LVEJO - Clean Power Campaign Events

Take Action for Climate Justice March on Chicago's Climate Criminals November 30, 2009 11am, Federal Plaza in Downtown Chicago Join us in taking a stand for real, just and effective solutions to the climate crisis, in Copenhagen and in Chicago. We will pay a visit to several climate criminals with offices in downtown Chicago, including the Chicago Climate Exchange, the first and biggest carbon trading institution in the US. We will also be calling for environmental justice and the shutdown of the Crawford and Fisk coal plants in Little Village and Pilsen. The struggle for climate justice begins at home! For more information or to help with organizing, get in touch with us at chicago@actforclimatejustice.org
Chicago, Il: *Activists target Carbon Trading @ Chicago Climate Exchange - 12 arrested
	Global Day of Action to Expose Climate Criminals Shuts Down the Chicago Financial District:

Chicago- Hundreds of people shut down the heart of the financial district in front of the Chicago Climate Exchange today for over 2 hours. Twelve people
blocked the intersection by locking down to each other to make it clear that trading and offsetting carbon will not save the planet and the air is not
for sale!

Community and environmental groups including Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization ,
Rainforest Action Network Chicago, Nuclear Energy Information Service and Eco-Justice Collaborative took a strong stand today against climate
"business as usual" by stopping financial business as usual.

People took action in nine cities across the U.S., and others around the world on the 10th Anniversary of the Battle of Seattle, and in anticipation
of the upcoming UN Climate negotiation in Copenhagen. People around the world are rising up to demand real solutions to this climate crisis.

"Cap and trade and offsets are like 'climate derivatives,'" said Angie Viands of Rainforest Action Network Chicago. "The people of the world who
will be feeling the effects of climate disruption are sending a strong message that they want real climate solutions, not more market flim-flam and
sleight of hand. This is a message that we will not allow officials and negotiators to forget from now on. We will be back until we are heard,"
Viands concluded.

The Twelve people arrested are being held at the First District Police Station and have not yet been charged.

Updates will appear at: www.howgreenischicago.org

More pictures of event and video links here,

http://www.chicagotribune.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=a71fa302-734d-4e20-8c56-0810a5755e8b

EPA Sets Public Hearing Dates on Proposed Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule

EPA will hold two public hearings to accept public comment on the agency's proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions thresholds defining when Clean Air Act permitting 
requirements would apply to new or existing industrial facilities.   The proposed thresholds would "tailor" the permit programs to limit which facilities would be required to 
obtain NSR and title V permits and would cover nearly 70 percent of the national GHG emissions that come from stationary sources, including those from the nation's 
largest emitters-power plants, refineries, and cement production facilities.

The hearings will be November 18 in Arlington, Va. and November 19 in Rosemont, IL. Both hearings will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 7:00 p.m. local time at the 
following locations:

November 18: Arlington, Va.
Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport
2799 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202

November 19: Rosemont, Il.
Donald E Stephens Convention Center
5555 North River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018

Members of the public who want to speak at the hearings may pre-register for a specific speaking time by contacting Pamela Long at
long.pam@epa.gov or (919) 541-0641 by November 13, 2009. People also may register in person on the day of the hearing; however, they may not be
given a specific time to speak.

EPA also will accept written comments on the proposed rule until December 28, 2009.

More information on the proposed rule and instructions for submitting written comments: http://www.epa.gov/nsr/actions.html.

HOW TO COMMENT

Day of Action - 350 ppm

Click on poster to download a full sized version Day of Action - 350 ppm Saturday, October 24th, 2009 \| 2100 S. Carpenter (Cermak & Carpenter) 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Rally and March Please come out and help put pressure on the City, the President and the USEPA to clean up the environment for the sake of our future. Over 3,891 actions are planned all over the world for this momentous day. Here in Chicago we will be outside the Fisk plant to show support of the USEPA's lawsuit against the plant, to demand a shutdown to help get to 350 ppm. In preparation for Saturday's event we invite you to attend Non Violent Direct Action Training Tonight, Tuesday, October 20, 2009 \| 5 p.m. at LVEJO's Office If you are interested in volunteering for the event or simply would like more information please call LVEJO at (773) 762.6991, visit www.lvejo.org or email us at info@lvejo.org CPS Students: Come out and earn service learning hours for volunteering at the event. Contact Moises Moreno, Youth Organizer at youth@lvejo.org
LVEJO would like to thank...

WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE??
Where: DePaul University @ the quad
Fullerton and Seminary between seminary and Clifton Ave
When: Tuesday September 29, 2009 Time: 5 pm-6 pm

Let’s Shut Chicago’s Coal Plants Down by 2010!
Show your support to the USEPA in their lawsuit against the Coal Plant Owners (Midwest Gen.) and demand they meet current standards!
The Chicago neighborhoods of Little Village and Pilsen are home to 2 of the dirtiest coal plants in the nation, upgraded last in the 1950s.
Chicago’s asthma rates are twice the national average. Pollution from the plants is attributed to 40 deaths by asthma annually, 550 ER visits,
and 2,800 asthma attacks per year.
Latino populations in Chicago have a mortality rate 5 times higher than that of white populations, thanks in part to the Fisk and Crawford coal plants.
Coal mining destroys mountains, pollutes communities, and ruins entire eco-systems.
Coal is the single biggest source of carbon emissions driving global warming.

