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Congratulations to Brenda Becerra!
Congratulations to Brenda Becerra!
/ Campaigns | Clean Power | Coverage - Events - Letters - Research
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Newest Features
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Congratulations to Brenda Becerra! |
Current Features
and Hot Topics: |
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New:
Cap-and-trade mirage |
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Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) database
Clean Power Coalition
Coal Brochure
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English /
Spanish
Our dirty skies -Trib slideshow of Chicago's biggest polluters.
They sit right in our backyards.
Play Audio of 2007 Eco-Justice meeting
(streaming audio)
A
Coastal NationArt
on the Street final proposal
The Cradle to Grave Info: Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
Comments
regarding LVEJO
"Coalympics" Bring Attention
to Pollution in Little Village" by John Dagys
THE COALYMPICS II
2008 COALYMPICS IN CHICAGO!
LVEJO announces the release of:
Rising Tides Guide to
bogus climate change solutions. PDF
(3 MB) We encourage you to read this
and share it.
Clean Water Action!
Check out the list and join them by sending a letter After five years of study, in October 2007 the Illinois EPA called for new water quality standards to protect people and wildlife that use and live in the river. Basing the changes on current use and what could happen if the water was cleaner, among the recommendations was the call to kill sewage from bacteria through disinfection as part of the wastewater treatment process. A practice employed in major cities all across the country and many neighboring ones including Milwaukee and Gary, disinfection is a common technology that kills pathogens in sewage. Clean water is guaranteed by the United States Clean Water Act and the Constitution of Illinois, yet every day we get 1.2 billion gallons of sewage effluent dumped into our river. This means that while we and our families and friends paddle, fish, swim, Jet Ski or row, we are exposing ourselves to harmful bacteria from sewage that could make us sick. We want you to tell the Illinois Pollution Control Board that you want clean water and disinfection now. What you can do: Hundreds of elected officials, community groups, families, recreation and environmental advocates and individuals have expressed their support for a clean river that is sewage free by submitting letters to the Illinois Pollution Control Board. http://www.chicagoriver.org/upload/UAA%20supports%209-1-09.pdf Check out the list and join them by sending a letter to: John Therriault, Chief Clerk
Clerks Office
Attention Docket #R09-08
Illinois Pollution Control Board
100 W. Randolph, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
RE: Illinois EPA
With a link to http://www.chicagoriver.org/projects/clean_water_and_healthy_fish/ Check out the list and join them by sending a letter International Day of Action for Climate Justice - Nov 30th
Mass Non-violent Civil Disobedience and Protest
In partnership with www.actforclimatejustice.org/west
Download postcard in PDF here
Latest pictures from the Clean Power Campaign GREEN FOR THE PEOPLE/VERDE PARA LA GENTE
GREEN FOR THE PEOPLE/VERDE PARA LA GENTE was the first environmental fair in Little Village, which demonstrated the need for efficiency and renewal energy workshops in a low income community of color. Research shows that communities like Little Village will be the ones that feel the global warming first. On August 1st, LVEJO and partners from across the city came together and showcased what culture, human ingenuity and the love for a neighborhood can accomplish. The fair opened with Mexica Danza (Aztec dancing) a spiritual and culturally important aspect of our community. This connection between nature and people purified the space we were in and the people that came to help. TopLess America- is spreading information on the devastation in Appalachia, because of Mountain Top Removal (MTR). Working Bikes- new to the Little Neighborhood came to Green for the People and demonstrated a pulley, which worked to what a little sweat can light up. Working CEDA- is a program that works with low income residents to weatherize their homes Bloom Diesel School Bus- is a group of high school students working to spread the information about climate change and is showcasing their newly retrofitted bus, which runs on used veggie oil. Cleanpower Campaign- is a campaign in Little Village that is spreading information about the coal power plant located in Little Village. It also promotes energy conservation, energy efficiency and a rapid transition to green energy, NOW!
Host Luis Perez from Vocalo
89.5fm is joined in the studio by Martin Macias from Radio Arte
90.5fm.
The themes of the show are Environmental Justice and the importance of local action on an international issue. The interviewees are: First Hour:
http://soundcloud.com/martinmaciasjr/environmental-justice-interview-vocalo-2009-10-16-5pm
Second Hour:
http://soundcloud.com/martinmaciasjr/environmental-justice-interview-vocalo-2009-10-16-6pm-7pm
Thank You Martin Macias from Vocalo and Radio ARTE! |
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Protest against Bank of America's
predatory lending and support of Coal factories in the
US
This was the protest that
occurred Saturday February 14th in Chicago Illinois. The
protest was against Bank of America's predatory lending
and their support of Coal factories in the united
States. |
Clean air for Chicago residents and 2016 Olympians!
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LVEJO's Youth Group YAOTL (Young Activist Organizing as Today Leader's), Samuel Villasenor, Clean Power Organizer, and Lili Molina, Youth Organizer attended PowerShift in Washington, DC. Marisol Becerra, LVEJO's Acting Chair was one of the keynote speakers opening the event, Rafael Hurtado and Carloyna Macias, LVEJO Board Members, hosted a workshop with over 200 participatns. YATOL members hosted conversations and outreached to to other youth around the myth of clean coal and cap and trade.
LVEJO participated in the direct action to shut down the coal power
plant in Washington, DC and bring light to the Crawford, Fisk and
other Coal Power Plants in Illinois. With the succesful shut down of
the DC plant we invite all those at Power Shift and at home to
continue the fight for renewable energy and shut down dirty coal.
