Jim Sconyers

jim_scon@yahoo.com

603.969.6712

Remember: Mother Nature bats last.

--- On Wed, 1/21/09, Sierra Club global.warming@sierraclub.org wrote: From: Sierra Club global.warming@sierraclub.org Subject: Plugged In: The New Energy Secretary Answers Your Questions To: jim_scon@yahoo.com Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 3:13 PM

Sierra Club

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In this Edition Federal: Talking Clean Energy In the States: Utah Tar Sands, Texas Nuclear Waste and South Carolina Coal News and Resources: Energy Efficiency, Coal Ash Threats, and Massachusetts Wind Power Federal  New Energy Dept Secretary Talks Renewables, Smart Grid, and More The new Department of Energy Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu, has been checking the Change.gov website comments on clean energy and global warming, and recently gave his responses via YouTube. He covered temperature increases, a smart national energy grid, and more. Pretty interesting stuff!

In the States Teaming Up To Fight Tar Sands in Utah  The Sierra Club and the Indigenous Environmental Network are fighting an unprecedented project that would bring one of the dirtiest forms of energy extraction in the world to eastern Utah. The proposed Antelope Creek tar sands oil project threatens to disrupt wildlife, poison and dry up rivers, and imperil human health with hazardous air pollutants. The project would also produce an exorbitant amount of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. In an effort to prevent these impacts, the groups filed a lawsuit in Utah federal district court last week. The suit challenges approval of the tar sands project by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, which manages the land slated for the development. Read more about the Antelope Creek tar sands in this news release. Next Stop for Nuclear Waste: Texas Here's a story flying under the radar. You may have thought Nevada's Yucca Mountain was the only destination for nuclear waste -- not true. According to the Associated Press, “Texas environmental regulators approved a plan last week to dispose of low-level radioactive waste from around the country at a remote site near the New Mexico border." Our Lone Star Chapter is working hard against this decision -- letting us know that the environmental analysis of the site and this decision were not completed. The chapter folks say that while Yucca Mountain grabs the headlines, the country's nuke waste will now quietly head to this private dump site in West Texas. They add that when fully developed, this decision could mean two train loads of waste each week through 2015 through undisclosed U.S. cities and into this Texas desert facility. Shocking and true. We will keep you posted on further developments! South Carolina Forms Coalition Against Coal The Sierra Club of South Carolina is leading the charge in fighting a 1300 MW dirty coal plant proposed for the Pee Dee River area. In January, National Coal Campaign Director Bruce Nilles joined them for the launch of their "SC Says NO" coalition kickoff. Chapter director John Ramsbaugh said the groups have been getting great publicity. The members recently led a delegation to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control board hearing where the coalition's formal request for a board review of the air permit was on the docket. Their presence was acknowledged by board members and the request for a board hearing on the air permit was granted for Feb. 12. Stay tuned!

News and Resources -- America's Untapped Energy Resource: Energy Efficiency (Time magazine) -- Ash Storage in Mines Threatens Groundwater (E&E News) -- Massachusetts Governor Unveils Big Push for Wind Power (Forbes)

Plugged In, your source for the latest happenings with the Sierra Club's Smart Energy Solutions Campaign.

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