Come out and let your vote count and choose Chicago’s energy future

Join: LVEJO – Sierra Club- Eco-Justice | topless AMerica

Download PDFs: Energy election at DePaul full page flier | September 09 Events Update-Holler to the Hood

From the “Holler” to the “Hood”...
The Real Cost of Coal
September 28, 29 and 30, 2009

From the “holler to the “hood” coal is devastating lives and the environment upon which we depend. It’s time to blow the lid off the myth of “clean” coal, and make conservation, efficiency, and clean energy solutions a reality! Here’s an overview of the events planned during the week of September 28 not only to talk about the impacts of coal, but also to organize for conservation, efficiency and clean energy.

Featuring:
From the “Hollers”: Lorelei Scarbro, Coal River Mountain Watch
From the “Hood”: Sam Villasenor, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
Dorian Breuer, Pilsen Environmental RIghts and Reform Organization

With:
Kat Wallace and Parson Brown, Topless America: Video and Music
Pam and Lan Richart, Eco-Justice Collaborative: If Not Coal, Then What?
Visit our Events Page at www.ecojusticecollaborative.org for more information, to download fliers, and to see who is sponsoring and co-sponsoring this event!

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2009
Loyola University, Water Tower Campus Beane Hall, Lewis Towers, 111 East Pearson, Noon to 1:15 PM Brown Bag Lunch	Loyola University, Lakeshore Campus Life Sciences Building 1050 W Sheridan Road, Rm. 142 Energy Election at 6:00 PM Program from 7:00 to 9:00 PM
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
Agency Roundtable 8th Day Center for Justice 205 West Monroe, Suite 500 (Loop) Noon to 1:30 PM / Brown Bag Lunch	Wellington Avenue Church 615 W. Wellington Avenue (Lakeview) Energy Election at 6:00 PM Program from 7:00 to 9:00 PM
Energy Election! on Sierra Club’s National Coal Day of Action DePaul University, Lincoln Park - 5:00 PM Mock “Energy Election” and rally to shut down Chicago’s two coal-fired power plants On the Quad / Fullerton and Seminary between seminary and Clifton Ave
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2009
Toxic Tour,Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM Tour begins at LVEJO’s office 2856 S. Millard, Chicago	Fiesta, Mi Cafetal Come celebrate with us! 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM 1519 W. 18th St., Chicago Poetry and stories by youth and screening of the documentary Cloud Factory

Contact Pam or Lan Richart, Eco-Justice Collaborative, at: 773.556.3418 or visit www.ecojusticecollaborative.org

Download PDFs: Energy election at DePaul full page flier | September 09 Events Update-Holler to the Hood

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From the outside, the power plant that towers above Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood looks like a sooty relic from the early part of the last century. The Fisk plant has been burning coal to generate electricity on the Near West Side since 1903. But federal and state lawyers alleged Thursday that its internal parts -- the massive boiler, steam chest and turbine -- have been repeatedly upgraded without the modern pollution controls required under the Clean Air Act. By steadily replacing worn out equipment, a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court alleges, owner Midwest Generation kept Fisk and five other power plants operating well past the time when they otherwise would have been closed. The noxious smoke churning out of the plants makes them some of the biggest contributors to dirty air in the Chicago area, according to federal records.

The 75-page lawsuit marks a renewed effort by the Obama administration to crack down on emissions from coal-fired power plants, an undertaking that languished under former President George W. Bush. Coal plants are major sources of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, toxic mercury and other pollutants that create lung-damaging soot and smog. Besides the Fisk plant, the suit cites the Crawford plant in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, and plants in Joliet, Romeoville, Waukegan and Downstate Pekin. Targeted repeatedly by neighborhood activists and environmental groups, the Midwest Generation plants have avoided anti-pollution regulations for years,in part because federal regulators assumed decades ago that the aging generators would have been scuttled by now. In 2001, a Harvard School of Public Health study estimated the Fisk and Crawford plants alone are responsible for 2,800 asthma attacks, 550 emergency room visits and 41 early deaths every year. Four years later, Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan documented thousands of pollution violations at the power plants. She joined the lawsuit filed Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "I am very concerned about the negative health effects that these aging plants have on the people who live in the communities where the Midwest Gen facilities are located," Madigan said. Company officials contend the problems outlined in the complaint are being addressed.

Under a 2006 deal with the Illinois EPA, Midwest Generation agreed to clean up or close its coal plants by 2018. The federal lawsuit could force the company to upgrade or close its plants faster. Critics have said the Illinois EPA, which declined to join the federal lawsuit, gave Midwest Generation too long to clean up the plants. In a statement, the company called its agreement with the state "as tough or tougher" than settlements the federal government has brokered with other power companies. Equipment upgrades will cut smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions by 80 percent by 2012, toxic mercury emissions by 90 percent by 2015, and emissions of sulfur dioxide, an ingredient in smog and acid rain, by 84 percent by 2018, it said. "While we remain open to exploring settlement of this complaint, we have a progressive record of environmental performance and leadership that we will be prepared to vigorously present and defend," the company's statement said. Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of California-based Edison International, bought the six plants in 1999 from ComEd, which is not cited in the complaint. The lawsuit says the refurbished coal burners illegally emit large amounts of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter, commonly known as soot. Carbon dioxide isn't addressed in the complaint, though combined the Midwest Generation plants are the state's largest industrial source of the greenhouse gas. Congress is debating regulations to combat climate change that would for the first time limit emissions.

