Trees are not the solution to our electricity needs

By Marvin Roberson

There is a lot of concern in Michigan, especially the Upper Peninsula, about meeting future electrical needs. Many aging, polluting coal plants are soon to go offline, as they should. New coal plants are unlikely to replace them, and would be a poor choice even if feasible.

There is, and should be, significant focus on energy efficiency and renewable sources of electricity. A portion of our future needs is likely to be met through biomass electricity generation. Biomass electricity is generated by burning plants.

Biomass can come from a variety of sources. Switch grass, waste wood, corn stalk residues and the like all may be burned to generate electricity. Standing timber (live trees cut down for the purpose of burning them) can also be used — and in our state, that’s the primary form of biomass available. In Michigan, with its vast forests, many people naturally think of this resource as an opportunity to generate green, renewable power.

This is a mistake.  More ...

Put Michigan families before business and pollution

Editorial: Put Michigan families before business and pollution

By The Detroit Free Press Editorial Board

May 9, 2014

A fence separates Salina Elementary School from a sprawling Industrial area in Dearborn on Thursday, April 23, 2014. Residents in Dearborn feel and smell the pollution from the plants in the Industrial zone where Severstal steel. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. worked with Severstal and Dearborn officials to lobby the DEQ to allow the steel plant to operate under older, less strict air pollution regulations. Jessica J. Trevino/Detroit Free Press

Let's be clear about who Gov. Rick Snyder's allegiance should be to: the residents of Michigan.

There's no question that the state can't thrive without a healthy business environment and a robust economy. But when the health and well-being of businesses and residents are in conflict, residents should win. Hands down. Every time.

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Snyder doesn’t understand that.

Look at the most recent outrageous display of backroom pandering to emerge from the Snyder administration: E-mails obtained by the Free Press show that the Michigan Economic Development Corp., Snyder’s business development agency, seemingly worked to smooth the path for a high-polluting industrial plant that wants to release even more toxic air emissions.

Dearborn-based Severstal North America is “by far the most egregious facility in the state” when it comes to air quality requirements, according to an e-mail written by a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employee, with 117 complaints and more than 20 violation notices issued since 2010. That’s one reason the MDEQ strongly opposed the company’s efforts to alter its permit, which would allow Severstal to release pollutants at levels up to 725 times higher than the company’s permit allows.

Until the MEDC got involved. More ...

NO MORE GORE-TEX!!

If you are native to the Pacific Northwest then you are probably familiar with Gore-tex. If you have ever purchased a waterproof backpack, tent, shoes, or even clothing, chances are that a Gore-tex label was affixed to it. In 1975, Columbia Sportswear introduced the first Gore-tex parka. A few years later, REI began selling outerwear products and personal clothing coated with Gore-tex. You can even walk into Wal-mart and purchase Gore-tex jackets and gloves. Over the past 40 years, Gore-tex has become the most recognized name in waterproof material for both outerwear products and personal clothing. But what exactly is Gore-tex, and why should there be no more?


More ...

Viewpoint: Michigan looking at major changes in food system

By MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette opinion 
on April 18, 2014 at 12:05 PM, updated April 18, 2014 at 12:09 PM

The following is a letter to the editor that was sent to the Kalamazoo Gazette.

By Gail Philbin

This year is turning out to be a watershed moment for Michigan’s food system. We have several opportunities to reshape the future of our food and agriculture, and therefore, our watersheds. The changes could move us toward more sustainable, community-friendly farms or keep the status quo of a landscape dominated by polluting Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) or factory farms.

After years of political wrangling, a new $8.9 billion federal Farm Bill was signed in February with increased support for organic, locally grown foods. Over the next five years, these taxpayer-funded subsidies will come to Michigan in the form of various programs. Funds in the agricultural conservation programs will be allocated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Michigan, a state-based agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and will determine the quality of farming, food, water and air in Michigan.

Many subsidies in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) address the problems associated with the huge amounts of waste generated by factory farms. In addition to manure, this waste can contain residual antibiotics fed to animals (contributing to human resistance), chemicals used on animals and in facilities, pathogens and other contaminants. Overflowing or leaking waste storage lagoons can lead to contaminated runoff in local waterways. Air pollution from barns, waste storage facilities and the spraying of waste on fields is not uncommon.

