Moving the Climate and Energy Agenda - Michigan Chapter Update - 5.1.22
May 1, 2022
Michigan Chapter Update
May 1, 2022
In This Edition:
Join Sierra Club's Virtual Lobby Day to Stop Dangerous Budget Bill: May 11
Big Week for Climate and Energy
All Energy Providers Must Comply with Environmental Protection Laws
Rain Gardens 101, Detroit: May 10
Virtual Corporate and Social Responsibility Roundtable on Single-Use Plastics: May 12
25th Wege Speaker Series Presents Dr. Beverly Wright: May 26
Welcome Stephanie Szymas, Michigan Chapter's New Development Director
Start Spring on an EVERGREEN Foot
Detroit Outdoors to Lead Thrive Outside Initiative
Explore and Enjoy: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Michigan State Capitol Building, Lansing. Sierra Club file photo.
Join Sierra Club’s Virtual Lobby Day to Stop Dangerous Budget Bill: May 11
Michigan Senate Republicans have released a state budget that would slash a record amount of funding for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Under their budget proposals (SBs 839-840), the state would see hundreds of cuts in full-time employees and hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to EGLE and the DNR.
What does this mean? State Parks which have been seeing a record number of visitors could close, over 24,000 contaminated toxic sites across Michigan would not be cleaned up, the state’s ability to update its water infrastructure would be hindered, and the transition to a clean energy and transportation system could be stifled.
Michigan’s public lands, natural resources and infrastructure are essential to the economic and ecological sustainability of the state and recreational opportunities for residents. Dangerous budget cuts benefit corporate polluters and undermine the important work EGLE and DNR do to protect the environmental and economic health of the state. Michiganders want more protection for the Great Lakes, not less.
Join the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter for the spring Virtual Lobby Day on May 11 where participants will be calling on state lawmakers to say NO to this dangerous budget and instead support the investments the state needs that Governor Whitmer has outlined.
Consumers Energy, Attorney General Nessel, Sierra Club and partners have agreed to a settlement which would close all of the utility's coal plants by 2025. Photo of the Campbell plant by Jan O'Connell.
Big Week for Climate and Energy
The week of Earth Day was a significant one on multiple energy and climate related issues.
Whitmer Climate Plan Released: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released the MI Healthy Climate plan that outlines policies to significantly reduce dangerous pollution in Michigan’s air and water, prioritize communities that have shouldered the burden of pollution for far too long and improve public health. The plan guides Michigan to achieve state and international climate goals. Sierra Club members and supporters played a significant role by providing comments to shape the final plan.
Groundbreaking Settlement with Consumers Energy: Sierra Club, working with Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office and diverse partners, reached a settlement agreement with Consumers Energy on their Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The settlement is now under review by the Michigan Public Service Commission before it is finalized but the agreement includes several groundbreaking commitments, including:
Moving Consumers Energy entirely beyond coal in 2025, which is 15 years earlier than previously planned.
Rejecting three fracked gas power plants the utility wanted to acquire, including one in Dearborn that had particularly bad environmental justice implications.
Increasing the amount and expediting the timeline for the utility's investments in renewables, energy efficiency and storage.
Requiring the utility to invest more than $30 million on low-income bill assistance funded by shareholders, not ratepayers.
Requiring the utility to do more transparent stakeholder engagement on future cases before the commission, including rate cases and IRPs, and to specifically consult Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) led community groups like Urban Core Collective.
Palisades Nuclear Power Plant on life support: Although neither the MI Healthy Climate plan nor the Consumers Energy settlement included nuclear power as a proposed energy source, on April 20 the Whitmer administration called on the Biden administration to allocate funds to revitalize the Palisades nuclear power plant. The nuclear reactor is scheduled to be shut down on May 31 and decommissioned. The reactor is in disrepair, its safety systems are degraded and it poses, if it continues to operate, an increasing danger to the community that surrounds it and 80% of the fresh water in North America.
That danger was first recognized in a report issued in 1982 and the Michigan Chapter has been fighting to have it closed for 40 years. The current owner, Entergy Nuclear, a Louisiana Corporation, is now attempting to sell the facility to Holtec Energy for decommissioning to avoid its own liability for serious maintenance failures.
Environmental champion Attorney General Dana Nessel is fighting against the approval of that sale at the federal level. At the same time, the Michigan Executive Branch has requested money from the federal Department of Energy to make necessary repairs and continue the operation of the facility for a decade. To have success in shutting down this aging nuclear facility is important for a whole host of reasons.
Wind turbines near Ludington. Proper siting of renewable energy facilities protects wildlife. Photo by Anne Woiwode.
All Energy Providers Must Comply with Environmental Protection Laws
Transitioning to renewable energy is a many faceted process. As society works to move off fossil and other dirty, nonrenewable energy sources, the failure to follow required environmental protection efforts can cause negative impacts. Energy production of any sort has environmental impacts, which is why Sierra Club and other clean, renewable energy supporters advocate alternatives that substantially decrease negative environmental effects while providing the power and energy needs for a sustainable society. Consideration for the siting of renewable energy facilities to avoid impacts on natural resources and wildlife is a high priority for Sierra Club that is embedded in the organization’s policies governing climate and energy.
Recent attention to the devastating loss of 150 eagles at improperly sited wind farms in Arizona and other states has drawn outrage and is a lesson on the critical need for environmental review of projects like this.
The company, NextEra Energy, was warned that some of their wind turbines would kill eagles before the project was sited but they proceeded with the project anyway. Sierra Club strongly supports the $8 million fine imposed on NextEra which failed to follow requirements for a detailed review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Sierra Club strongly supports guidance from The Audubon Society which calls for completion of wildlife studies before siting wind turbines so that adjustments based on the data from the study can prevent disasters of this kind.