Midwest Generation is the third power company to face tougher scrutiny from the EPA under President Barack Obama. During the Clinton administration, the agency realized many old coal plants across the nation had been modified and expanded so many times that they should be considered new plants and forced to comply with modern pollution standards. The federal EPA later sued a half dozen companies under New Source Review, a provision of the Clean Air Act that requires upgraded pollution controls when power plants undergo major modifications. The Bush administration allowed those cases to move through the courts but generally declined to file additional complaints prepared by EPA staff. Federal regulators have negotiated settlements with several other power companies. A coalition of environmental groups last month threatened to go to court to force the government to take similar action against Midwest Generation. "If they are polluting now and breaking the law, they should be cleaning up now," said Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health for the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. Illinois ratepayers won't have to absorb the company's cleanup costs because Midwest Generation sells its electricity on the open market, rather than to a defined service area like ComEd.

Environmental groups also note that federal and state officials have concluded the 6,000 megawatts of electricity generated by the Midwest Generation plants could be supplanted by other sources, including the state's growing supply of renewable energy. Illinois wind farms already generate 1,000 megawatts, and experts estimate the state could soon provide up to 10,000 megawatts of wind power, including from projects in the works by Midwest Generation.

"Estas acusaciones que la comunidad y muchos de los grupos ambientalistas nos siguen haciendo están basadas nada más en el hecho de que somos una corporación, que somos grandes y es muy fácil decir 'ah, ellos son responsables' y no mirar todas las cosas que causan enfermedades en la comunidad", afirmó.
En opinión de Brian Urbaszewski, director de programas de salud ambiental en la Health Respiratory Association, el que haya otras fuentes de contaminación no significa que la empresa tenga inmunidad para violar la ley y salirse con la suya.
PILSEN
Si bien hay vecinos involucrados con los grupos ambientalistas, la gran mayoría desconoce qué son las plantas y si tienen alguna incidencia en su salud. Así lo comentó María Chávez, quien ha vivido en Pilsen durante 30 años, durante una vigilia-protesta frente a la planta Fisk, en el 1111 al oeste de la Cermak, en Pilsen, en abril pasado.
"Cuando vivía en la 21 place y la Paulina, si abría la ventana en la mañana y tocaba con mi dedo, podía levantar plomo negro; igual si tocaba el carro. Hasta mi hijo tenía alergias a los cinco años", contó la mujer, quien se mudó a dos millas de distancia.
"El doctor me dijo: 'es que donde vives hay mucha contaminación, no lo dejes jugar afuera; cierra tus ventanas y pon aire central'", agregó, mientras junto a unas 30 personas trataba de encender unas velas apostadas junto a cruces de madera, como parte del acto de protesta convocado por PERRO (Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization).
Chávez reconoció que la comunidad no está reaccionando como debería, tal vez porque las personas con dos o más trabajos no tienen tiempo para involucrarse o simplemente... porque ya se han acostumbrado.
LA VILLITA
En la esquina de la Pulaski y la 28, un señor ofrece tomates, melones, piñas y hasta papayas al mejor postor. A pleno sol de las tres de la tarde tiene varios clientes, mientras los carros zumban por la Pulaski. Al fondo se yerguen las dos chimeneas de la planta Crawford, a la altura de la calle 35.
El tráfico es pesado. Conforme nos acercamos, los comercios se transforman en casitas de un piso y de repente surge gigantesca la planta, frente a una explanada con las estaciones transformadoras. Al tomar un camino que la bordea en su lado norte vemos el apilamiento de carbón, cubierto con una especie de manto negro y una zona verde con varios árboles jóvenes.
ACCIONES CONCRETAS
La siembra de estos árboles es precisamente una de las acciones mencionadas por Olavarria, como parte de la estrategia ambiental de la compañía.
Midwest Generation adquirió las plantas Fisk y Crawford en 1999 e inmediatamente invirtió $250 millones en mejorarlas, según Olavarria, lo cual resultó en una reducción inmediata de un 30% de las emisiones de dióxido sulfúrico (causa lluvia ácida) y de un 50% de las de óxido nitroso (niebla).

También informó de la implementación de controles para disminuir la contaminación con mercurio, mucho antes de que entraran en vigencia reglas estatales al respecto. "Ha sido una reducción constante de mercurio de casi un 80%", dijo.
Apuntó que recientemente se cubrió el apilamiento de carbón con una especie de líquido que al secarse se endurece y funciona como una cobertura plástica, que previene que el viento disperse el carbón. Y finalmente, dijo que en conjunto con la ciudad de Chicago se crearon pequeñas colinas alrededor del apilamiento -como barrera natural-, y sembraron los árboles mencionados.
SE TRATA DE LA SALUD
Lo que preocupa a los grupos citados y a otros como el Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) y la Little Village Environmental Justice Organization sigue siendo los efectos en la salud, debido a la contaminación que genera la combustión del carbón.
El reporte "Estimated Public Health Impacts of Criteria Pollutant Air Emissions from Nine Fossil-Fueled Power Plants in Illinois", de los científicos John Spengler y Jonathan Levy de la Harvard School of Public Health estimó este impacto en el 2001.
Allí concluyen que las emisiones de las plantas de Illinois contribuyen a 300 muertes tempranas, 14,000 ataques de asma y más de 400,000 incidentes diarios de problemas respiratorios.
Urbaszewski lo explicó así. Las chimeneas de las plantas emiten ceniza que cae cerca y es aspirada por la gente, y puede causar todo tipo de problemas, desde ataques de asma hasta ataques al corazón y derrames. Pero los químicos que emiten los gases son llevados por el viento y esparcidos en la distancia.
Así que el efecto de la Fisk y la Crawford está impactando no sólo a estos barrios sino a la mitad inferior del Lago Michigan, dijo.
LA OPACIDAD
Olavarria comentó que es cierto que han tenido problemas con la opacidad (oscuridad del humo emitido) pero dijo que han reportado todo.
"Cada vez que tenemos un incidente de opacidad lo reportamos e inmediatamente tomamos medidas para arreglarlo. Lo que generamos en la electricidad es todo basado en la demanda. Entre más electricidad se use, más carbón se tiene que quemar para cubrir la demanda. Todo el mundo tiene que ver en esto", explicó.