In Michigan in 2013, about $2.3 million EQIP funds went to 14 contracts for practices dealing with problems caused by animal waste, an average of about $164,000 per contract.

Yet subsidies won’t solve underlying problems. Restoring the Balance to Michigan’s Farming Landscape, a report released by the sustainable agriculture coalition Less=More, demonstrates that many polluting factory farms are actually subsidized by taxpayers. It found that 37 Michigan CAFOs cited for environmental violations and unpermitted pollution discharges over 15 years ending in 2011 were awarded nearly $27 million in Farm Bill subsidies in the same time period, and 26 of them jointly racked up fines and penalties of more than $1.3 million.

Less=More believes less taxpayer support for polluting factory farms means a more sustainable Michigan, so it’s working to increase the amount of funding for sustainable livestock farmers. It offers an online resource to help farmers get easy access to applications and information about the new Farm Bill.

At the state level, certain decisions made in 2014 will determine just how much pollution from factory farms we will continue to tolerate. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is revising permit guidelines that regulate the amount of animal waste factory farms can discharge to local streams, rivers and lakes. 

On April 28 the Michigan Commission on Agriculture is scheduled to vote on a controversial proposal that would discriminate against small livestock farmers by removing them from nuisance lawsuit protection under Michigan’s Right to Farm Act, a protection that large-scale confinement operations will continue to enjoy. The original vote was postponed after nearly 700 comments were submitted in opposition to the change

Truly, there’s no better time to get involved with your food. Will 2014 be remembered as the year Michigan passed up opportunities for positive change in its food system or will it be the moment in history when citizens helped turn the corner towards a better future? The answer is up to us. Learn more at MoreforMichigan.org.

Gail Philbin is assistant director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.

For more Kalamazoo Gazette opinion pieces and letters visit http://www.mlive.com/opinion/kalamazoo/.

Pollution and climate change threaten Michiganders, Africans alike

Posted by: The Michigan Citizen Posted date: April 03, 2014 In: Diaspora, Front Page | comment : 2

Emem Okon of Nigeria CBM
STEVE FURAY PHOTO

By Steve Furay

Special to the Michigan Citizen

The global issue of environmental justice was at the forefront of a recent community discussion in Detroit in late March, highlighted by the participation of two African activists working for climate justice. The talk, titled “One Struggle, Many Fronts,” was held at the Cass Corridor Commons and was sponsored by the East Michigan Environmental Action Council and the U.S.-Africa Network.

Emem Okon (Nigeria) of the Kebetkache Women’s Development and Resource Center and Mithika Mwenda (Kenya) of The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance joined Malik Yakini of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network and Diana Copeland of EMEAC to shed light on the environmental concerns shared by Africa, the United States, and elsewhere.

More ...

Earth Day Cedar Tree Planting

Help Us Plant 50 Cedar Trees Along the Manistee River on May 19

Due to the long winter and frozen ground, we had to reschedule our Earth Day cedar tree planting along the Manistee River to May 19. On that Monday, from 3-6pm, the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club is partnering with Cedars of the Au Sable, Huron Pines and AmeriCorp, to organize and chaperone 30-40 local northeast Michigan children and adults to plant 50 cedar saplings on the Upper Manistee River.

The Chapter has paid for the trees, tree cages and other materials and Sierra Club members and nonmembers are encouraged to volunteer to help with this special Earth Day planting.

For more information, click here for a flyer.

To RSVP, contact lorne.beatty@michigan.sierraclub.org or call him at 810-632-7766.

Possible Oil Spill In Benzie County On Cold Creek

Possible Oil Spill In Benzie County On Cold Creek

Developing news in Benzie County where the Department of Environmental Quality is investigating a possible oil spill.

An oily sheen can be seen in the Cold Creek in downtown Beulah, not far from Crystal Lake.

Pictures show booms in the water, and an oily substance near the water's edge.

But the DEQ says they still aren't sure if it is in fact oil or something else.

The DEQ says the substance could be a number of things, but didn't want to elaborate until they've met with the team who's been on scene for the last couple of days. They will meet Tuesday.

9&10 News will bring you continuing coverage as new details come in.

http://www.9and10news.com/story/25184279/possible-oil-spill-in-benzie-county-on-cold-creek