Where there's a Will, there's a way

The crowded November meeting of the Sangamon Valley Group with Jeff Biggers was one of the best Sierra Club events I've attended and it's getting plenty of attention. It's featured today on Sierra Club's national scrapbook blog, which focuses on how miners and environmentalists found common ground.

The audience included a row of miners in uniform, plus a few white-collar representatives of the coal companies. Farmers being impacted by longwall mining in central Illinois came too.

This definitely wasn't just a crowd of stereotypical tree-huggers. I can't say that everyone agreed about everything by the end of the meeting, but people came a lot closer to understanding each other.

One of the little-known secrets of the environmental movement is that it often has common ground with coal miners. Safe mines with unionized workers have better environmental practices. The most environmentally destructive mining methods, like mountaintop removal and modern longwall, also employ fewer miners.

Those areas of common ground, including the need to create green jobs in coal country, were the themes Jeff Biggers focused on.

I have become more convinced than ever that we can bridge the fabricated divide between coal miners and coal mining communities and environmental organizations like the Sierra Club by laying out a roadmap for a just transition to a sustainable and clean energy future.

The coalfields should be ground zero for any clean energy revolution. We need to aggressively push for a GI Bill for coal miners for retraining and placement in a clean energy economy, dedicate massive investment funds and assistance to clean energy manufacturing and energy efficiency initiatives in the coalfields, and launch a reforestation program in the forests and prairies.

In case you missed it, also check out the Illinois Times article that quotes one of the miners.

Posted by Will at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Come Tuesday evening to find out what's new and give feedback to our public utility. Here's the official info from CWLP.

COOL CITIES, GREEN BUSINESS NETWORK OF SPRINGFIELD & ENERGY SERVICES PROGRAM UPDATES ARE THE AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE CWLP COMMUNITY ENERGY FORUM

The November 30th Community Energy Forum will include developing objectives of Springfield’s Cool Cities activities, as well as an update of the evolving Green Business Network of Springfield and a discussion of expanding Energy Efficiency Programs to be offered through Energy Services, with an opportunity for public comment.

The Forum will be held at 6 p.m. at Illinois National Bank’s Downtown Conference Center at Fourth and Jackson Streets.

CWLP Community Energy Forums are designed to provide updates to the public on progress made regarding environmental and energy saving activities and to solicit suggestions and ideas from the community regarding energy programs and related issues. CWLP is using the input received from these meetings to enhance existing programs and develop new energy efficiency and conservation programs.

Public participation is encouraged to help CWLP develop the most effective and practical programs for its customers. CWLP customers wanting more information on this forum may call 789-2070.

Refreshments will be served.

Posted by Will at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In Springfield, we're used to thinking of public transpiration as something that's only used by those with no other option. I suspect that's one reason why the location proposed years ago for a multi-modal transit facility is on the edge of downtown near a low-income neighborhood. The decision was probably based on outdated assumptions about who uses public transportation.

I started thinking about this after reading a story on the increasing number of young people who prefer to not have a car.

Brauer said this generation also is thinking more than any other about the repercussions of driving, both in terms of the environment and our dependence on oil.

“They don’t just wholeheartedly see a car as this cool thing to go get,” he said. “There’s actually some caveats.”

‘I didn’t need it’
McVeigh didn’t make a conscious plan not to drive. After living overseas as a teenager, she went to college in a small town and then moved to bigger cities for graduate school and work.

At first, a car seemed both prohibitively expensive and unnecessary, because she could walk or take public transportation. Then, she just decided she didn’t want one.

“I just kind of came to the realization that I didn’t need it,” she said. McVeigh uses public transportation to get to work and likes that she can spend her commute time reading or grading papers.

McVeigh also likes getting the extra exercise when she chooses to walk to work or to the grocery store, and is happy to be saving money and not adding any more pollution to the planet.

Is it easy to walk or ride a bike around town? Is public transportation fast and convenient? Are there connections to high-speed rail? Can I live near where I work? These are questions individuals and companies will ask about Springfield in comparison to other cities.

Right now, the answers don't make us look so good. We don't have the population to support a public transportation system similar to Chicago's. But, we can do much more to make Springfield less auto-dependent compared to cities of a similar size.

Posted by Will at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Frank Edwards bought a fire truck to run for Governor, but that didn't work out. More recently, he considered running for mayor of Springfield but decided not to because "his candidacy might divide the Republican vote." He's running for re-election as Alderman instead.

I'm not convinced that the ward is best served by an Alderman who decided he might as well stick around because he couldn't get a promotion.

Posted by Will at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Anyone who saw Jeff Biggers last February remembers what a powerful and entertaining speaker he is. Those who missed it will get the chance to see him again at the Sierra Club monthly meeting this Wednesday, November 10th, 6:00pm, Lincoln Library Carnegie Room.

Besides writing on modern coal issues, Biggers is also a historian. His last book gave me a new perspective on the role of coal in the history and growth of Illinois. Check out his recent Huffington Post blog about the events of October 12, 1898, which used to be known as Virden Day.

The State Journal-Register has an article about Biggers that includes sentences I never expected to read in the local paper.

Coal-fired energy is dirty, expensive and contrary to a strong economy.

So says Jeff Biggers, an author and playwright scheduled to speak Wednesday evening at Lincoln Library in downtown Springfield.

“Illinois is becoming ground zero for the new coal rush,” Biggers said. “The rest of the nation is moving away from coal. … Coal is eventually going to become as costly as any other energy resource.”

Biggers, whose appearance is being sponsored by the Sierra Club, argues that coal already is more expensive than many people realize. In Illinois, he points out, state government has given coal mines millions of dollars in subsidies. And if coal is good for the economy, Biggers asks, why are the coal fields of Appalachia and southern Illinois in such financial distress?

“You think of poverty when you think of Appalachia, which is Coal Central,” Biggers says.

We need a better economic development plan for the regional economy. You can join the discussion about a new energy future Wednesday.

Posted by Will at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)