You can add your voice too, to fight pollution—the time to take action has never been more urgent.

Brenda’s leadership has not gone unnoticed. U.S. Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Delaware), chair of the Senate Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, asked Brenda to testify before his panel this Tuesday. She shared her story recently with the Petoskey News and in our new report, which focuses on the devastating impact of warming winters on America’s outdoor traditions.

Brenda—and the 1.7 million Michigan hunters and anglers she represents—are faced with hundreds of fish consumption advisories every year due to high levels of mercury and other toxins, commonly put into the air from coal-fired power plants both within Michigan and from neighboring states. And with increasingly warm winters, the ice on the upper Midwest lakes doesn’t get thick enough often enough to sustain cherished family ice-fishing traditions, nor 46,000 tourism and recreation jobs across the state.

Fortunately, the Obama Administration, Sen. Carper, Michigan’s Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D) and Carl Levin (D) and others in Washington are not putting the interests of big polluters ahead of public health, food safety, fishing traditions and local economies. The U.S. EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics standard, and the Carbon Pollution standard, put into place protections passed by a bipartisan Congress in the early 1990′s, and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.

Brenda is traveling a long way from Cheboygan to protect sturgeon, family fishing traditions, and local economies. But we also need you to stand up too.

Take Action to Combat Pollution Today

Take action today by adding your comment during the EPA’s 60-day public comment window, which actually started April 13th. Share this link via Facebook, Twitter or other social media as well.

Details on Tuesday’s hearing…good luck Brenda!

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_id=9e3ece6e-802a-23ad-419e-915184add98c

New Mercury Limits to Coal-fired Plants

I’m struck by the power and potential the Obama Administration has this week when they finally issue standards (21 years in the making) that limit emissions of mercury and other hazardous pollutants from coal-fired power plants.

The new limits on mercury and other toxic air pollution will make the air that that my kids breathe cleaner as we explore the Great Lakes.

Bay Shore Power Plant Spews Toxics, Kills Fish

My kids have enjoyed this beach only once the past couple of years because it's just down the road from an old, polluting, coal-fired power plant. And Iszabel and Lucas want to go back!

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals are being released into the air and land. As the wind blows, the toxic pollution is carried into surrounding freshwater and neighborhoods.  Obviously, as a parent, I am quite concerned about the impact on my kids and everyone else – and the new limits on mercury shouldn’t have taken 21 years to take effect.

But this coal-fired power plant isn’t simply a deterrent to my family’s fun in the sun.  In fact, Bay Shore is costing our community plenty.  The plant sits at the mouth of what is arguably the most biologically productive river in the entire Great Lakes basin, the Maumee, and kills small fish by the millions every year.  A study conducted in 2010 estimates that Bay Shore’s fish kills cost Northwest Ohio’s recreational and commercial fishing economy $29.7 million every year.  Mercury from coal-fired power plants kills wildlife across the Great Lakes.

You’d think, with the Clean Air Act of 1990 signed into law by President George H. W. Bush, all responsible utilities would have done right on behalf of their investors, employees, ratepayers and communities in the 21 years leading to this week.  Nope.  In 2008, First Energy actually led a pitched battle seeking an increase in the amount of mercury it could release at Bay Shore.  It’s remarkable, really, considering how many other utilities around the country have made better business decisions the past two decades.

Ohio 2nd Highest Polluter of Mercury in U.S.A.

The Blade, Toledo’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, 175 years and counting daily newspaper just nails it in an editorial, ‘Hold Firm on Mercury’ published today:

Regulators must hold tight to the science behind their recommendations, and keep public health ahead of politics.

Ohio is the nation’s second-largest emitter of mercury. The new controls would be expensive, but so are the hidden costs that coal-fired power plants pass on to those who ingest mercury, a potent toxin that attacks the brain and central nervous system.

Mercury is especially harmful to young mothers and children. As it falls from the sky and settles on large bodies of water, such as the Great Lakes, mercury contaminates fish. The new form created in the water is many times more acute than what comes out of smokestacks.

Expensive?  Maybe.  But some in the utility and coal industry are spending $35 million for television advertising this week to delay these rules even longer.  And, as the Center for American Progress points out, the dirtiest and most obstructive utilities are sitting on $18 billion in cash reserves.

Take Action to Keep the Clean Air Act Strong

Speak up today to protect the Clean Air Act from polluter-led attacks.

The Szollosi's want to go back to a beach completely free from risks posed by mercury and other pollutants generated by coal-fired power plants. And they want this for other families, everywhere.

If you drive a big pick-up truck at work or when you hunt or fish, you know there are more choices when it comes to engine technology.  Recently, NWF joined industry-leader Dmax Co., union members and the BlueGreen Alliance in Moraine, Ohio to highlight the role the U.S. EPA’s heavy duty truck rule can play in driving better performance and increasing environmental benefits.  The centerpiece of the event was Dmax’s industry leading Duramax 6.6 liter V8 diesel engine, built by 416 hourly and 112 salaried southern Ohio workers at an ISO certified landfill-free facility.

