More Ways to Get Active with Sierra Club - MI Chapter Update 12-4-16

Position Statement on Energy Policy

Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Position Statement 

Energy Policy

Sierra Club encourages lawmakers to expand Michigan’s renewable energy and efficiency programs, and more specifically:
- Increase Michigan's renewable energy standard to 30% by 2030.
- Increase Michigan's energy efficiency/optimization standard from 1% to 2% annually.
- Remove the existing spending cap on Michigan's energy efficiency program.
- Ensure that "clean" or "renewable" energy is not redefined to include any fossil fuels, nuclear energy, or energy from incinerating wastes.
- Ensure that customers are able to produce their own energy and are allowed to either use that energy themselves or sell it back to a utility company at full price, not a wholesale price.
- Enable everyone to participate in community renewable energy projects.



Issue Background
In 2008, the Michigan Legislature passed the Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act (PA 295). The law put in place a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) that requires Michigan’s utility companies to obtain 10% of their electricity from clean and renewable sources by 2015. The law also created an energy efficiency program, which is funded through a small fee on all ratepayers’ energy bills to help homeowners and businesses make their homes and offices more energy efficient.

PA295 has been an unparalleled success. All major utilities have met the 10% renewable energy standard and have reduced/eliminated surcharges to pay for it. While the costs of coal and nuclear energy range from $108-133 per megawatt/hour, wind contracts cost between $43-59 per megawatt/hour, which is cheaper than natural gas at $67 per MWh. The Michigan Public Service Commission’s 2013 report on renewables states that Michigan can achieve a 30% renewable energy standard (RES) without technical difficulties or increased costs. PA 295 defined renewable energy to include solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal, and landfill gas.

Michigan’s energy efficiency standard of 1% annual savings has also been successful. For every $1 invested in our energy efficiency program, ratepayers have saved $4.38. Energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to reduce spending on electricity, costing $11 per MWh, cheaper than any form of new generation. The 2008 law also set a cap on how much utilities could spend on energy efficiency.


Sierra Club Perspective
Fossil fuels create $523 billion of domestic public health and environmental costs annually and receive over $500 billion in annual subsidies from our government. The Legislature should increase Michigan’s RES to 30% by 2030 and increase its efficiency standard to 2% annually. This would combat subsidies/costs and promote meaningful progress in climate disaster mitigation. The legislature should also ensure that customers are able to produce their own energy and sell it at full price.

Michigan currently spends $24 billion per year importing fuel into the state. 100% of our fuel for coal and nuclear power comes from out-of-state, 99% of our petroleum and 80% of our natural gas as well. Solar, wind and energy efficiency have no fuel costs and don’t send our money out of state.

The Sierra Club opposes proposals to gut the definition of renewable/clean energy. Fossil fuels, nuclear energy, waste incineration, and pumped storage are not renewable energy sources. Energy sources that emit air pollution (including the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane), water pollution, and produce radioactive waste should not be considered “clean energy” in Michigan’s laws.




Current Legislation on Clean Energy in Michigan
There is currently no legislation introduced to establish a 30% Renewable Energy Standard annual increase.

Sierra Club Supports the Following Bills
Powering Michigan’s Future legislation SB 295-297 and HB 4518-4519, HB 4055: increase Michigan’s renewable energy standard to 20% by 2022, gradually increase the energy optimization standard until reaching 2% annually in 2019 for electricity and 1.5% for natural gas, and eliminate the renewable energy surcharge.
Bill sponsors: Hoon-Yung Hopgood, David Knezek, Sam Singh, Marcia Hovey-Wright, Julie Plawecki.

Bipartisan Energy Freedom legislation HB 4878-4881: remove barriers for businesses and individuals to generate their own energy and receive fair-value pricing. Enable community energy projects.
Bill sponsors: Gary Glenn, Ed McBroom, Scott Dianda, Jeff Irwin

HB 4304 (Jason Sheppard): prevent natural gas utilities from raising rates to pay for fines and penalties. This bill is a positive step toward establishing stricter accountability for utility companies when they fail to comply with the law.

