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Voice of the Kansas Sierra Club a Bad Deal for Kansas, the Environment

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Voice of the Kansas Sierra Club a Bad Deal for Kansas, the Environment June / July 2009 vol. 33 no. 3 Voice of the Kansas Sierra Club Wichita Eagle Op Ed 9-30-08 It’s time for Sunflower Associated Press 5-8-09 Electric to move past the “It [the Parkinson / failed proposals of the past Sunflower deal paving the and move forward toward way for the Holcomb coal a new business model, one plant] lays the groundwork that recognizes the changing for a sound energy policy” market in fossil fuels and embraces Kansas - its wind, its customers and its future. Governor Parkinson changes his tune; pulls the rug out from under Kansas, the environment, and the state’s energy future. tially unfounded. The RES ACT is generally unenforceable A Bad Deal for Kansas, and adds nothing to the voluntary program that was already in place. The Governor has vastly exaggerated the extent to the Environment which the settlement compensates for, or offsets, the 6.7 mil- lion tons of new heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions that Introduction to the Sierra Club Fact Sheet would be generated by Holcomb 2 in the state of Kansas. The on the Governor’s Coal Plant Agreement settlement and the associated legislation contain ambiguous with Sunflower Electric language and numerous escape clauses whereby Sunflower may avoid some future performance requirements. Thus, we can By Craig Volland, Chair, Air Quality Committee, only conclude that this settlement is a serious step backward Kansas Chapter, Sierra Club for the environment of Kansas and elsewhere. The Governor has justified his May 4, 2009 settlement The Governor’s claim that his settlement with Sunflower will boost the use of renewable energy in Kansas is substan- See Fact Sheet on page 8 inside Carbon Markets: Buying the Right to Pollute ..... pg 3 The Kansas Legislature: A One Trick Pony? ....... pg 4 Bruce Nilles Names Among Agents of Change .... pg 5 Eating as Though the Earth Matters ................. pg 6 Kanza Group Silent Auction .......................... pg 10 www.kansas.sierraclub.org 1 Sierra Club info Chapter Office National Headquarters Chapter Members Holding Sierra Club, Kansas Chapter Sierra Club National Positions c/o Craig Wolfe 85 Second St., 2nd Floor • Bill Griffith - Smart Energy Solutions 9844 Georgia San Francisco, CA 94105-3441 Conservation Initiative Committee Kansas City, KS 66109-4326 415-977-5500 • Steve Baru - Organizational Effectiveness, Governance 913-299-4443 Committee, Presidential/ [email protected] Kansas Chapter Communications Congressional, Environmental Voter • Craig Wolfe, Newsletter Editor, Education, Steering Committee, National Membership Committee: Legislative Coordinator Webmaster, Communications Chair, Building Environmental Tom Thompson Chair Communities Campaign: Steering 5001 Rock Creek Lane Committee Mission, KS 66205-3047 913-236-9161 Planet Kansas Newsletter: Cell: 913-687-2405 send articles, events, and outings to [email protected] [email protected] www.kansas.sierraclub.org 888-7-SIERRA 2 June / July 2009 contents Viewpoint A Bad Deal for Kansas, the ............... Cover Environment. Updated Fact Sheet Sierra General Info ...................................2 Kansas Coal Plant Kansas Coal Plant (Viewpoint) ...............3 By David Anderson GoGreenScore.org (Viewpoint) ...............3 Holcomb Reborn... Again: The 2009 .......4 I was amazed to see that Kansas intends to build another coal- Odyssey fired power plant. Certainly, one coal plant, along with some wind energy development, is better than two — but given our present Johnson County Stream Cleanup Day ......5 circumstance we should not be building any coal plants. Join Mayetta Energy Fair .........................6 The dispute has been framed as an argument between utility Is Your AC Ready for Summer? ..............6 executives and environmentalists, but in reality Sunflower Electric executives are at odds with the scientific community. Transportation Future of Metro KC .........7 Articles in the current issue of the prestigious journal “Nature” Kanza Silent Auction Continues ............16 conclude that the world must reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent Its Winning Ways by 2050 to avoid dangerous amounts of warming (greater than two Eating As Though the Earth Matters ......20 degrees centigrade). Its Winning Ways The MIT Joint Program recently issued a report projecting a 5.1 EPA Offers Tips to Save Energy ............23 degree centigrade average temperature rise by 2100 as the most likely outcome if we continue with a policy of business as usual. Chapter & Group Leaders ......................20 An increase of five degrees may not sound like much, but consider General Meetings ...................................21 that the Earth was about five degrees cooler about 11,000 years ago, when the Earth was in an ice age. Sierra Club Outings ................................22 