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Response to Republican Letter to Bremby
Dear Sierra Club Tree Member
Thanks for your past help with the Sierra Club's campaign to stop the Holcomb coal plant expansion. Our message is being heard! But now it's crunch time.... bottom of the 9th, the clock is running out, no time outs left! Take your pick.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
A full court press by Holcomb supporters. Last week 40 Republican House members wrote to Sec. of KDHE, Bremby, urging that he approve the permit. US Congressman Moran, from western Kansas, wrote an Op Ed in the Wichita Eagle urging the same. THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE EVEN SAID GLOBAL WARMING IS GOOD FOR KANSAS!
But also last week the state Attorney General issued an opinion THAT KDHE HAS GENERAL AUTHORITY UNDER STATE LAW TO DENY THIS PERMIT if certain pollutants, like carbon dioxide, present a "substantial endangerment to the health of persons or to the environment" even in the absence of specific regulations. In April the US Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide is a pollutant subject to regulation under the federal Clean Air Act.
ACTION NEEDED.
We need to push back now by contacting our legislators, both Republican and Democrats. Note that an equal number of Republican House members did not sign the letter to Secretary Bremby.
CALL YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS TODAY (see phone numbers below).
** Tell them that the Holcomb project will worsen global warming, and it will hurt Kansas.
** Tell them you DEMAND a safe and healthy future for our children and grandchildren who will have to deal with the impacts.
** Tell them that the Holcomb project is obsolete technology, and wind power makes more economic sense than coal... more jobs, more money (IT REALLY DOES!! see below)
** Tell them to encourage and support Gov. Sebelius to deny the coal permit.
** Tell them to encourage KDHE Sec. Bremby to deny the coal permit.
CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR
According to our records, your district, legislators, and their contact information is:
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Senate District: <%[StSenate-Sum]%>
Your State Senator is: <%[S-FirstName]%> <%[S-LastName]%>
Home Phone: <%[S-HomePhone]%>
Local Work Phone: <%[S-WorkPhone]%>
Email: <%[S-CapEmail]%>
BACKGROUND
The Facts on the Holcomb Expansion
1. The Holcomb expansion will add 10 million tons/year of heat trapping carbon dioxide gas to the atmosphere. Global Warming will worsen drought in western Kansas and generate more extreme weather events throughout the state.
2. Sunflower Electric has not addressed these emissions in an enforceable way. Their proposed algae reactor is experimental and untested for the massive scale required.
3. Our power needs can be supplied by the state's vast wind energy resources and by a campaign to increase the efficiency of how we use electricity.
4. A recent study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showed that wind power generates more economic benefits for Kansas than coal plants. See below a summary of benefits. (Link to full report (14 MB)):
ftp://ftp2.nrel.gov/pub/Incoming/Flowers_09-26-2007_KS-Update-20percent.ppt.
5. The cost of coal generated electricity will increase greatly because of (1) soaring construction costs, (2) rising price of coal and escalating cost of diesel fuel needed to haul coal from Wyoming, and (3) pending regulation of CO2 by Congress.
ADDENDUM: ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF WIND POWER (NREL, 2007):
1. Economic Impacts to Kansas Assuming 20% national RPS, 7158 MW new wind will be placed in Kansas by 2030
DIRECT IMPACTS:
Payments to landowners; $20.8 milliion/yr
Local property tax revenue: $19 milliion/yr
Construction phase: 11,133 new construction jobs
$1.35 billion to local economies
Operational Phase: 1805 new long term jobs
$152 million/yr to local economies
INDIRECT IMPACTS
Construction phase: 5000 new jobs
$424 million to local economies
Operational phase 438 local jobs
$43 million to local economies
INDUCED IMPACTS
Construction phase: 6223 new jobs
$559 million to local economies
Operational Phase: 850 local jobs
$78 million/yr to local economies
Totals economic benefit to Kansas: $7.8 billiion
New local jobs during construction: over 23,000
New long term jobs for Kansans: over 3000
Construction phase : 1-2 years
Operational phase: 20+ years
ENERGY EQUIVALENT NEW WIND VS NEW COAL
Total economic impacts:
Wind = $1.8 billion
Coal = $ 1.3 billion
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