HB 4683 (Scott Dianda): require the Michigan Public Service Commission to adopt integrated resource plans for regions of the state. This is designed to make energy distribution in the Upper Peninsula cheaper, cleaner and more reliable.


Sierra Club Opposes the Following Bills
SB 437-438 (Mike Nofs, John Proos): sunset Michigan’s Energy Optimization standard in 2019, repeal Michigan’s Renewable Energy Standard, establish a definition for “clean energy” that includes polluting fossil fuels, implement a voluntary green pricing program, eliminate net metering, destroy the distributed energy market, and replace standards with an Integrated Resource Planning process.

HB 4297-4298 (Aric Nesbitt): replace renewable energy/efficiency mandates with an Integrated Resource Planning process, establish an unenforceable 30% renewable/efficiency goal, and remove sustainability criteria for wood/tree biomass.

SB 465 (Mike Shirkey): require the legislature to review Michigan’s State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the federal Clean Power Plan and give them the power to disapprove it. It would also prevent a SIP from being submitted if there is pending litigation against the Clean Power Plan. This will handcuff our ability to comply with the Clean Power Plan, slow down our implementation, and lessen our ability to mitigate climate change.

HB 4303 (Brett Roberts): allow natural gas utilities to expand their infrastructure with Michigan Public Service Commission oversight/review and use ratepayer money to pay for it. This ratepayer money should instead be spent on repairing/replacing old natural gas pipelines, distributed generation, community renewable projects, or energy efficiency.

HB 4066 (Ray Franz): completely ban offshore wind deeds, leases, or permits in the Great Lakes.

HB 4308 (Ray Franz): repeal Michigan’s current Renewable Energy Standard.

Michigan Chapter Update - November 15, 2015

Sierra Club Submits Testimony Opposing SB 438: Destructive Energy Legislation

The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter submitted the following testimony to the Senate Energy and Technology Committee in response to Senate Bill 438 on Tuesday, August 25.

August 25, 2015

To: Chairman Nofs and members of the Senate Energy and Technology Committee

RE: Senate Bill 438

On behalf of our 60,000 members and supporters in Michigan, the Sierra Club urges a NO vote on SB 438 (Proos), a bill that would eliminate Michigan’s renewable energy standard, sunset the state’s energy optimization standard, establish a definition for “clean energy resources” that includes polluting fossil fuels, and modify net metering in a way that would discourage distributed generation. Michigan legislators must reject SB 438 because it would undermine Michigan’s progress to date and put our future at risk.

Michigan’s renewable energy and efficiency standards have been unparalleled successes. They’ve created jobs, saved ratepayers money and enhanced economic development, while simultaneously protecting the health of Michigan’s citizens and the Great Lakes by reducing dirty, costly fossil fuels in our energy sector. Now is the time for our elected officials to increase Michigan’s renewable energy standard as both Michigan state agencies and nationally acclaimed energy experts show that our state can dramatically increase its renewable energy and efficiency capacity while boosting our economy and protecting our environment.

Energy Waste

Eliminating Michigan’s energy optimization (EO) standard in 2019 is the wrong choice for ratepayers. Energy savings, monetary savings, and greenhouse gas emission savings would all be decreased without an Energy Optimization standard. Integrated Resource Planning should be used in conjunction with a mandated efficiency goal, not instead of it. Investor-owned energy companies have little incentive to sell less energy and reap less profit, but as regulated monopolies they can and should be required to help their customers reduce energy waste.

Eliminating the EO standard contradicts both Governor Snyder’s plan to eliminate energy waste and the outstanding success of the current measure in saving ratepayers money. Michigan residents today save $3.55 for every dollar invested in our current efficiency program, while simultaneously preventing carbon and other pollution. Michigan’s energy efficiency industry is a driving force in our economy that employs more than 46,000 Michiganders, while also averting greenhouse gas emissions. The bill also establishes a cap on how much utility companies can spend on energy waste reduction programs at 2% of total utility retail sales. Waste Reduction is the cheapest way to save ratepayers money and decrease greenhouse gas emissions, so Sierra Club opposes any arbitrary limits or caps.