Going five degrees warmer likely means we could have arid scrub Committee Meetings ..............................23 land up to the Canadian border, which means a lot less food and Calendar of All Events ...........................24 many fewer people. has the power to make a positive, measurable effect on our GoGreenScore.org environment with just a few, simple changes in their lives. And the more people who make these changes, the better The Little Test that Makes a WORLD of off we all will be. Difference “When I took other online questionnaires, I was shocked at how many Earths it would take if everyone lived like me,” By Lynate Pettengill explains GoGreenScore.org Co-Founder, Lynate Pettengill. GoGreenScore.org is a free, easy, and fun survey that’s designed to “I thought I lived a pretty darn green lifestyle already. It help people learn how green their current lifestyle is - and how green didn’t motivate me to make any more changes; it made me it could be. Unlike many online questionnaires that can make the want to give up. So that’s why we came up with a fun way user feel bad about their green lifestyle choices, GoGreenScore.org to let people know how green they’re currently living, and promotes a positive, optimistic outlook. And it doesn’t just ask ques- how easy it would be to make a change or two to help out tions; it provides answers too. Dozens of links to “Live Green Tips” our troubled planet.” shed light on why each question is important to both our environment In just a few short minutes on GoGreenScore.org users and consumers’ pocketbooks. will find out whether they are “Heading Toward Greener The sponsors of www.GoGreenScore.org believe that every person Pastures” or if they are a “Lean, Mean, Green Machine.” For more information go to www.GoGreenScore.org Planet Kansas, the official publication of the Kansas Chapter of the Sierra Club, is published six times per year. Subscription is included in membership dues or is $10 per year. Advertising rates are available upon request at [email protected]. We reserve the right to refuse advertising which conflicts with the tastes of our readers. Contributions of articles, letters to the editor, poems, original cartoons and photos are welcomed. All items must be sent electronically by email to [email protected] or disk to Craig Wolfe, 9844 Georgia, Kansas City, KS, 66109. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and taste. The Kansas Chapter of Sierra Club does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, ethnic origin, religious creed or sexual orientation. Views expressed herein reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of Sierra Club, its staff or officers. 3 All articles copyright by Kansas Chapter of Sierra Club unless otherwise indicated and may be reprinted as long as credit is given. Next deadline for submissions is July 15. June / July 2009 Holmes told be it was being changed to the 21st. This meant Holcomb Reborn… the work on energy legislation would have to be done in five weeks in order to be passed on to the Senate. Again: The 2009 The first bill for the Sierra Club, HB 2013, had a hearing on January 21. This bill provided for an RPS of 10% by 2010, Odyssey 15% by 2015 and 20% by 2020 using nameplate capacity. It had broad support but was opposed by the Citizen’s Utility By Tom Thompson, Chapter Legislative Ratepayer Board, which typically opposes net metering and Coordinator RPS legislation. The Sierra Club supported this bill but added “Holcomb Reborn” was used in the title of my first KLN to its testimony that it would not support an RPS if attached in 2008 and 2009. It has been a depressing thought every to legislation allowing a coal plant to be built. It was apparent time I have used it in a title. In January it just seemed absurd. that the line up of bills was leading to that. This bill remains This time leaves me speechless. The year’s legislative story is in the House Utilities Committee. one that illustrates how crazy and unpredictable government On January 22 there was a hearing on HB 2016. This time can be. Some this past year complained of regulatory uncer- the Sierra Club was in opposition. 2016 attempted, through tainty. This past session shows Kansas has a problem with legislation, to set acceptable levels of toxins for air emissions governmental uncertainty. in new coal fired power plants being built instead of KDHE If you don’t know what the KLN is, it is the Kansas Leg- writing regulations. This bill was designed to take away the islative Network News that is a weekly report written by the authority of KDHE (Kansas Dept. of Health and Environ- Legislative Coordinator (Lobbyist) to report what happens in ment) to regulate and give it to the legislature. The bill seemed the Kansas Legislature while it is in session. Topics depend directly aimed at building the Holcomb Plant and was opposed on what legislation is being acted upon in any given week by the Sierra Club. This bill remains in committee. throughout the session.
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