Electric Slidin' For More Eco-Friendly Electricity

Power4Georgians, a coalition of ten Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), including Jackson EMC, proposed to build an 850-megawatt dirty coal-fired power plant on a 1,200-acre site in Washington County.

If built, the Washington County plant would have a hazardous impact on Georgia’s water and air quality. To obtain water for the plant, the EMCs are proposing to build a 30-mile pipeline to the Oconee River. In addition, they plan to dig 16 wells throughout Washington County to draw from groundwater during periods of drought. The proposed plant will also emit smog-forming nitrogen oxides, mercury, soot-forming sulfur dioxide, and global warming pollutants such as carbon dioxide.

The good news is that members of electricity co-ops have a voice in how power is generated and can demand clean energy alternatives such as energy efficiency, wind, solar and biomass instead of new coal and nuclear power plants.

To that end, The Sierra Club, along with Environment Georgia and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy are holding a series of community meetings in the effected service areas to identify activists who oppose construction of the plant. There will be a community meeting for Jackson EMC members on April 24^th 6pm at the Jefferson County Library. If you have any questions specifically please visit their website at: www.cleanenergy4ga.org

Water Quality is "Just Around the Riverbend"

Saturday, April 5th, 9am to 1pm, Sandy Creek Nature Center, ENSAT building: 11th Annual River Rendezvous and for those of you who liked Rivers Alive, this is a great activity! Help to address water quality in streams and rivers in the Upper Oconee Watershed and learn about water quality monitoring! Volunteers meet for a brief educational training session at 9 am, then go out and collect water samples for water quality analysis. The data that is collected is then used to identify polluted streams that may pose health hazards and require immediate attention. A light breakfast will be provided for all volunteers. Wear waterproof shoes and dress for the weather. This event issponsored by the Upper Oconee Watershed Network Contact: Jessica Sterling, 706-338-9052, jessica.sterling@gmail.com

Sierra Club Applauds Findings of Commuter Rail Study

Major study determines that “commuter rail is deemed feasible on all seven prospective commuter rail corridors"

Georgians will ride commuter trains, and they need to get that chance.

That according to the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club, which cites a new study released by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

The study, prepared by R.L. Banks & Associates, covered seven possible commuter rail routes linking Atlanta with Macon, Senoia, Bremen, Canton, Gainesville, Athens and Madison, and concluded that "the ridership is there" to support all seven routes.

The business community and environmental community are in synch that Atlanta can not be a world class city without a strong transit system. There is a growing consensus that simply building more roads is damaging to our economy as well as our environment.

"Rail passenger service is an important key to fighting pollution, congestion and urban sprawl in Georgia," said chapter director Patty Durand. "This latest study confirms that commuter rail not only makes sense from an environmental perspective, but from a business perspective too."

The study concluded that thousands of Georgians will use commuter rail service every day, and that each individual train will attract about 300 passengers.

The report's authors said those numbers compare favorably with other successful commuter rail systems that have begun service in recent years, in Los Angeles, Miami, Northern Virginia and Dallas-Ft. Worth. New commuter rail service in Charlotte, NC has already experienced ridership levels much higher than projected.

The Sierra Club's Regional Action to Improve Livability (R.A.I.L.) Committee is pressing state leaders to fund commuter rail service between Griffin, Atlanta and Athens as the first part of a broader regional rail passenger network.

"Georgia has been discussing commuter rail for more than a decade," said RAIL Committee Co-chair Jim Dexter. "It's time to get some trains rolling."

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Global Warming Fever

from Sierra Club Currents

Global warming is responsible for an increase in the number of children's hospital emergency room visits, according to a new University of Sydney report which shows that hospital admissions for fever soar as days get hotter. Children are especially at risk because they are less able to regulate their body temperature than adults. The study is the first to make a solid link between increasing temperatures and childhood illness.

Find out what you can do to curb global warming.

New Newer News

Do you like reading interesting environmental news, but don't like having to hunt all over the web? Check out our news feed (on the right side of this and every page), including stories from the Sierra Club's national blogs, Georgia Chapter updates, your suggestions for what to do with a mile of I-3, and news sources from Northeast Georgia and around the world.

The Fix

If the past six years of the Bush Administration have taught us anything, it's to never presume that there's a coherent plan guiding our nation. It's never too late to start, though.

This month's issue of Sierra features a real-life plan that would dramatically reduce our carbon dioxide emissions, bringing them down to the levels that scientists say are necessary to prevent the worst effects of global warming: 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

Read all about it.

What would you do with a mile of I-3?

Ever thought about what you'd do with $25 million? You could pave a mile of mountains, but we think there are better ideas.

The proposed Interstate 3 would run from Knoxville to Augusta and Savannah, blasting through mountain wilderness, bypassing local economies, and potentially threatening new development in the region due to declining air quality. Through the mountains, it could cost around $25 million for each mile built.

Share your ideas about what to do with that cash. Nearly anything would be better than I-3.

Stop I-3 Before It Gets Started

Photo courtesy Philip Greenspun.

The proposed Interstate 3 would run from Knoxville to Augusta and Savannah, blasting through mountain wilderness, bypassing local economies, and potentially threatening new development in the region due to declining air quality. Learn more about this harmful project that would pass through our region.

The Stop I-3 Coalition continues to make progress in keeping a destructive interstate from being built through our magnificent Southern Appalachian mountains and piedmont, but we need your help to stop wasting time and money on further study of this highway.

Take action! Please send a letter or postcard to: J. Richard Capka Acting Director, Federal Highway Administration 400 Seventh Street SW Washington, DC 20590 Or send a faxed letter to 202-366-3244.

Please send a postcard or letter to the Federal Highway Administration today (see sidebar). Emphasize that the public needs to have opportunity for significant and substantive formal input into the current study for building I-3 (also known as the Third Infantry Division Highway) from Savannah to Knoxville by way of Augusta. (The phrase "Interstate 3" is not in the Transportation Act and neither is the exact route.) The main points to make are that this highway is unwanted, unneeded, and will be an environmental and fiscal disaster.

Here are some basic facts to use:

1. Currently, one may travel from Savannah to Knoxville by I-95, I-26, and I-40. The distance is 415 miles. That route is shorter than any of the possibilities that could be used for I-3 (Third Infantry Division Highway).
2. The county commissioners in six North Georgia and Western North Carolina counties have passed resolutions opposing this highway, and several other county commissions are considering resolutions.
3. The highway would traverse two National Forests and possibly the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The damage to the mountains, water and air quality, to endangered species, and the beauty of this area could never be reversed.
4. Based on University of Kentucky studies, the cost of interstates through the mountains is over $25 million per mile ($15 million for non-mountain interstates). The widening of U.S. 441 through Rabun County, Georgia (not an interstate) is costing over $10 million per mile. The cost of an interstate highway would be enormous. To build a non-interstate, limited access highway would not be much cheaper. To spend billions at a time when other financial priorities are stretching the federal budget is the last thing we need.

You might not need to use all of this information. The key factor is to pen a heart-felt postcard that covers your major points. Thanks!