"En los últimos 10 años hemos reducido los incidentes de opacidad en un 65% y ni una vez hemos tenido un caso de violación por opacidad dado por la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA) de Illinois. No tenemos ni una violación", dijo.
Sin embargo, la EPA Region 5 les envió una notificación de violación por opacidad y emisiones en julio de 2007.
"Ese fue un incidente que todavía estamos evaluando y no hizo que nos quitaran la licencia para seguir operando estas plantas", indicó Olavarria.
VINO LA DEMANDA

Se le consultó a la EPA Region 5 qué seguimiento se le había dado a esta violación. Mick Hans, vocero de la oficina, informó que ese fue el primer paso en su proceso de hacer cumplir la ley y que la notificación aún no se resuelve, por lo que el 27 de agosto pasado se interpuso la demanda, junto con el Departamento de Justicia y la Oficina de la Fiscalía General de Illinois.
"Nosotros no vamos a decir que no estamos emitiendo, porque estamos quemando carbón para generar electricidad; pero pensamos que el caso que tiene el Departamento de Justicia es verdaderamente una campaña contra nosotros, es un empuje de los grupos ambientalistas", puntualizó Olavarria, citando el buen récord que tiene la empresa y las varias medidas adoptadas.
La funcionaria también recordó el acuerdo firmado entre la empresa y el Gobierno de Illinois en el 2006, en el que se comprometieron a reducir las emisiones de óxido nitroso en un 66% para el 2012 y el dióxido sulfúrico en un 78%, entre el 2012 y el 2018. "Y si no podemos lograr estas reducciones, pues las cerramos, cerramos las plantas", señaló.
JUSTICIA AMBIENTAL
Con respecto al argumento de justicia ambiental, Brian Urbaszewski, director de programas de salud ambiental en la Health Respiratory Association, explicó que si bien estas plantas de generación eléctrica a base de carbón no fueron construidas en Pilsen y La Villita porque estos son barrios con alta población de inmigrantes mexicanos o con muchas personas de bajos ingresos, eso no significa que este factor podría estar beneficiando a la compañía que las opera en la actualidad.
Citó, por ejemplo, el hecho de que mucha gente no habla inglés, conoce poco las leyes o tiene limitados recursos económicos o poder político para defender su derecho a un ambiente sano, "a diferencia de lo que pasaría si estas plantas estuvieran, por decir, en Winnetka o Lake Forest, donde habría mucha más protesta y más recursos dirigidos a que cumplieran la ley".
Según el reporte "Air of Injustice: How Air Pollution Affects the Health of Latinos", elaborado por LULAC en 2004, 39% de la población latina en EE.UU. vive a 30 millas o menos de una planta de energía a base de carbón.
Esta es la distancia en la hay un impacto importante sobre la salud y para muchos la situación es peor, por la falta de seguro médico y las barreras del idioma, indica el estudio.
Asimismo, un 35% de los hispanos en EE.UU. viven en áreas en las que se violan los estándares federales de contaminación del aire.

Original Article from La Raza

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Latest Event Photos:

July 28, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A coalition of environmental groups accuses Midwest Generation of violating the Clean Air Act.
click above link to view video

Midwest Generation owns two coal-fired plants in Pilsen and Little Village. Several environmental groups believe those coal-fired plants have led to dirty air, which has led to hundreds of premature deaths and thousands of emergency room visits.

After more than a decade, the clean air fight is going to court. A coalition - including the Sierra Club and respiratory health and environmental groups- will file a suit accusing Midwest Generation of violating the Clean Air Act. Vew video

West Virginia:

LVEJO, Eco-Justice, 8th Day Center for Justice and Topless America took a trip down to West Virginia to visit residents who are fighting mountain top removal

Organizations and residents of Chicago came together on June 8th for a press conference at city hall to demand the closure of the two coal power plants in the Little Village and Pilsen community. LVEJO and other organizations from around the city are making the connection from cradle to grave and are coming together to say NO TO COAL!

We need conservation, wheatherization and renewables: No Mountain Top Removal, No Coal, No Capture Storage and Sequestration and NO CLEAN COAL! Let's think outside the box and create thousands of jobs in Chicago, by closing down the coal power plants and learn to conserve and use our energy

Press Conference:

Energy election:

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Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility
A DPSR PRESENTS RUB ELBOWS, ASK QUESTIONS, FEED YOUR NOGGIN

THESE EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Download flyer click here

A night of celebration, with FREE food, drinks, live music, door prizes and interactive art, as we honor the recipients of the 2009 Lewis Mumford Awards:
Growing Home, Fuller Park Community Development, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. Put words into action by joining us at the
CommUnity Building Day down at the Black Oaks Center’s 40-acre eco-campus. Catch a ride on a chartered bio-diesel bus down to the campus.