Definition of Clean Energy

The bill defines “Clean Energy” in a way that allows unsustainable forms of energy such as natural gas, waste incineration, nuclear, and other fossil fuels to be considered clean energy sources. This definition is too broad and weakens the true meaning of Clean Energy.  Energy sources that emit air and water pollution, including the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane, and produce radioactive waste should not be considered “clean energy” in Michigan’s laws.

Climate Change

SB 438 is a dangerous proposal that takes Michigan in the wrong direction when it comes to protecting our state from climate disaster. Climate disruption caused by greenhouse gases from human sources is an urgent threat to our everyday lives and our future, and its impact is already being felt in Michigan. Climate disruption is about more than warmer temperatures – it’s about disrupting the basic weather patterns that affect almost everything in our lives - our water supplies, how we grow our food, the kinds of diseases we deal with, and the ability to keep our families safe.

We can already see the effects of climate disruption all across America: unprecedented droughts and wildfires in Western states, record-breaking heat in the Southwest and Midwest, Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, extreme winter weather in traditionally warm states, and melting glaciers in Alaska. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, harming people, their economic well-being, their health, their homes, and their futures. Right here in Michigan, we’ve seen cherry and apple crops completely devastated due to abnormal and extreme weather patterns exacerbated by climate disruption. The time to fight climate disruption is now, but enacting SB 438 would contribute to more climate disasters.

Sierra Club members call on our elected leaders to combat climate disruption by moving Michigan beyond fossil fuels and towards true clean energy sources like wind, solar, and energy efficiency. According to a Yale study from last year, 61% of Michiganders believe climate change is happening, 76% believe we should regulate carbon pollution, and 60% support increasing our state’s renewable energy standard.  The message is clear: Michiganders oppose SB 438 and want more renewable energy and efficiency instead.

Green Pricing Program

The green pricing program established in this legislation is a step in the right direction. However, voluntary programs wane in the long run because utility companies operate under a regulated monopoly with a guaranteed rate of return/profit. Investor-owned energy companies have little incentive to invest in energy sources that protect the planet, because they are guaranteed a profit no matter which sources they utilize. If we can guarantee utility companies a profit, we should also require them to invest in energy sources that protect our air and water instead of unsustainable sources. We need mandates in addition to voluntary programs in order to truly protect Michigan’s environment and ratepayers.

Distributed Generation

The distributed generation portion of this legislation is a step in the wrong direction. Currently, small-scale solar projects in place or being installed on Michigan homes, businesses, and non-profits are able to connect to the grid through Michigan’s net metering program, which has been a huge success. SB 438 would drastically undercut homeowners who are investing in Michigan’s future through renewable energy systems.  Under SB 438, those families which invest their own funds in their own private renewable power systems and connect them to the grid to help with power distribution and peak demand, would be mandated to buy all their power at retail rates from the monopoly power company in their area, and meanwhile be forced to sell the electricity they generate at home back to utility companies for less than it is worth. This staggeringly anti-entrepreneurial concept runs contrary to common sense and the best interests of our state.  Net metered electricity from solar is normally produced when there is peak demand for electricity. This means solar power generation through net metering actually saves all ratepayers substantial money over time by reducing the need to invest in electric generation plants for peak load, which are the most expensive to build, maintain and run, and drive up the cost of electricity for all ratepayers.

According to the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, between 2003 and 2010, the solar industry was one of the fastest growing segments of Michigan's economy, increasing at a rate of 15.8 percent each year with 121 companies in Michigan and employing 6,300 workers. This bill could kill that economic progress. This bill would discourage investment in solar production by delaying payback periods from 10 years (which most customers get today) to 18-20 years.  Ratepayers who are investing in distributed generation already are willing to take on the burdensome costs for net metering, including application fees, metering installation, interconnection, and testing costs, while also requiring pay delivery charges and non-fuel portion of power supply rates. We should not be adding more costs on these ratepayers while at the same time requiring them to sell their clean, home generated energy for less than its true value. In addition, facilities that produce energy on-site via distributed generation are better protected from large power outages than traditional customers who depend on the grid.