TV reporter: “You don’t usually see manufacturers, the union, environmentalists sitting together singing Kumbaya?  How big is this deal?”

NWF: “It’s a hopeful opportunity.  It makes improvements to the environment as it transforms an industry at the base of our economy, spurring jobs.”

Environmentalists, sportsmen, and labor officials gather round the Duramax engine - built at 8:30am that very morning - and look at the technology that makes it a leader in performance, efficiency and pollution-control.

HUNTERS & ANGLERS WANT CLEAN TECH & PERFORMANCE

“If I walked into the Dmax plant right now and asked who wanted to go hunting or fishing, I bet more than half the plant would walk out with me.  Stewardship is so important to people who hunt and fish – they want to improve the environment because they take advantage of it.  If you want a truck that works, that brings greater efficiency and cuts pollution,  it’s being built right here in Dayton.” – Marc Sommer, an Ohio sportsman

LESS OIL, LESS GLOBAL WARMING POLLUTION, SAVINGS FOR BUSINESS AND DRIVERS

Released in August 2011, the U.S. EPA heavy duty fuel efficiency standard nets oil savings of 530 million barrels, reduces carbon pollution by 270 million metric tons, and saves the public $42 billion.  For trucking businesses, the net savings average $3,000 for utility trucks, $6,000 for work pick-ups and up to $73,000 for long haul tractor-trailers.  Needless to say, the compounded savings to fleet owners are very significant.

Duramax 6.6 liter V8 engine is the star of the roundtable discussion, including the BlueGreen Alliance, National Wildlife Federation, Dmax Co., IUE-CWA Local 755, and Dayton City Commissioner Nan Whaley.

Ultimately, by working together, the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), industry, labor and, yes, us in the environmental movement, we’ve delivered greater efficiency, greater performance, less pollution, more and better choices for consumers, more innovation yet to come, and more jobs here in Ohio and across the Midwest.

For more information, download NWF’s “Trucks that Work” report.

Just in time for Veteran’s Day weekend comes a major motion picture that shows how the world’s drivers will end their reliance on Big Oil – and, I and many others believe, stop wars fueled by our thirst for petroleum.

Revenge of the Electric Car opens in Michigan this weekend, and movie Director Chris Paine will be joining thousands of electric car believers here for the opening screenings!

“In 2006, as many as 5,000 modern electric cars were destroyed by the major car companies that built them. Today, less than 5 years later, the electric car is back… with a vengeance,” boasts the movie’s producers.

“In Revenge of the Electric Car, director Chris Paine takes his film crew behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, and the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors to find the story of the global resurgence of electric cars. Without using a single drop of foreign oil, this new generation of car is America’s future: fast, furious, and cleaner than ever.

With almost every major car maker now jumping to produce new electric models, Revenge follows the race to be the first, the best, and to win the hearts and minds of the public around the world.”

Remember and honor all veterans this weekend, especially those of our recent wars in the Middle East.

We will defeat Big Oil, slash pollution and revive Midwestern automotive communities!

This story is so exciting someone has made a movie about it!

Opening November 11th, 2011

Detroit, MI: Landmark Main Art Theatre
**special appearance by Director Chris Paine at the November 11th 7:30pm showing**

Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan Theatre
**special appearance by Director Chris Paine at all showings on November 12th and 13th**

Visit Revenge of the Electric Car for showtimes coast-to-coast.

You can also help NWF keep up the fight by visiting Choose Your Cause .  Our activists and allies are fighting tar sands oil and the noxious Keystone XL pipeline, combating climate change, safeguarding Bristol Bay and, close to my heart, protecting the Great Lakes.

Fighting back, over 1,000 Americans rallied in defense of our children’s future at the 4^th Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference this morning.  Autoworkers, pipefitters, teachers, environmentalists, electricians, steelworkers, sheet metal workers, service workers, laborers and so many others all gathered around one simple truth:  its not ‘good jobs’ or a ‘clean environment’, it is both, or neither.

Here is a report, just released at the conference, that says 1.5 million new jobs would be created by new EPA rules on greenhouse gas emissions alone.

To a standing ovation, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson was presented with Everlast boxing gloves (today is her birthday, after all) to signal our support for her leadership in guiding us to a clean energy future.  Balanced, science-based standards have a clear history of providing certainty for business investment, growing jobs, and protecting public health, worker safety, and the land, water and air our families rely on.

Gene Sperling, from Michigan, and Chairman of President Obama’s National Economic Council, said the nation’s priority is putting people back to work in part by ensuring that the U.S. becomes the first country in the world to put 1,000,000 advanced technology vehicles on the road by 2015.  To get there, the White House will issue 7,500 competitive grants for American communities – a “field of dreams of approach” – to reward cities, towns and counties for leadership on advanced vehicle readiness, and promised businesses 100% tax write-offs for green capital investment.