SATURDAY, JUNE 13TH/6-9P.M. | SUNDAY, JUNE 14TH/9A.M.-5P.M.
ARCHEWORKS/625 N. KINGSBURY ST.
BLACK OAKS CENTER/PEMBROKE TOWNSHIP
EXTENDS A SPECIAL THANKS TO THE LEWIS MUMFORD AWARDS SPONSORS AND DONORS.
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Cook County Lumber, Archeworks, Perkins + Will, Jane McGroarty, Vienna Coffee Company,
Green Monkey Catering, Chopin Theatre, Grounded Design Studio, Hello Belle, John/Sue Clark, Lindsey/Patrick, Ryan Wilson, Sam Marts, Wright Family.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
www.adpsr.org/chicago
or RSVP for the bus: jamie@adpsr.org

Download flyer click here

Will County Earth Day Fest - May 17, 2009 at the Historic Dellwood Park, Lockport

Directions: 1 Mile South of 159^th (Rte 7/Renwick) on Archer Ave/ Rte 171, Left into park to Earth Day Event.

Time 10-4 – Free

*Download Event Flyer *Download Exhibitors requirements (sorted)

Live Speakers including “Environment IL & NEIS- Entertainment- Dave DiNaso’s Traveling World of Reptiles

“Overman” Band – Big Run’s Live Wolves & Coyotes, Relay Races, Fly Fishing Clubs, Nature Walks w/Morton Arboretum; over 70 sustainable exhibitors, Educational & Fun for ALL!

Learn about Solutions to your Carbon Footprint, Nuclear Energy, Toxic Consumer Prods, Radon Indoor Air Quality, Private Wells & Groundwater, Horticulture, Sustainable Agriculture, Conservation, Health, Energy Efficient Building Products, Demonstrations, and related topics that protect your quality of life, family, home, community and our environment.

~BRING new or old Electronics, Cell Phones, Eyeglasses, Shoes, Bikes for the needy or Recycling & Batteries!
Kids Bring your Earth Day or Science Projects!

Check out Hybrid & Electric Cars Raffles & Food Games, Live Music & More!

Bring your family, bikes Appetites FREE T-shirts (while supplies last)

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO SET UP YOUR ENVIRO EXHIBIT & EARTH FRIENDLY VENDORS ARE WELCOME!!
Call for details

Hosted by Citizens Against Ruining the Environment -C.A.R.E. P.O. Box 536, Lockport, IL 60441 Ellen 815.834.1611 or Jeri 708.214.2980 carelockport@usa.com www.willcountycare.org

Sponsors include: Times Weekly, Chevron, Material Service, LTHS Interact Club, Waste Management, Chiro One Wellness
*Download Event Flyer *Download Exhibitors requirements (sorted)

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Para más informes contacte a Samuel Villaseñor, Organizador
La Organización de Justicia Ambiental de la Villita / 2856 S. Millard Avenue Chicago, IL 60623-4550
(773) 762-6991 Fax (773) 762-6993 Email:cleanpower@lvejo.org

DATE: March, Saturday 14 From: 11:00 am-2:00pm
Join 6 Chicago High Schools in the coal-olympics! Where is the green city, green jobs and better transit?
Let’s unite as a city and shut the coal power plants and clean the air for the residents and our visitors!
Download this flier as Word Doc.

BREAK UP WITH BANK OF AMERICA ON VALENTINES DAY - FEB 14th, 2009: MASS DAY OF ACCOUNT CLOSURES

This Valentine's Day, February 14th, 2009, join Rising Tide Boston (RTB) in demanding that Bank of America stop its funding of the dirty and deadly coal industry and demanding, in solidarity with City Life/Vide Urbana, stop its unjust foreclosures and evictions of working families. Closing your account with Bank of America (BOA) is an important step in bringing closure to this unhealthy relationship. In Boston, we are planning a day of coordinated bank account closures in at least two locations, and encourage people in other places to organize something similar.

It is completely within Bank of America's power to stop evicting people from their homes, and such a step wouldn't be unprecedented. Mortgage giant Fannie Mae recently announced a moratorium on evictions of tenants in foreclosed houses after facing pressure from housing justice activists. Now is [the] time to let BOA know in no uncertain terms that we won't allow them to push any of us or our neighbors out of our homes, and that we're certainly not going to trust them with our money.

Soledad Lawrence, a community organizer with City Life / Vida Urbana says that the racist foreclosure crisis is "like Katrina without the water." We will not allow Bank of America's predatory lending practices to displace poor people and people of color in our city or anywhere. The same working-class communities that are most oppressed by the economic system these greedy banks support are now facing the worst effects of the environmental devastation that it causes. While communities in Boston continue to struggle in the face of the ongoing disaster of foreclosures and evictions, communities in Appalachia are fighting back against the disaster of the coal industry, which is poisoning their water and displacing them from their homes. Climate change is a social justice issue, and we must build alliances now to confront the corporations who put profit before people and the planet.

Recently, Bank of America attempted to salvage its relationship with the movements working to end mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) by releasing a [statement on] Coal Policy, in which the bank failed to commit to a timeline or any concrete action to halt their financing of MTR. In this "policy", BOA touts "advanced technologies such as carbon capture and storage" as solutions to climate change. BOA does not seem to understand that we need is a livable planet that hasn't been turned into an overheated toxic wasteland, not token gestures or promises to support false solutions. The recent devastating coal-ash spill in Tennessee is a reminder that we already have enough ongoing and imminent disasters from the coal industry- we don't need any more. BOA's first step should be the immediate cancellation of loans to destructive corporations such as Peabody Energy, Massey Energy, Arch Coal, Dominion, and all others involved with mountaintop removal and trashing the climate.

We encourage everyone who does business with Bank of America to take time this Valentine's Day to tell them "it's over between us." In Boston, we're encouraging people to pledge ahead of time, so we can know how many people to expect and let them know which branch we will be at. Even if you don't have a bank account at Bank of America, you can still participate at a support rally. We are calling on social and environmental justice groups around the country to work together organize account closings in their communities on this day. Without our money, greedy banks cannot continue to destroy the planet and exploit marginalized communities.