Michigan should encourage distributed generation instead of limiting it. Although the new plan increases allowed distributed generation to 10% from the previous 1% cap, we believe there should be no cap, giving the opportunity for all Michiganders to participate and decide how they want to use their energy. Senate Bill 438 would discourage distributed generation to the detriment of ratepayers, homeowners and businesses.

Subsidies

Some supporters of SB 438 have claimed that renewable energy and efficiency programs are being unfairly subsidized and that this bill restores market forces. What they don’t disclose, however, is that the fossil fuel industry received $502 billion in overall subsidies from U.S. taxpayers in 2012, according to a report from the International Monetary Fund. In comparison, the renewable energy industry (excluding biomass) received $24 billion in federal support in 2012, less than five percent the subsidization of fossil fuels.

In addition, the International Monetary Fund recently reported that fossil fuel pollution costs the world $5 trillion annually in public health and environmental problems. Pollution costs are externalized from the market and are another form of fossil fuel subsidization, balanced out by costs to people’s health and degradation to our natural resources. For an example right here in Michigan, a 2011 report from Environmental Health and Engineering, Inc. showed that particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) from Michigan’s nine oldest coal plants are costing $5.4 billion a year in public health costs.

When determining Michigan’s next energy policy, the legislature must also consider the context of excessive subsidies currently given to fossil fuel based suppliers. We encourage you to pass policies that even the playing field for sustainable forms of energy such renewable energy standards, energy optimization standards, fair pricing for distributed generation, and enabling community energy projects.

Out of State Spending

Michigan currently spends $22 billion a year importing fossil fuel into the state, for both transportation and power. We get 100% of our fuel for coal and nuclear energy and 80 percent of our natural gas from other states. Solar and wind are fuel free; once installed, the cost of energy is zero. That is all money that then gets spent in Michigan instead of sent out of state to import fuel. Our public policies should support renewable energy development and energy optimization instead of continuing our reliance on polluting and volatile fossil fuels like natural gas and coal.

Sierra Club’s Policy Recommendations

The Sierra Club specifically calls on the Michigan legislature to:

• Increase Michigan's renewable energy standard to 30% by 2030, as the Public Service Commission and Energy Office have all said is readily achievable.
• Increase Michigan's energy optimization standard from 1% to 2% annually.
• Remove the existing spending cap on Michigan's energy efficiency program.
• Ensure that "clean" or "renewable" energy is not redefined to include anything that emits greenhouse gasses or creates radioactive waste such as fossil fuels, nuclear energy, or energy from incinerating wastes.
• Ensure that electric ratepayers are able to produce their own energy to either use themselves or sell back to a utility company at full retail price, not a wholesale or lowered price.
• Remove the existing cap on net metering and all other regulatory barriers to distributed generation.
• Enable all individuals, organizations, places of worship and utilities to establish community renewable energy gardens, similar to the ones currently operated by Cherryland Electric Co-Op and proposed for the Lansing Board of Water and Light, and require investor-owned utilities to purchase generated energy from these entities.

For these reasons, we urge you to vote NO on SB 438. Votes pertaining to this bill will be included in the Sierra Club’s legislative scorecard.

