Michigan

South Carolina governor joins Wisconsin's and Michigan's in pushing back against coal

Yesterday the governor of South Carolina -- yes, South Carolina -- announced that he is opposing construction of a new coal plant in his state.

Why? Because a weak economy has demand down, the cost of coal has nearly tripled, and the prospect of tougher mercury and CO2 regulations from the Obama administration threaten to as much as double the cost of the project.

Because it's an economic turkey, in other words.

The head of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources also came out in opposition, citing worries about mercury pollution in fish and increased CO2 emissions.

This comes a few days after Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle announced that the UW power plant would eliminate coal (replacing it with biomass) by 2012.

And that was about a week after Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm's state of the state address, wherein she outlined a plan to free her state from coal. (Technically, reduce reliance on coal electricity by 45% by 2020.)

Governors in South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Michigan, all working to free their states from the grip of the enemy of the human race.

Dirty friggin' hippies!

Michigan governor to outline comprehensive energy plan

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) will use her annual State of the State address tonight to announce that her administration will consider “all feasible and prudent alternatives before approving new coal-fired power plants” in the state. Granholm will also call on the state to reduce by 45 percent its reliance on electric plants powered by […]

Michigan governor on verge of important announcement on coal and clean energy?

For several years Michigan has been pursuing a dual-track energy strategy: more coal plants and more clean energy. But as forecasts show demand slacking, energy imports draining the budget, and power plant costs rising, the calculus may be shifting.

Keith Schneider reports that Gov. Jennifer Granholm is on the verge of a big announcement:

Senior Granholm administration officials declined to be specific about what they said would be a "major statement," but indicated the governor might support a moratorium on approving new coal plants while the state formulates CO2 regulations--something coal opponents around the state have pushed for with lawsuits, petitions to the governor, and a steady barrage of press and grassroots events for more than a year. Or, some officials said, the governor might announce an outright ban on new coal plants.

Putting Rust Belt states in the vanguard of the clean energy shift is a powerful thing, symbolically, politically, and economically. Let's hope Granholm goes big.

Bad policy ideas in Michigan

Environmental pressures and economic slowdowns are admittedly hard for state governors to tackle. Even still, Michigan’s latest is a lousy idea. As noted here, the state legislature has just passed a bill which Gov. Granholm has promised to sign that would: Strengthen the utility monopolies, guaranteeing DTE and Consumer’s Energy at least 90% of the […]

Michigan Lt. Governor John Cherry says the Great Lakes need help

This is a guest post from Michigan Lt. Governor John Cherry, who has been working recently to preserve and restore the Great Lakes.

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I'm especially pleased to be a guest blogger on Grist today, since earlier today legislation was introduced in the United States Senate and House of Representatives to ratify the Great Lakes Compact.  Now that the Compact has been ratified by the eight Great Lakes states, as well as the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, it's time for Congress to take the next crucial step and grant its consent to the Compact.

 

All Michigan citizens have a deep personal connection to the Great Lakes.  I grew up in a culture where people worked hard and long during the work week, but when vacations or weekends came along they loved to get away "to the lake," "to the cottage," or just "up north."  And in the Legislature, as lieutenant governor of the state of Michigan, and as chair of the Great Lakes Commission (whose members are Great Lakes States in the United States and the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Provinces in Canada), I have been in positions to make a difference in preserving, protecting, and where necessary restoring the vitality of the Lakes.  Perhaps for these reasons, as well as because I personally enjoy spending time on the water, I have a strong sense of stewardship toward the Lakes.

In the EPA’s Midwestern division, a pro-industry stalwart replaces a dioxin stickler

Back in May, Mary Gade found herself unceremoniously ousted from her post as Midwest regional administrator of the EPA. According to an excellent Chicago Tribune article by Michael Hawthorne, Gade had been locked in a battle with Dow over the chemical giant’s massive, long-standing dioxin mess in low-income areas of Michigan. Hawthorne reports that Gade […]

Obama talks up energy plans in the Rust Belt

Barack Obama was in Wayne, Pa., on Saturday, where he highlighted energy costs and the need for new energy policy in a town hall meeting. “It isn’t an accident that gas prices are this high,” the presumptive Democratic nominee told the crowd. “It’s because Washington failed to deal with the challenge of alternative energy when […]

Evidently, women, infants, and children in need don’t deserve organic

The Women, Infants, and Children program provides food aid to “low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk,” according to the USDA website. The federal government funds the program through grants to states, which then decide how to allocate […]

Romney takes Michigan

CNN is calling Michigan for Romney. Guess all that pandering worked. This means a long and extremely divisive race on the R side.