Clean Energy Solutions

9/19/06 - Volume 2, Issue 2

1)Group to bike for greening of America

Get out your bikes before the cold weather hits! Or just show up to Washington Park in Waterloo (next to the Grout Museum) at 10:30 am on Thursday, Sept. 21^st to hear solar electric-assist bike enthusiasts, renewable energy experts, and Community Energy Solutions talk about the future of energy in the United States. Don’t miss this event. The event will start at Pfeiffer Park in Cedar Falls, and end at Center for Energy and Environmental Education at UNI. Call 319-621-7393 for more details. Check out the article in the Daily Iowan:

Danny Valentine - The Daily Iowan

Riding bicycles equipped with solar panels, UI professors, students, former Hawkeyes, and concerned citizens will pedal through five states in support of using renewable resources.

From Sept. 21 to 28, students across Iowa, along with other sustainability-minded groups, will traverse 1,270 miles to promote the benefits of alternative power and to tour green buildings.

"The Midwest is really full of energy resources," said Teresa Galluzzo, a research assistant for the Iowa Policy Project, the group sponsoring the ride. "We want to draw attention to global warming and to the fact that there are [alternative] energy solutions on the ground working."

Now in its second tour around the Midwest, the 2006 Green Bike Tour, which was founded by UI Clinical Associate Professor David Osterberg in 1999, has traveled as far as Europe. This year's tour will be the group's fifth, overall.

The bikers will stop in 16 cities, including Waterloo, Sioux City, and Ames. The final destination in the group's five-state loop is Iowa City - just in time for the national Engineers for a Sustainable World conference.

At the stops, the group will meet with local sustainability organizations, politicians, and people using alternative energy. The members will also tour biodiesel factories, wind farms, green buildings, and ethanol plants.

"These solutions can be an economic boom," Galluzzo said. "It's time to stop relying on dirty coal and to focus on energy sources that will benefit communities."

On the ride from Cedar Falls to Waterloo, approximately 20 people will join former UI Student Government President Mark Kresowik - now a regional conservation organizer for the Sierra Club - to raise awareness about the renewable- energy cause.

A strong visual image is the key, Kresowik said. The sight of bicyclists will not only promote use of bicycle power but will also show people that alternative energy sources are available, he said.

"It is real. It is now. And it is capable of replacing our traditional forms of energy," he said, adding that he will ride an Xtracycle - a normal bicycle with an extended cargo area on the back, which he described as the "sport utility of bikes."

Nathaniel Baer, a Public Interest Research Group advocate, added that his goal for the ride is to promote clean energy.

"A lot of people are seeing Iowa as being a leader in creating transit fuel from renewable sources," he said.

2) Community Energy Solutions Challenges New Group to Public Discussion

Community Energy Solutions, the nonprofit organization promoting a clean, efficient energy future for the Cedar Valley, has challenged Progress Cedar Valley to call for a public forum on the LS Power Plant.

"We eagerly welcome this opportunity for public discussion of our energy future," said Mark Kresowik, organizer for Community Energy Solutions. "This is a local decision – LS Power needs the City Council of Waterloo to rezone the property. We hope this new group will join us in calling for democracy, for an open forum with City officials and the public."

Representatives for the Iowa Utilities Board have stated that if the local planning agency denies zoning, the plant cannot be built. The City Council has the ability to stop this plant.

"Some say it is a 'done deal', but local elected officials have yet to come out, listen to the people and explain to the public what position they have taken so far and why," said Kamyar Enshayan, a Cedar Falls City Councilor.

Some members of Community Energy Solutions also challenged the group's claims that approval by the Department of Natural Resources meant the plant would be safe.

"We know the EPA and DNR regulate some of the pollution," said Gail Mueller, President of Community Energy Solutions. "But then why are 16 states suing the EPA for not protecting the public? And who is regulating the millions of tons of carbon dioxide that contribute to global warming?"

Sixteen states have sued the Environmental Protection Agency for mercury rules that are too lenient. Coal-fired power plants contribute 40% of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. The LS Power plant will emit the equivalent of more than 600,000 cars on the road.

"We MUST have a public discussion about the extremely exciting new advances in technology," said Renata Sack of Waterloo. "Iowa could be entirely powered by renewable energy. It is imperative that the citizens of Waterloo and Black Hawk County become educated in renewable energy sources. We cannot allow mercury and CO2 to be released into the atmosphere by new coal combustion plants."

Those promoting the economic benefits also have something to consider.

"Idaho Governor Jim Risch declared that as long as he promoted economic development the damages created by emissions from coal-fired power plants would outweigh any economic benefit. He effectively banned the construction of coal plants in Idaho. Do you really think that a few dollars is worth more than the health of our children, and grandchildren?" said Don Shatzer, Vice President of Community Energy Solutions.

Thousands of citizens do not feel that this plant represents progress for the Cedar Valley, the State of Iowa, or the United States of America. Nearly 4,000 people have signed a petition against the LS Power project.

Carrie La Seur, an attorney with Midwest Environmental Justice Advocates, said, "I have confidence that Waterloo's leaders will soon realize that coal-fired power generation is Iowa's past, not its future. I don't know how you can call this plant 'progress' for anyone."

3) Power plant forum set for Sept. 26
From the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Courier

WATERLOO --- A forum regarding the power plant proposed east of Waterloo will be held at 7 p.m. next Tuesday at Area Education Agency 267, 3712 Cedar Heights Drive in Cedar Falls.

The forum is co-sponsored by the Black Hawk-Bremer Counties League of Women Voters and Community Energy Solutions, a group opposing the plant's construction. Panelists include State Rep. Don Shoultz, Mark Kresowik with Community Energy Solutions and Lynn Brant with the University of Northern Iowa's Center for Environmental Education.

Waterloo Mayor Tim Hurley and representatives of LS Power, the company proposing the plant, were invited but are unable to attend. Representatives with the Greater Cedar Valley Chambers of Commerce - Waterloo and Cedar Falls also have declined to attend.

Representatives with Progress Cedar Valley, a group supporting the plant's construction, indicated they were unlikely to attend.

Community Energy Solutions also asked Progress Cedar Valley to call for a public forum regarding the power plant.

"We eagerly welcome this opportunity for public discussions of our energy future," said Mark Kresowik, organizer for Community Energy Solutions. "This is a local decision. LS Power needs the City Council of Waterloo to rezone the property. We hope this new group will join us in calling for democracy, for an open forum with city officials and the public."

4) CEDAR PRAIRIE GROUP MEETING

The Cedar Prairie Group of the Sierra Club had an excellent meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 12^th. Many issues were raised – the Bottle Bill, The LS Power Plant, potential for prairie restoration in Black Hawk County and more. A tentative Executive Committee meeting has also been set for Tuesday, October 10^th at 7:30 pm at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Cedar Falls. All Sierra Club members are invited to attend. There is a training being held in conjunction with this meeting, which starts at 4 pm.

5) UPCOMING EVENTS

Check out http://cleanairwaterloo.com/events.php for more events in the area, including screenings of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, a Community Energy Solutions meeting in Jesup on October 3rd, the National Solar Tour, and multiple environmental conferences across the state.