 See
the television coverage
of our Light Bulb Walk
in Madison on August 18th, 2007
Need
to recycle a flourescent bulb? Find
locations here...
 See
Jennifer Feyerherm & Bruce Nilles explain the Charter
Power Plant lawsuit on AOL
Video
 YOU
can be involved in Sierra Club campaigns for global warming
solutions and a clean energy future. We could use 4,000 more
volunteers LIKE YOU in the Four Lakes Group. YOU can make
the difference. You could be a Big Huge Volunteer Leader if
you like. Perhaps more important, if you’ve been on
the sidelines and you just want to put your toe in the water,
you could be an Quick-N-Easy Volunteer. If everyone volunteered
for just one task each year, that would add up to a gigantic
effort to protect the planet.
For example,
Four Lakes has tables at local festivals all summer and we’re
always looking for folks to be there.
Going to festivals is fun anyway, and spending a couple hours
enjoying the music and food and sunshine while handing out
literature or collecting petition signatures or just talking
to people at the Sierra Club table makes it even more fun.
Here’s a quick glimpse into what Four Lakes Conservation
Committee and our ever-growing team of volunteer activists
has been up to.
Working for Cleaner Power in Madison – the “Co-Generation
Study”
On May 23, 2007 we found out that the State Building Commission
decided to put some money into studying options for replacing
three of Madison’s old, dirty coal-fired power plants.
This matters because it means the University of Wisconsin
is joining MG&E, the State of Wisconsin, Dane County,
and the City of Madison to examine opportunities for cogeneration,
renewable fuels, and options that will generate the least
amount of pollution over the entire time that they are used.
(See Fighting for Cleaner Power, p. 1) This is partially the
result of the work of hundreds of volunteers over the last
year.
Reducing Global Warming Pollution from Wisconsin Utilities
Conservation Committee has been urging top management at MG&E
to commit to a public plan to reduce global warming pollution
2% every year for the next 40 years. So far their projected
reductions are under 1% annually for the next eight years.
We’ve exchanged letters and met with them a few times,
and we’re discussing ways Sierra Club can encourage
and support their continued progress.
Building Coalitions for Measurable Reductions in Global Warming
Pollution
On March 15th, Sierra Club joined with over 500 Dane County
citizens to witness Madison Mayor Dave, County Exec Kathleen
Falk, and many School Board candidates publicly commit to
measurable, verifiable reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.
At this Dane County United Candidates Forum, Sierra Club joined
with dozens of local faith, labor, and community groups representing
thousands of people to hear the candidates’ broad-based
pledges. Since then, we’ve been meeting almost every
week to develop long term goals and an action plan to hold
the winners to their promises.
Moving
Local Government in the Right Direction to Fight Global Warming
On behalf of Sierra Club, we’ve signed on to the City
of Madison’s “100K Carbon Challenge”. Along
with Madison Gas and Electric and others, we’re working
with Madison to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 100,000 tons.
That’s a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the goal
of reducing all carbon dioxide pollution 2 percent per year,
but it’s a goal we can easily achieve on our way toward
meeting the serious challenge the whole world will face in
the decades to come.
Building our Regional Network for Clean Energy Solutions
In May, several Four Lakes Sierrans went to Indianapolis for
the Midwest Sierra Club New Energy Future Conference to get
educated on how we fit into the bigger picture of the national
Clean Energy Campaign. Attendance has doubled last year’s
conference and it was jam-packet with presentations
and speakers. We’re not just talking about “No
New Coal Plants”, although that is a huge part of the
campaign. We’re also looking at efficiency, conservation,
renewable energy, organizing, and legislative approaches to
get us to a cleaner new energy future.
Holding Polluters Accountable to the Law
You may have seen some of the press around the Sierra Club’s
lawsuit to make the University of Wisconsin obey the Clean
Air Act and install pollution controls on its 50 year old
Charter Street power plant. Charter St. is the second most
polluting power plant in Dane County, and the massive irony
that it provides power to a campus hosting top level environmental
research is not lost on anyone. That includes Chancellor Wiley,
who didn’t happen to be in his office last December,
when UW students, area residents, and Sierra Club conservation
volunteers showed up with Christmas stockings filled with
coal – along with 700 postcards from the people who
live in the neighborhood urging UW to take action to clean
up Charter Street.
Keeping
Poison Out of Wisconsin Lakes and Fish
Sierra Club members testified in person, by letter and by
email at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’
public hearings on the new Clean Air Mercury Rules. Mercury
is an incredibly poisonous nerve toxin. Mercury pollution
from coal-fired power plants goes out the smokestacks and
ends up in our water supply and builds up in the fish. Then
we eat the fish and the mercury builds up in our bodies. The
minimum federal reduction is 80% by 2020. We’ve been
advocating a state rule that would require a reduction of
90% by 2012. Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois already have
this in place. Why not Wisconsin? At the recent Waterfront
Festival we collected several hundred petitions and delivered
them to the Department of Natural Resources to demonstrate
citizen concern on this vital issue.
You
can energize our efforts!
The Conservation
Committee holds regular meetings and has a list-serv to keep
interested members up to date on our activities. If you would
like to be involved with "Saving Energy Together"contact
Seth Nowak at coop_seth@yahoo.com
today!
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