Sincerely,

Mike Berkowitz

Legislative and Political Director

Sierra Club Michigan Chapter

Michigan Chapter Update - August 15, 2015

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	Michigan Chapter Update AUGUST 16 2015  In this issue: GOV BLANCHARD URGED TO PROTECT GREAT LAKES FROM ENBRIDGE LINE 5 UPCOMING EVENTS: -LAST CHANCE: SIGN UP FOR THE ANNUAL RETREAT: AUGUST 21-23-PEOPLE'S CLIMATE MARCH IN GRAND RAPIDS: SEPTEMBER 19 -DETROIT MARCH FOR JUSTICE: OCTOBER 3 SIERRA CLUB FILES AMICUS BRIEF ON PALISADE'S NUCLEAR PLANT SENATE BILL WOULD UNDERMINE NET METERING FOR SOLAR  GO SOLAR WITH SIERRA CLUB! MI SOLAR PARTNERSHIP JOIN THE BAN FRACKING IN MICHIGAN PETITION DRIVE! SPEAK UP ABOUT MICHIGAN'S WATER STRATEGY THANK YOU TO TIM MINOTAS! EXPLORE AND ENJOY: IARGO SPRINGS LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP TODAY AND MONDAY: Chapter Annual Retreat  August 21-23 Camp Miniwanca Shelby, MI  Join us for a Peoples' Climate March in West Michigan! Learn more and RSVP here. September 19, 1-2:30 p.m. 6th Street Bridge Park, Grand Rapids  SAVE THE DATE! Detroit March for Justice October 3, 12 p.m. Roosevelt Park, Detroit SIERRA CLUB URGES FORMER GOVERNOR TO USE ROLE ON ENBRIDGE BOARD TO SHUT DOWN LINE 5 The Sierra Club called on former Michigan Governor James Blanchard, who currently serves as a board member for Enbridge, Inc., to address immediate safety concerns associated with the Canadian company's Line 5 crude oil pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac. Advocates gathered at the Capitol to urge government officials to shut down the 62-year-old Line 5 pipeline. Photo by Cecilia Garcia. As chair of the Enbridge board's Committee of Social Responsibility, Blanchard's position calls for his oversight on environmental stewardship and the protection of local communities. The Sierra Club letter calls on the former governor to compel the company to publicly disclose safety inspection results and cooperate in an independent investigation sought by the state, in line with Blanchard's authority and duties at the company. The request calls directly on Blanchard to aid in the immediate shut down of Line 5, as the company failed to maintain legal pipeline infrastructure and provided inconsistent liability information in the event of an oil spill. The company's history with this 61-year-old pipeline proves to violate the very goals of Blanchard's position on the board of directors, one created in response to the company's catastrophic Line 6b breech that devastated the Kalamazoo River and local communities. Michigan Sierra Club Chair David Holtz weighed in on the importance of preventing a similar catastrophe by holding the company, specifically Blanchard, accountable. "Governor Blanchard is not only in a unique position to protect the Great Lakes from an Enbridge catastrophe, but as an Enbridge board member he is responsible to Enbridge shareholders for making sure the company stops behaving badly," Holtz said. To read our full press release, which includes each request to Blanchard, click here. SIERRA CLUB FILES AMICUS BRIEF ON REVIEW OF PALISADES NUCLEAR REACTOR  Palisade's Nuclear Plant sits on the shores of Lake Michigan. Photo by Sierra Club Nuclear Free. On August 7 the Sierra Club submitted an Amicus brief to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), joining the call for the agency to conduct a full evidentiary hearing on the unprecedented request by the owners of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, Entergy, that they be exempted from federal safety regulations. Sierra Club is supporting the efforts of Beyond Nuclear, Don't Waste Michigan, Michigan Safe Energy Future-Shoreline Chapter, and Nuclear Energy Information Service who petitioned the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panel (ASLBP) to require a hearing on Palisades and its embrittled reactor. In a Memorandum and Order released on June 18th, the ASLB panel determined that the request from Entergy warranted a full evidentiary hearing. The Louisiana based owner of Palisades appealed the ASLB order to the NRC. The Palisades plant, located on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Covert, MI, is one of the oldest nuclear power plants still operating in the world, and has the most embrittled reactor pressure vessel (RPV) in the United States. The RPV, which includes both the shroud that shields the rest of the plant and the environment from radioactive materials, and the reactor core where controlled nuclear reactions are used to generate electricity, faces significant deterioration and embrittlement from more than forty years of operation and exposure to radioactive materials. The Palisades' embrittled RPV poses the threat of a catastrophic rupture or breakdown. According to Mark Muhich, chairman of Sierra Club Nuclear Free Michigan, an RPV rupture "could kill thousands of western Michigan residents, ruin thousands of square miles of the best agricultural land in the state, and poison Lake Michigan, the source of drinking water for millions of people." Sierra Club is represented by attorney Wallace Taylor of Iowa, who has worked with Sierra Club chapters around the nation on issues related to nuclear power safety.  