Follow the Good Jobs Green Jobs 2011 conference on Twitter using the hashtag #gjgj2011

Call your Congressman and Senator and tell them to protect public health, good jobs, and our children’s future by defending the Clean Air Act and the EPA.

Three things you can count on at a big car show in Detroit: big engines, bright lights, and beautiful models.

What was really sexy, though, was taking a closer look at all the clean technology going into current and next generation automobiles that will slash greenhouse emissions and reduce our dependency on dirty fuels.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As our video shows, the award-winning Chevy Volt was drawing a ton of attention.  Already, there are over 56,000 people who’ve signed up to buy one! And as Walter McManus said at this morning’s “Driving Michigan Forward” panel, “there is no doubt, a commitment to clean car technology will drive innovation and profit for American automobile manufacturers.”  McManus, an economist at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, has the data to support his optimism.

NWF members and staff are not alone in wanting big increases in efficiency either.  Mark Cooper, Research Director at the Consumer Federation of America, pointed out that for the U.S. to reach its stated goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050, “it’ll require a fleet average of 100 miles per gallon.” Cooper also endorsed the GO60MPG campaign goal for new cars to achieve at least 60 miles per gallon and no more than 143 grams per mile of carbon pollution by 2025.

Danielle’s Highlight: I’ve been to the auto show many times (even once I was able to attend the prestigious Gala!), but this year was particularly wonderful.  The auto companies have a much larger focus on fuel efficiency and more proudly compete with one another about MPGs.  I think the advanced autos are a key to Michigan’s economic turnaround, and today it started to look like we are driving forward.

Frank’s favorite moment at the auto show: getting behind the wheel of a Chevy Volt, which was selected as “Car of the Year” for 2011 – “it was really exciting to sit in the Volt , but probably nowhere near as cool as actually driving it every day – saving money and cutting emissions.  I’m on the wait list to buy one!

The fuel economy window sticker that you see on cars in the lot hasn’t changed much since the 70’s.  It was designed for a world where there was just the internal combustion engine – and one fuel – gasoline (or diesel).  That world is rapidly disappearing.  Already hybrids and flex fuel ethanol vehicles are wide-spread, and mass market electric vehicles are expected from virtually every automaker over the next few years.

What’s more, breaking our destructive dependence on oil, and combating climate change depend on moving even more quickly down this path.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation have worked with consumer marketing experts and scientists to redesign the fuel economy “sticker” for the 2012 model year for all cars, vans, SUVs and light-duty trucks on sale in the United States.  The new labels will for the first time provide consumers with comparisons of fuel economy and fuel costs, global warming pollution, and criteria pollutants (a.k.a. the stuff that produces smog.)  

In Chicago on Thursday, I testified on behalf of NWF at the first of two public hearings on the proposed labeling changes and made two essential points: First, NWF’s members both need and want fuel economy and global warming pollution information presented in a simple, straight forward way.  Like all consumers, we need information that helps us assess how much we’re going to spend or save at the gas pump, but we also value information that helps us choose a vehicle which meets our needs while wherever possible also reflecting our conservation ethic.  Second, we are depending on auto industry transformation not just to bring environmental benefits, but great cars and great jobs. We need information that clearly and accurately reflects the benefits new vehicles bring so that consumers can appropriately reward investment in innovation. 

Letter grade is a hot topic: Both the automotive industry and environmental groups were well represented at the hearing, reflecting different ideas about the design, content and, most contentiously, the kind of grading system presented to consumers on the new sticker.  An industry representative insisted that any form of grading should be among vehicles within their own class:  compare SUVs against SUVs, not against compact cars.  The problem with that approach is that it sets up confusing multiple sets of grades, where, for example, a more efficient SUV could score a better grade than a modestly efficient sedan (compared to other sedans) despite the SUV being less clean and less fuel efficient.

A speaker from the Korean manufacturer Hyundai pointed out that their national government initially tried a class-based grading system, but soon scrapped it based on poor reviews from consumers.

Environmental groups urged evaluating vehicles on an absolute scale, a view shared by, an Iraqi war veteran who had driven a truck in an Army fuel convoy throughout her tour of duty.  Speaking in favor of a label with a simple “A” through “D” letter grading system, she appealed to both industry and government to do more to reduce our dependence on foreign oil both on national security grounds, and to keep future soldiers out of harm’s way.  NWF believes that showing vehicle’s absolute performance is essential, but think it is possible to show relative performance as well.

 What do you want to see on the label?   Leave us a comment.

Even better, EPA is accepting comments from the public through the end of October here. 

Here is a detailed factsheet from EPA with all of the label proposals.  

Email me at szollosif@nwf.org for a copy of NWF’s full testimony.