In July 2005 I was one of three persons added to Missouri Ozark Chapter Conservation Committee. In January 2006 I also began service on our chapter’s Executive Committee. I’ve also had a few occasions to consult on the Legislative Committee’s LISTSERV.

I’ve found these committees very receptive to input from all their members, both on the listserves and during meetings. Collectively, a lot of time and thought goes into determining Ozark Chapter’s positions on issues and how to express them. Read more...

That’s one reason why the Club’s Cool Cities campaign, to solve global warming one city at a time, has taken off both here in Missouri and around the country. Read more...

Electric Power Producers in Kansas are planning to add some 3000 megawatts of new coal burning capacity by 2012. In addition KCP&L has recently received a permit (being appealed) to add 1050 MW in coal burning capacity at their Iatan site just north of the KC metro area near Weston, MO. To put this in perspective, Westar’s existing coal-fired generating capacity is 2638 MW and their total capacity, including nuclear, oil and natural gas is about 5800 MW.

The reason for this rush to burn coal is the soaring price of natural gas combined with the state’s proximity to relatively cheap Wyoming coal, though this coal is not at all cheap if the true costs of using it were accounted for. Power producers have little interest in aggressive campaigns to help customers reduce demand, and they are reluctant to take advantage of the vast wind resources in central and western Kansas. Read more...

Not really. Deliberations at last year’s Sierra Summit revealed an overwhelming sentiment that the greatest threat to the wilderness that we cherish—and, indeed, perhaps to all of humanity—is global warming. Nearly every day brings fresh evidence that the world’s climate is changing, perhaps more rapidly than we have heretofore realized. The consequences could be huge—and they will likely fall most heavily on some of the world’s least advantaged peoples. Read more...

Regulatory Challenges by the Ozark Chapter
Three new coal burning power plants are presently proposed within Missouri. A fourth is proposed on the east side of the St. Louis air shed, and AmerenUE is planning on another at the Rush Island site within a few years.

Kansas City Power & Light
KCPL’s permits all relate to the proposed Iatan II plant, 850 Megawatts, about 30 miles northwest of Kansas City on the bank of the Missouri River.

Springfield City Utilities
The Ozark Chapter has been challenging the permit for air emissions issued by DNR for the City Utilities proposed plant since 2004.

Associated Electric Co-op, Inc. (AEC)
AEC has submitted a permit application to build a new 660 Megawatt coal burning facility in Carroll County near the town of Norborne, which is about 50 miles east of Kansas City.

Peabody Prairie State, IL
Peabody Coal has applied for all the permits needed to build a very large (1500 MW) coal burning plant about 45 miles southeast of St. Louis. The Sierra Club has appealed the air and water permits to the Environmental Appeals Board in Washington DC, and to the Illinois EPA, respectively.

The legislation, HB 1384 and the companion bill SB 843, would require all retail sellers of electricity, including municipal and rural electric cooperatives, to supply a certain amount of their power from renewable energy sources. The minimum percentage requirement grows from one percent in 2008 to ten percent in 2020. Read more...

Most of us are concerned about our families and our future, about the lives that we, our children and our grandchildren will enjoy. We would like future generations at least to enjoy the standard of living that we enjoy. We would also like them to be able to enjoy a planet that is as rich and diverse as ours, one that is rich in biodiversity and rich in natural resources. Maybe we’d even like their planet to be richer than is ours. If this is the case, we need to focus our attention on activities that do not threaten the ecological life support system that is the source of both our standard of living (in terms of food, fiber, and ecosystem services such as the wetlands, watersheds, and forested carbon dioxide sinks) and the natural resources we enjoy when we recreate in the great outdoors. Read more...

It was an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), an eye-glazing term for a pretty good idea. Periodically Ameren and other electric utilities must give the PSC an assessment of how demand for electricity is growing and what their options are for meeting it—with coal, nuclear, pumped storage, renewable energy, or energy efficiency programs that might avoid the need to build expensive power plants. The utilities don’t have to say exactly what they’re going to do and the PSC won’t tell them. Read more...