45% by 2020!!!

Posted by Abby Rubley:  I am sitting hear watching Governor Granholm's 7th State of the State address and though I was prepared to hear the budget cuts, I was pleasantly surprised to hear so much about clean energy.

She devoted 1/3 of her speech to addressing energy issues for the first time in six years. This clearly indicates a huge committment to move Michigan in the direction of clean energy and away from dirty, outdated coal. The most important part of this is that she has committed to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels for generating electricity by 45% by 2020 through committments to renewables, investments in energy efficiency and other technologies!

This puts Michigan on the forefront of clean energy - this will create jobs and protect our Great Lakes way of life. Once again Michigan can and will become a leader in technological advancement.

As frustrating as it can be living in this state right now - this announcement alone makes Michigan a very exciting place. We need the State House and State Senate to follow her leadership. In partnership, we can achieve this ambitous goal.

The other key part of this is what she had to say about coal plants - here is her direct quote:

"Achieving these ambitious goals will also lessen the need for a slew of new coal power plants in Michigan. That's why I have directed the Department of Environmental Quality to evaluate, in consultation with our Public Service Commission, both the need for additional electricity-generation and all feasible and prudent alternatives before approving new coal-fired power plants in Michigan. One such alternative is developing technology to prevent coal plants from spewing dirty carbon emissions into the air. That breakthrough technology, and others like it, can create jobs here, too."

This immediately puts the breaks on the 8 proposed coal plants in Michigan.

It was unfortunate to hear her that she wants to return the wetlands protection program to the federal government. Michigan is one of only 2 states that currently has control of this program. It is a mistake to give this to the EPA.

Wetlands protected through this program preserve water quality, provide flood control, and create vital fish and wildlife habitat. The savings from this proposal are a drop in the bucket and are significantly outweighed by the benefits the program provides.

Funding for Michigan's environmental programs have faced a continual onslaught of budget cuts in recent years from the Legislature. Since 2002, General Fund support for the DEQ has been cut over 68 percent.Shamefully, Michigan ranks 47 out of the 48 contiguous states for conservation and environmental protection efforts on a per capita spending basis, according to a report by the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University.

The state lost approximately 50 percent of its wetland resources since European settlement and the remaining wetlands are ecologically indispensable. We should be keeping this program and making it better - not turning it over to the feds. That is a mistake.