public relation's spin than anything real (about as real as "safe healthy cigarettes). The coal industry has invested millions in their public relations, advertising and marketing campaigns to promote the myth of “clean coal." Front groups like American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and the P.R. firm of Kelly Rossman-McKinney (in Michigan) are utilizing the momentum of the elections as a platform upon which to spin their message. Any responsible Energy Bill will drastically curtail carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, mercury, selenium, arsenic, and particulate emissions in order to protect personal health and our Michigan environment. Statistically we must reduce our dangerous emissions by 80% if we have any hope of abating global climate change. Coal combustion tools and techniques at this point in their development area unable to comply with environmental imperatives. No coal power plant is worth disease, suffering, and global climate change—especially when there are safe, clean, and sensible energy alternatives in Michigan (i.e. the wind profile in Michigan is the third best in the Nation). Here are Ten Good Reasons Why Coal is Wrong for Michigan:
According to the American Lung Association, 24,000 people a year die prematurely because of pollution from coal-fired power plants. And every year 38,000 heart attacks, 12,000 hospital admissions and an additional 550,000 asthma attacks result from power plant pollution.
In West Virginia alone, coal mining employment has plummeted from 126,000 miners in 1948 (who produced 168 million tons of coal), to just 15,000 miners employed in 2005 (who, with the help of machinery, produced 128 million tons of coal).
Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of human-generated mercury pollution in the U.S. Mercury emissions from electrical generation continues to rise. Mercury in mothers' blood and breast milk can interfere with the development of babies' brains and neurological systems and can lead to learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, problems with coordination, lowered IQ and even mental retardation. We already know that mercury levels in the Great Lakes are an enormous problem, and that most of our fish are unsafe to eat regularly. New coal-fired power plants would worsen this situation. #4: Burning Coal is Fuel for Global Warming The U.S. produces about 25 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.Burning coal contributes 40 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions. Coal is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel. According to the United Nations Environment Program, coal emits around 1.7 times as much carbon per unit of energy when burned as does natural gas and 1.25 times as much as oil. #6: Coal Wastes Huge Quantities of Water Coal mining requires an estimated 70 to 260 million gallons of water every day. Fresh water is becoming scarce worldwide. Coal fueled power plants make this situation worse. source#7: Coal Pollutes Seafood and Freshwater Fish 49 U.S. states have issued fish consumption advisories due to high mercury concentrations in freshwater bodies throughout the country. We already know that mercury levels in the Great Lakes are an enormous problem, and that most of our fish are unsafe to eat regularly. New coal-fired power plants would worsen this situation.
Instead of traditional mining, many coal companies now use mountaintop removal to extract coal. Coal companies are increasingly using this method because it allows for almost complete recovery of coal seams while reducing the number of workers required to a fraction of what conventional methods require. Mountaintop removal involves clear cutting native hardwood forests, using dynamite to blast away as much as 800-1000 feet of mountaintop, and then dumping the waste into nearby valleys, often burying streams. #9: Coal Kills Freshwater Streams and Lakes More than 1,200 miles of Appalachian streams have been buried or damaged by mountaintop removal mining. At least 724 miles of streams were completely buried by valley fills from Appalachian mountaintop removal between 1985 and 2001. 400,000 acres of rich and diverse temperate forests have been destroyed during the same time period as a result of mountaintop mining in Appalachia. #10: Coal Costs Billions in Taxpayer Subsidies The U.S. government continues to aggressively fund coal-related projects despite all that is known about coal’s impacts on health, climate and the economy. The Department of Energy is currently seeking $648 million for “clean coal” projects in its 2009 budget request, “representing the largest budget request for coal RD&D in over 25 years. |
#2: Coal Kills Jobs
#3: Burning Coal Emits Mercury
#5: Coal Kills Miners