For help organizing a day of mass account closings in your town, or to make a pledge to close your account in the Boston area, write to: ValentinesDay@RisingTideBoston.org.

On a chilly autumn morning at the corner of 31st Street and Kostner Avenue, young athletes competed for gold medals. Teams of three fought through the coal dig and leapt over the coal hurdle before sprinting to the bus dash, ending their journey at a cardboard cutout signifying a downtown museum.

No, this wasn't the Olympics, but instead the second running of the Coalympics, a competition in the Little Village neighborhood aimed at
raising awareness to two nearby coal-fired power plants that pollute the city skies.

The Crawford Generating Station at 3501 S. Pulaski Road in Little Village and Fisk Generating Station at 1111 W. Cermak in Pilsen are two of the handful remaining coal power plants in the state. Both plants, owned by Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of California-based Edison International, lie in direct paths to the proposed 2016 Olympics.

Activists like the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, which hosted the Coalympics event, want both plants shut down for the sake of their community and the possible future Olympic games.

"This is not just for the Olympics but it's for the people who have lived here their whole lives and are affected by it every day," said Alex
Martinez, 17, who took part in the event. "For all of our voices to be heard, we need to work as a group to make this happen."

Organization statistics link more than 40 premature deaths each year to power plant pollution, as well as 1,000 asthma attacks and 500 emergency room visits. Health conditions could worsen in the years to come, especially considering that over 100 various schools lie within a two-mile radius of a plant.

The Crawford and Fisk stations combine for 230 pounds of mercury emission each year, in addition to pumping out 17,675 tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, according to recent EPA statistics.

Two years ago, Gov. Rod Blagojevich passed a statewide mercury resolution bill, calling for a cut in emissions by 60 percent. This law will come into effect in 2015, not soon enough for many residents.

"If you look at the statistics, we need something now," said Samuel Villasenor, clean power community organizer. "Those numbers are just going to increase if we wait around and do nothing."

With over half the 95,000 Little Village residents under the age of 25, Villasenor knows action needs to be taken now. But he said the
organization's seven-year-long fight will continue with a unique approach.

"We definitely need to be proactive and reactive," he said. "We need electricity, so we're promoting efficiency. If people can cut down on how
much electricity they use, we would need to build less."

Villasenor and two-dozen other supporters gathered to hold the Coalympics, a short competition which saw youth contest three obstacles, all aimed at helping bring pollution issues to light. At the end of the games, three tie-dye t-shirt wearing competitors claimed the top prize, which were gold-painted asthma inhalers.

The goal of the event, Villasenor said, was to gain media interest and awareness of this ongoing issue.

Activists are now calling on the mayor to shut down the coal power plants and help introduce new forms of renewable energy to fill the energy void. This includes eco-friendly methods such as geothermal, wind and solar power.

"If our mayor claims to be as green as he really is, these are things that he should be indulging in his city to show off," said Kimberly Wasserman, LVEJO coordinator. "So when the Olympics come, he can say, 'Look, not only did we shut down the coal power plants for the sake of our residents, we're trying our hand at renewable energy.'

"That would put Mayor Daley on the cover of Time Magazine if he could pull off something like that."

Teatro en la calle en la villita

*VENGA A APRENDER COMO HACER TITERES | Y COMPARTA SU HISTORIA*
VENGA A ESTRENAR SU OBRA EN LA COMMUNIDAD

COMENSANDO EL 20 Jueves de Noviembre
2856 S. MILLARD
De Las 4PM-7PM
Download information and invite

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SAVE THE DATE! YOU ARE INVITED TO A
“LATINO LEADERSHIP BRIEFING ON GLOBAL WARMING”
MARCH 17, 2008 / 9:30 – 11:30 am
CHICAGO CENTER FOR GREEN TECHNOLOGY
445 N. SACRAMENTO BLVD. CHICAGO, IL
HOSTED BY: THE NATIONAL LATINO COALITION ON CLIMATE CHANGE and
CO-HOSTED BY: LITTLE VILLAGE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATION (LVEJO)

Save the date! You are invited to a Briefing to learn more about the profoundly important issue of global warming -- why it matters to Latinos, the challenges and opportunities for us, and how it will disproportionately impact our community. A panel of top issue experts will give presentations and answer questions. The National Latino Coalition on Climate Change (NLCCC) is a new effort comprised of a number of national Latino organizations. We seek to inform, educate, and engage our community on global warming. NLCCC members include the National Puerto Rican Coalition (NPRC); Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA); National Hispanic Environmental Council (NHEC); Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF); the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC);
the Hispanic Federation; and the U. S. Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI). Admission is free, but space is limited, so please RSVP to attend. Please RSVP to: Juan Rodriguez, at jrodriguez@nheec.org or call 703-861-6064. Come learn about one of the most important issues of our time!

CONTACT : Samuel Villasenor, Clean Power Organizer
LVEJO- 2856 S. Millard Ave, Chicago, IL 606023 – Tele: 773.762.6991 Fax: 773.762.6993

Fisk & Crawford: Chicago Coal Power Summit
Monday, November 5, 2007 -- 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
*DePaul University, Lewis Center
25 E. Jackson Blvd. 2nd Fl. Room 8002,
Chicago, IL 60604

Accessible from the CTA Red Line (Jackson/State) or Blue Line (Jackson/Dearborn).