Join the clean energy age & power your home with the sun!   Our solar partners, McNaughton-McKay Electric Company, Solar Winds Power Supply and Michigan Solar Solutions, offer their services by evaluating your home's solar capacity, educating the public on the benefits of solar power and providing expert installation of the customer's choice of solar array. Sales through our partnership provides for donations to the Michigan Chapter to support our work as well! Fill out our solar survey.  NEW ENERGY LEGISLATION COULD DESTROY SOLAR ENERGY IN MICHIGAN Senate Energy Committee Vice Chairman John Proos recently introduced a bill to rewrite Michigan's energy policy which could prevent people from using their own solar energy produced for their homes and businesses. Currently, small-scale solar projects are able to connect to the grid through Michigan's net metering program, allowing homes, businesses, and non-profits to use their own energy. Senate Bill 438 would essentially eliminate net metering, barring program participants under the new plan from using their own generated energy and instead force them to sell the energy back to utility companies for less than it is worth. We believe customers should have free will to use their own produced energy. The bill also repeals Michigan's renewable energy standard, eliminates our energy efficiency programs, and redefines clean energy to include polluting sources of energy such as natural gas, nuclear energy, and hazardous waste incineration. We need your help to stop this bill and get the legislature to pass policies that support sustainable energy sources like wind and solar. Click here to take action and tell your lawmakers to oppose this devastating legislation. STAND UP FOR STRONGER GREAT LAKES PROTECTION IN MICHIGAN The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Office of the Great Lakes released a 156-page draft of a Water Strategy in Junethat it calls "a roadmap to achieve a 30-year vision to ensure Michigan’s water resources support healthy ecosystems, citizens, communities and economies." Sunset on Lake Michigan. Photo by Gail Philbin.   The document broadly addresses an array of water-related issues, from algal blooms and invasive species to infrastructure issues and the need for monitoring surface and groundwater. While the goal of a long-term approach to protecting our most precious resource is laudable, Sierra Club has serious concerns about the effectiveness of the state's Water Strategy given the voluntary nature of the measures it promotes.    "I am disappointed that the Water Strategy speaks to what government 'can' and 'should' do versus what it WILL do to protect waters within the Great Lakes Basin," says Erma Leaphart, Conservation Organizer for the Sierra Club Great Lakes Program. "I respect and agree that people of Michigan have a role to play but the State of Michigan must take a leadership role starting with creating a stronger vision statement, establishing or adopting specific identified impactful goals and data driven solutions." If you want the Great Lakes State to take the lead on meaningful Great Lakes stewardship, make your voice heard: • Read the Water Strategy here.  • Send your written comments by Aug. 28 to the Office of the Great Lakes, DEQ, P.O. Box 30473-7973, Lansing, Michigan 48909, by fax at 517-335-4053 or by emailing Mi-waterstrategy@michigan.gov.    • Or click here to send a message by Aug. 28.  A camper completes the high ropes course. Photo by Sierra Club. LAST DAY TO REGISTER FOR ANNUAL RETREAT This year's Annual Retreat is less than a week away but you can still register online today and tomorrow! The weekend includes a packed schedule of recreational and educational activities, which can be tailored to you and your family's interests. The affordable weekend getaway offers hiking, tubing and boating (to name a few). The sandy beaches and dunes along the coastline of Lake Michigan offer a unique escape and breathtaking panoramic views that everyone can appreciate. Keynote speakers and presenters will offer insight on important ways to protect Michigan's environment in creative ways that are sure to engage all campers. Don't miss out on the unique opportunity to spend a weekend with those who love the environment, while also enjoying the natural beauty our state offers. TO REGISTER FOR THE ANNUAL RETREAT TODAY OR TOMORROW ONLY, CLICK HERE.  Photo from New York Sierra Club. LET'S BAN FRACKING IN MICHIGAN Do you believe we can do better than polluting our water and air by allowing fracking for natural gas and oil? Hundreds of Michiganders are currently collecting petition signatures to put the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan's ballot proposal onto the November 2016 ballot. YOU can help ensure that Michigan voters have a say on whether: Michigan continues to allow radioactive wastes from fracking in other states to be disposed of in Michigan landfills; Michigan continues to allow the use of fracking by oil and gas developers, with the air and water quality contamination it can cause; and Michigan overturns its policy favoring the maximum production of oil and gasover protection of the environment and public health.  