The NextEra example demonstrates that not all renewable energy companies are responsible stewards of the environment and must be held accountable, starting by complying with environmental laws and paying substantial penalties when they cause damage. NextEra has been one of the more aggressive companies in developing sustainable energy. Getting to the sustainable future the world needs requires aggressiveness to fight the climate crisis, but by following the science and laws to protect the environment.
Single-use plastic contributes to litter and pollution across the world. Photo by Anne Woiwode.
Virtual Corporate and Social Responsibility Roundtable on Single-Use Plastic Thursday, May 12 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
The Sierra Club Grassroots Network Single-Use Plastic Team is hosting a roundtable on corporate and social responsibility. Leaders from across the country who are working on corporate accountability campaigns as a tactic to reduce single-use plastics will discuss their work and address questions including: How is corporate and social responsibility (CSR) related to single-use plastics? Why are these campaigns needed? If policy and regulations are the most effective campaigns, where does CSR fit in? How are CSR campaigns structured? Time will be provided for questions and discussion.
Register here. The Zoom link for this virtual event will be sent out with registration confirmation.
25th Wege Speaker Series presents: Dr. Beverly Wright Deep South Center for Environmental Justice May 26, 4:00 p.m. Virtual Event
Dr. Beverly Wright is the founder and executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in New Orleans. The award-winning environmental justice scholar, advocate, author, civic leader and professor will address her groundbreaking strategies to assure equitable approaches to addressing climate change. Her presentation will focus on how justice and democracy, in particular the involvement of the people and advocates directly affected by pollution and severe weather events, have to come together to combat the climate crisis.
A short video featuring Dr. Beverly Wright was recorded last month for Women’s History month. To learn more about Dr. Wright, the Wege Speaker Series and the previous Wege speakers click here.
Stephanie Szymas joins the Michigan Chapter staff. Sierra Club photo.
Welcome Stephanie Szymas, Michigan Chapter's New Development Director
The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter is proud to highlight its newest employee, Stephanie Szymas. Stephanie will be working as the new development director, helping the chapter raise funds to support its work to explore, enjoy and protect the state’s environment and people.
Before joining the Sierra Club, Szymas worked as a finance director for political campaigns and has managed donor relations and fundraising for several organizations on the west side of the state. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in fundraising that will help the Chapter achieve its goals to protect Michigan’s environment and communities.
"I am thankful and excited to serve as the Sierra Club's Michigan Chapter development director,” said Szymas. “I look forward to combining my passion for environmental advocacy with my experience in political and nonprofit fundraising to further strengthen the Chapter and continue to protect this great state and our communities."
Get in touch with Stephanie at stephanie.szymas@sierraclub.org to learn more about the work she is doing to help the Chapter.
Become an EVERGREEN supporter of the Michigan Chapter this spring. Photo by Anne Woiwode.
Start Spring on an EVERGREEN Foot
Spring is here and it is the time for new growth. Transform with the season by making a green resolution today to help Michigan’s environment. Please join the EVERGREEN ‘monthly’ gift program to support the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter all year long.
Every dollar makes a difference. Contributions from members and supporters are the heart and soul that keep Michigan’s vulnerable wild lands and Great Lakes protected, the air and water clean. These funds also promote solutions that fight climate change.
Taking a step for change today by making a monthly gift will ensure an impact as part of the EVERGREEN Program. Monthly donations add up quickly and ensure Sierra Club's programs remain supported and evergreen even in challenging times.
Grand Rapids and Detroit Wilderness First Aid Course at YMCA Camp Nissokone in September 2021. Photo courtesy of Garrett Dempsey.
Detroit Outdoors Leads Thrive Outside Initiative
The YMCA and the Detroit Outdoors Collaborative have been selected by the Outdoor Foundation to lead the Thrive Outside Initiative for the Southeast Michigan region. Detroit Outdoors and the YMCA will serve as the network backbone for a regional approach to connecting youth and families with positive and repeated experiences in nature. Grand Rapids was selected as part of the first cohort of communities in 2019 and both communities look to combine their efforts to help ensure that the outdoors is a place for all people across Michigan and the Great Lakes Region.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (l), photo by Cecilia Garcia-Linz. Ancient cedar tree on South Manitou island, hugged by Anne Woiwode, photo courtesy of Anne Woiwode.
Explore and Enjoy: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Sierra Club Victories Series, Part 1
For 55 years the Michigan Chapter has worked to protect many special places in Michigan. This is the first in a series about the parks, wildernesses and other protected areas in Michigan that Sierra Club volunteers and staff played a major role in protecting.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was created in law in October 1970 after a yearslong campaign to protect this special place. The newly formed Mackinac (now Michigan) Chapter took on the battle, working with Senator Philip A. Hart and many Michigan conservationists to ensure this unique place did not become a subdivided resort community. Sierra Club volunteer Virginia Prentice is credited with being one of the most effective advocates for the designation and protection of this remarkable place.
Sleeping Bear Dunes offers recreational opportunities including hiking, camping, bird watching and nature study, bicycling and cross-country skiing. North and South Manitou Islands are accessible only by private boat or passenger ferry, and offer unique camping and hiking experiences. South Manitou has an ancient grove of cedar trees unlike anything found on Michigan’s mainland. North Manitou is a designated wilderness offering primitive camping and hiking opportunities.
The mainland of the park has thirteen year-round trails for day hiking in a variety of natural settings. In addition, the Platte River and beaches on Lake Michigan provide wonderful opportunities to enjoy paddling, floating and swimming.
A visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore can be much more than just enjoying Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive’s amazing views of the dunes or challenging family and friends in a race up the dune climb. Celebrate the opportunity to enjoy this amazing place and remember the role Sierra Club volunteers played in ensuring it is available to all today.