This half-day summit will give attendees an overview of the state of coal power in Chicago. Stakeholders will present their current analysis of the benefits and costs of maintaining Chicago's coal power plants on the grid.

On Thursday August 16, 2007 residents from Ridgeway and 31st street to 33rd came out to learn about the two coal power plants that are located in the Little Village and Pilsen communities.

The first half of the meeting consisted on finding out what these power plants do, what they emit in the air and the risks that the people in the community are living with. The second half was dedicated to action and steps to follow for change.

2007 Greenfest

Play Audio of this Eco-Justice meeting

LVEJO was a proud presenter at the 2007 Greenfest held on April 21st & 22nd at McCormick Place.
Kimberly Wasserman Nieto, Coordinator presented on the "Eco-Justice Communities of Color" Panel and LVEJO hosted a table at the event with information on Public Transit and the Clean Power Campaign. Below are reviews of that days events.

More details:
http://www.worldchanging.com/
http://www.worldchanging.com/local/chicago/
http://www.worldchanging.com/local/chicago/archives/006582.html (reprinted below)

Green-Collar Jobs and Environmental Justice at Green Fest

Lisa Hodges April 27, 2007 7:51 AM

Last weekend, Green Festival swept through Chicago, bringing thousands together in a tribute to the growing influence of "going green." While enjoying my saliva-inducing plate of Soul Vegetarian’s barbeque soy bits, I couldn’t stop thinking about one striking difference between this and previous green events in Chicago. A glance down the list of speakers showed several talks focused solely on broadening the green movement to include low-income communities and communities of color. In Chicago, this inclusion seems particularly important. Issues such as rising asthma rates and lack of access to fresh produce plague much of the city. Expensive green initiatives, such as installing solar panels or switching to a hybrid car, do not address these problems. Easily the most recognizable speaker on this topic, Van Jones drew a large and enthusiastic crowd. His talk was mainly an expansion of an article he wrote for Conscious Choice this month. He celebrates the growing inclusiveness of the green movement, but implores us to question, "Who are we going to take with us, and who are we going to leave behind?"

For Van, the current environmental movement lies divided sharply between rich and poor. Each have fundamentally different priorities: the rich focus on conservation and lifestyle choices, while the poor remain concerned about basic care all too often denied their communities, such as health care and job creation. The solution, he instructs us, is simple. Create an industry of "green-collar" jobs. Green vocational education should be institutionalized in struggling communities across the country. In order for the green movement to succeed, we must move away from our current course of "eco-apartheid" and work towards broader solutions.

Another panel, "Eco-Justice in Communities of Color," featured Chicago-based activists. Kim Wasserman, an infectiously dynamic speaker, rallied the crowd with her denouncement of Chicago’s coal plants located in the two minority-dominated communities of Little Village and Pilsen. Her organization, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (in Spanish: "El Viejo," the Old Man), has been a powerful neighborhood force for years. Their impressive environmental health resume includes reducing lead in schools and creating urban agriculture programs. They were also instrumental in campaigning for a bill passed in 2006 to reduce mercury levels at Illinois power plants. Read more about the organization’s successes and current projects at www.lvejo.org.

Kim’s southside counterpart, Tammy Steels, is another neighborhood force. She utilizes her experience in corporate environmental health to build community knowledge and infrastructure to address local environmental health issues. She sums up the main obstacle to grassroots organization in her community (though it certainly pertains to a much larger community) as, "How do you become proactive when community leaders are only reactive?" In communities barraged by instances of violence and joblessness, grassroots activism is reduced to ineffective defensiveness. By organizing youth to create public awareness campaigns, she helps to educate her community and point out the fundamental importance of environmental health to the overall success of the community. Support her organization, Urban Sustainability Authority, in their second annual fundraiser May 5.

There has been much talk lately of the mainstreaming of the green movement. These talks remind us of the breadth of issues touched by environmentalism, and how we have to change our thinking to ensure that we are serving our communities as a whole. They were a welcome, and essential, presence at Green Festival.

For those of you that missed Green Festival, never fear. Recordings of all speeches should soon be online at www.greenfestivals.org/audio

Buggy Brigade Campaign: Click on any image for full size
	Little Village Community Residents attend the Baby Buggy Brigade to push the Illinois Pollution Control Board to pass the Governors Mercury Rule that would cut Mercury emission from Illinois Coal Power Plants
	LVEJO Coordinator Kim Wasserman translates Community Organizer Elda Godinez Speech to the Press
	Elda Godinez, Community Organizer for the Clean Power Campaign gives her speech to the press about the Mercury Rule and invites 1^st Lady Patti Blagojevich to come tour the Little Village community and see the effects of the Coal Power Plants firsthand.

/ Campaigns | Clean Power | Coverage - Events - Research - Letters

EPA ruling bad for our health
Friday, October 8, 2004

What kind of Environmental Protection Agency is this that has no concern for the citizens it is paid to protect? And what kind of governor is it that has no concern for his constituents' health?(Last month) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency announced that reducing toxic pollutants from coal-fired power plants would have "significant public health and welfare benefits," but it has decided to do nothing. Apparently, despite more than 1,300 premature deaths, more than 157,000 asthma cases and the fact that women cannot eat fish for fear that their babies will be born with health defects, the EPA will continue to do nothing but ensure that you will have increased health insurance costs and lost days from work. The agency's concept is that Illinois alone can't have an effect on the environment. (Yet) other states, including Wisconsin, have already taken the initiative to protect citizens with stringent pollution controls, while Illinois' polluting coal plants have had no pollution controls for more than 30 years. We must let the governor know that we want our tax money put into clean, renewable industries. The EPA admits: "Adverse health impacts can be minimized through the use of technology and renewable energy," yet the governor won't make the decision to create 57,000 new jobs in the clean, renewable energy field.Please let your opinions be known.