Join us in circulating the ballot petition for the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan! You can make a big difference by collecting signatures in your own community or beyond. Time is short and there is a lot of work to do, so please join with Sierra Club in supporting this petition drive! Sign up here and you'll hear from our Campaign Coordinators, Craig Brainard or John Ford, within a few days with details about how Sierra Club is supporting this effort. You can also go to the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan's website to register and get training on how to collect petitions. Be sure to let them know that Sierra Club referred you at the bottom of the volunteer sign up sheet! Contact Craig Brainard or John Ford for more information about Sierra Club's work to end fracking, and to get involved in the ballot petition drive. Paid for with regulated funds by the Sierra Club Committee to Make Michigan Safe from Fracking, 109 E. Grand River Avenue, Lansing, MI 48906. (L to R): Anne Woiwode, State Representative John Kivela, Robert Gordon and Tim Minotas on Michigan Sierra Club Lobby Day. A FOND FAREWELL TO OUR TWO-YEAR INTERN This fall, our Legislative Intern Tim Minotas is heading back to Central Michigan University to finish his degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies and lead the Student Environmental Alliance on campus. Tim spent a year as a chapter Political Intern working on campaigns for Sierra Club's endorsed candidates in Oakland County and Mt. Pleasant. As our Legislative Intern, he helped organize our Spring Citizen Lobby Day, a political fundraiser, and was our eyes and ears at the capitol. Thanks to Tim for all his hard work over the past two years. Interested in being a legislative and political activist like Tim? Learn more information here. EXPLORE AND ENJOY! IARGO SPRINGS Sierra Club is committed to "exploring, enjoying and protecting the planet." The Michigan Chapter Update includes features on exploring and enjoying places in Michigan. In this edition, Becky Hammond writes about the Iargo Springs, located on the Au Sable River in the Huron Manistee National Forest, which host a wide range of wildlife and offer breathtaking views.  A family of ducks. Photo by Becky Hammond. If you've driven along the River Road National Scenic Byway that parallels the Au Sable River as it heads to Lake Huron and (as I did for years) skippedIargo Springs in favor of the Lumberman's Monument (or any other scenic overlook; they abound there), you need to put the springs on your to-do list. Like so many Michigan attractions, they are wonderful and there are many other things to do nearby. Iargo Springs changed the word "spring" for me forever. These are not seeps or even streams trickling out of hillsides, these are almost waterfalls that pour out, some held in manmade pools, all eventually winding and criss-crossing the forest floor until finding their way to the dammed-up part of the Au Sable known as Cooke Pond. To call the water "crystal clear" is to redefine that term.And the springs and streams go on and on, visible from a network of boardwalks that branch out after you descend a long flight of stairs (300 or so). Cooke Pond is the kind of marshy backwater at that point that waterfowllove. Take your camera. It would make a great early-morning paddle. Late May provided a viewing gallery of mergansers, geese, swans, all with young. Iargo springs was, and is, a holy place to Native Americans, with the water considered to have medicinal value. Just being there feels holy, walking around seems to have medicinal value. The spot is the trailhead for the seven-mile Highbanks Trail. It's close enough to Oscoda for a meal and drink afterwards, close enough to Lake Huron for a swim. Join Sierra Club members on Outings, including hikes, camping, and paddling adventures across the state of Michigan and beyond. Find out more about Michigan Chapter and Group Outings here by scrolling down to the calendar.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are Some Great Ways to Support Sierra Club Michigan Chapter and Get Engaged! Support the Michigan Chapter!  Click here to make a Secure Online Donation SierraClubMichigan on Facebook Sign up for a Sierra Club Credit Card today Follow us on Twitter @MichiganSierra We welcome feedback on the Michigan Chapter Update - Contact us at michigan.chapter@sierraclub.org.   Unsubscribe from Michigan Chapter Updates Update My Profile | Manage My Email Preferences | Update My Interests | Explore Our Online Communities  Michigan Chapter - Sierra Club 109 E. Grand River Avenue Lansing, MI 48906 Contact Us Header photo Near Andrus Lake, Upper Michigan, by Beverly Wolf.