Green Party launches campaign against coal plants

5.30.2003

Green Party launches campaign against coal plants By Amy Olson

By Amy Olson Journal Times RACINE - The organized groups, both in favor and opposed to We Energies plans to build three coal-fired plants, have had their chance to speak.

Now, members of the Racine-Kenosha Green Party hope the masses will get their chance to be heard.

Green Party members are launching an aggressive campaign against the coal plant expansion, hoping to gain at least 5,000 signatures through its Web site and door-to-door campaign in the upcoming weeks.

Robert Nemanich said Green Party members hope to present those petitions to the Racine City Council in support of a resolution against the plant that Alderman Pete Karas plans to introduce at Tuesday's meeting.

Karas said the City Council tabled two resolutions against the plant last fall. He thinks it's time the city goes on record against the expansion, adding he thinks other alderman will go along.

'It's obvious that coal will be detrimental to our environment,' Karas said. 'I think that the big part (in getting the resolution passed) will be public support.'

Efforts to reach We Energies for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

We Energies is proposing to build three coal-fired generators at its Oak Creek site, which is located just north of Caledonia in Milwaukee County to increase its generating capacity. Provisions call for reducing the amount of pollutants emitted through improved technology.

The city of Oak Creek has already reached an agreement with We Energies; the town of Caledonia recently passed a second resolution against using coal as the fuel source. Green Party members hope other communities, like Mount Pleasant, North Bay and Wind Point will also follow suit.

'Our city could see the current coal fired energy plant, just a few miles away, triple in size, adding more pollutants to our environment and endangering our residents' health, and we must have a voice against this proposal,' Karas said. 'Racine and southeast Wisconsin already have some of the worst air to breathe, and it is ludicrous for this plan to go forward.'

The Racine Board of Health has already set improved air quality as one of its primary goals. Karas said opposing the coal plant is consistent with that commitment.

'Racine residents are restricted on ozone alert days, our air has received an 'F' grade from the American Lung Association, and we are required to use special gasoline because of our poor air quality,' Karas said. 'Adding these coal plants and the sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, particulate matter and mercury into our air and water is not safe.'

Council President Bob Morrison said he has talked to Karas about the topic but has not seen the resolution.

Last fall, the council tabled the resolution after three organizations pledged to do an in-depth study of the potential impact, Morrison said. The results of that study have not been released. Pending receipt of that report, Morrison said he does not know what action the council will take Tuesday.

'The council has spoken' and wants to wait for more information, Morrison said.

Coal plant opponents hope the campaign will have an impact as state officials weigh We Energies' proposal. Karas noted the plans will be reviewed by the Public Service Commission in the fall, adding the recently released draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed project found it will negatively impact the environment and cost customers more money.

'Those costs need to be folded into the PSC's equation,' Nemanich said.

While the plant expansion would directly affect the greater Racine area, opponents of the coal plant say pollution knows no boundaries.

'Ozone is a borderless problem,' Nemanich said, adding he wants to get the attention of television stations in Milwaukee and Chicago. If residents in Illinois learn how much 'sludge will be put down there,' people might oppose the plant as well.

The resolution will likely get assigned to a committee Tuesday, such as the board of health, for a recommendation.

The Green Party has launched a Web site, www.notinourair.com, to take their message to the Internet. The group plans to run newspaper ads, similar to Not in Our Name ads that ran opposing the war with Iraq.

'Some well-organized groups have spoken. Now it's time for the people to speak,' Karas said.

At this location, at this time, the economically and politically feasible alternative to base-load 'clean coal' electric generating plants is nuclear generating plants.

S.E. Wisconsin has added several MW of new clean safe cheap nuclear generating capacity simply by replacing an old steam generator at the Kewaunee NPP. To make a big enough difference to offset the proposed new WE 'clean coal' plants (which by the way are a HUGE improvement over the old 'dirty coal' plants they are replacing), another reactor could be installed in the empty bay at Kewaunee.

Adherents of the Green Party Line must soon realize the contradiction between it's anti-coal platform and its anti-nuclear plank and saw off the anti-nuclear plank to save its sustainable development agenda. Nuclear? Now, thanks!

The GP should be lobbying to repeal the moratorium on new NPP construction in Wisconsin if it were about real positive change in Wisconsin's relationship to Wisconsin's environment.