Call your representative and the governor.
Ellen Rendulich - Carol Stark - Sandy Burcenski
Directors - Citizens Against Ruining the Environment - Lockport

Illinois EPA rejects tougher pollution rules for coal-burning plants
Wednesday September 29, 2004 - By CHRISTOPHER WILLS - Associated Press Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) After years of study, the state Environmental Protection Agency has concluded it would be ``irresponsible'' for Illinois to act on its own and order coal-burning power plants to reduce the amount of soot and mercury they release into the air.

It recommends that Gov. Rod Blagojevich put aside the idea of imposing tougher standards on 21 older power plants that are now exempt from the strictest federal regulations. Instead, the focus should be on getting the federal government to tighten standards nationwide, according to a summary of the agency's findings that was released Wednesday. The study concludes that it's not clear how much air quality would be improved by tighter regulations in just one state. Meanwhile, standards that go beyond what the federal government already imposes might hurt the state's economy, drive up consumer costs and endanger reliability of the electricity supply, the summary said. ``Moving forward with a state-specific regulatory or legislation strategy without fully understanding all of the critical impacts ... would be irresponsible,'' the agency concludes. ``Illinois EPA recommends that the governor continue demanding that the federal government act nationally to reduce power plant emissions.''

Environmental activists and health organizations say the old plants endanger Illinoisans, causing 1,700 premature deaths each year, triggering thousands of asthma attacks and contaminating fish with mercury. They have pressed Blagojevich to go further than the federal regulations and impose state limitations on the plants. The Democratic governor said during his 2002 campaign that he agreed the older plants should be required to meet tougher pollution standards.

Rebecca Stanfield, staff attorney with the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, called the report's conclusions disappointing, especially given the g overnor's past support. ``This resembles the industry's talking points and it does not at all resemble what this agency has said on the topic in the past,'' she said. ``It seems like they have substituted the judgment of scientists and experts with that of the industry.'' But she said the report offers a silver lining in the state EPA's call to continue studying the unanswered questions about health, jobs and more. She said the agency should finish reviewing those questions within 90 days. Blagojevich agrees with the report's conclusion that it would be a mistake for Illinois to act before answering all the questions spelled out in the EPA report, said spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch. He is not abandoning his campaign promise, she said just delaying it while experts study the issue.

``There are a lot of aspects of this debate to consider,'' she said. Lawmakers ordered the state EPA three years ago to begin studying whether it made sense to impose the tougher standards including the impact on jobs and electricity prices and come up with recommendations by Sept. 30. The agency concludes there are still too many unanswered questions to justify recommending that Illinois impose tougher pollution standards on the plants.

``Critical information gaps remain that must be addressed before any responsible proposal to reduce power plant emissions can be developed,'' the executive summary says. The summary acknowledges that reducing power plant emissions would produce ``significant public health and welfare benefits.'' But EPA Director Renee Cipriano said Illinois, acting alone, might not be able to reduce emissions. ``Air pollution does not respect state boundaries. We've got pollution coming in to us from other states,'' she said. ``Really what we're saying here is the door is open and there are questions that have to be answered.''

/ Campaigns | Clean Power | Coverage - Events - Research - Letters

Air pollution hits Hispanics hardest, group says
September 24, 2004
- BY GARY WISBY Environment Reporter

Standing on a street Thursday in Little Village, Dr. Howard Ehrman asked a crowd of about 20 Hispanics how many of them had asthma or knew someone who did. Every right hand shot up. Ehrman, chairman of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, joined health and public interest groups in releasing a report showing that air pollution hits Hispanic communities the hardest. "Mrs. Sanchez misses work because she's having an asthma attack," said Ehrman, who is a professor of medicine at the University of Illinois and a 35-year resident of Little Village. "Mr. Cervantes' son is missing school because of his asthma."

Nationally, more than seven out of 10 Hispanic Americans breathe air that violates federal pollution standards, although they make up only 13 percent of the population, according to "Air of Injustice," the new report by the League of United Latin American Citizens. It's worse in Illinois, the report says, where the number of Hispanics breathing dirty air is nine out of 10. More than 92 percent of the state's Latinos live in the Chicago area.

In Chicago, all neighborhoods that are more than 90 percent Hispanic -- Little Village, Pilsen and Humboldt Park -- are less than five miles from either the Fisk or Crawford power plants on the West Side. Coal-fired power plants are the largest industrial source of air pollution.
" We are standing at ground zero of health impacts from these plants," said Rebecca Stanfield of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group.

She noted the timeliness of the report. Under a 2001 law passed by the General Assembly, Gov. Blagojevich must report by next Thursday on the need for new standards at the power plants. Federal government figures released Wednesday showed that emissions of sulfur dioxide from coal-fired plants increased by 3percent from 2002 to 2003 in Illinois, said Brian Urbaszewski of the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago. Sulfur dioxide is the chief source of fine particle pollution, or soot.

/ Campaigns | Clean Power | Coverage - Events - Research - Letters

Air pollution lawsuit: Federal and state lawyers sue Midwest Generation over Illinois power plant emissions Midwest Generation is discharging noxious smoke at 6 sites.

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Green-Collar Jobs and Environmental Justice at Green Fest

Air pollution lawsuit: Federal and state lawyers sue Midwest Generation over Illinois power plant emissions
Midwest Generation is discharging noxious smoke at 6 sites.