Neighbors' demands met as park plans
develop
Residents say they feel empowered to make sure site is clean, safe
| Special to the Tribune | January 28, 2009
The
Little Village neighborhood is finally getting its first public
park—but it's planned for a hazardous waste site.
The folks at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
told the City of Chicago and the
Chicago Park District, "Not so fast."
The site—the former Celotex plant at 28th Street and Sacramento
Avenue—is part of the federal Superfund program, which identifies
and cleans up abandoned hazardous waste sites. The soil on the
24-acre site is contaminated.
Residents also were concerned about traffic. A 2006 study by the
group found one crash every two days at the intersection near the
site.
A city camera now monitors the intersection and a new stoplight sits
a block away, said Kim Wasserman, the organization's coordinator.
Wasserman's group threw another wrench in the works, angering their
own neighbors who have been itching for a new park.
"We said, 'Before you start on the park, we need to focus on
people's homes,' " Wasserman said, referring to surrounding homes
suspected of being contaminated too. "That started a 2-year battle
with the
EPA: What kinds of tests? How deep?"
In the end, residents and the Little Village Environmental Justice
Organization got more than they asked for. "The EPA wanted to test
44 homes; 175 homes were cleaned up," she said, to standards higher
than what the government initially offered.
Resident Martha Castellano, who has a grandson with a blood
disorder, said she doesn't know the cause but she feels empowered to
make sure the air around her home at 27th and Whipple Streets gets
cleaner.
"We'd like to have green space and trees and the plants," said
Castellano, 65, a retired bus driver who said her family must go to
U.S. Cellular Field to find a patch of green. She said she is
elated about the new park, but added it must be built in the safest
manner possible.
"We had a little bit of a struggle with the city to get the lights
on the streets and sidewalks," Castellano said. "But now we can see
the cleaning trucks go by. I'm gonna fight to get what we're
supposed to get. I'm gonna do it not only for myself—it's for my
neighbors, for my kids."
From pollution fight, seeds of change sprout
By D. Diane Douglas | Special to the Tribune
January 28, 2009
Somebody needed to clear the air in Chicago's
Little Village neighborhood.
For years, many residents grew tomatoes and cucumbers—but not in the
ground because they suspected the soil in their yards wasn't safe
enough for the food they would put on the family table.
"Homeowners who knew better grew produce in pots," said Kim
Wasserman, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
coordinator. "Renters or people who hadn't been here that long
didn't know any better."
And for years residents assumed an awful burning smell that
permeated the air was annoying, yet safe to breathe. They adjusted
uncomfortably to a film of dull gray ash that blanketed windows in
the summertime.
"People in the neighborhood would be like, 'What's that smell?' "
said Rafael Hurtado, 18, a high school senior and group volunteer
who has suffered from asthma since 4th grade. He reasoned, "If it
was dangerous, they would have told us by now."
That tacit acceptance in what is one of the Midwest's largest
Mexican-American communities concerned the organization, which
decided to do something about it. Members started giving Toxic
Tours.
Volunteers guide residents on a walking tour of chemical sites,
manufacturing and plastics plants and brownfields to heighten
awareness of environmental hazards and provide tools for keeping
government officials accountable for monitoring and cleaning up
dangerous emissions, deposits and more.
Robin Saha, a University of
Montana assistant professor of environmental studies, wrote a
book about grass-roots efforts to tackle environmental racism around
the country. Saha said the tours are a sign "people are taking
what's good and bad about their communities and owning it. In the
process, they're able to involve community members, raise awareness
of the issues that matter to them and, frankly, call some industries
out on the mat."
Environmental justice scholars identified two decades ago what
became known as "environmental racism." A 2007
University of Michigan study found most hazardous waste
facilities are located in minority areas. Another study from the
University of
Colorado at Boulder found that environmental inequality exists
in most large urban areas.
The toxic tours are a way to get residents excited about learning
how to communicate concerns to businesses and government officials.
They learn to be alert for public meetings, how to request documents
in English and Spanish and how to follow through on complaints and
promises by officials.
Wasserman said governments sometimes take the easy way out of
solving an environmental problem rather than the safest.
"They want to argue to the decimal point what's acceptable and not
acceptable," Wasserman said about issues like clearing the ash and
replacing yard soil contaminated with polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons—a form of industrial waste from the burning of coal,
oil and gas.
Toxic Tours are the result of the green revolution going
grass-roots, Wasserman said.
Organizers from environmental justice groups say sightseeing can be
effective because it shows up close how the same industries that
provide jobs, products and services can do a better job of fueling
the economy when they choose to or are pressed to use greener
technologies.
Wasserman said she believes the Little Village environmental group,
in working with—and sometimes disagreeing with—other community
stakeholders and politicians, has boosted the health and safety of
residents.
"The smell is still around but not as bad as it used to be," said
Wasserman, whose group worked with the
Environmental Protection Agency and Meyer Steel Drum Inc. The
company, at 3201 S. Millard Ave., used to send ash into the air but
now uses a vacuum system to suck up the ash.
Chicago Communities Fight for Clean
Air
by:
John Dagys
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."
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS / DAY OF THE DEAD
vigil on NOV 1st.Residents from Little Village and Pilsen come together on Dia de Los Muertos to remember those who have passed away due to Midwest Generations coal power plants located in Little Village and Pilsen, causing more than 40 deaths a year, 1000 asthma attacks a year and 550 Emergency hospitals visits a year.
WE REMEMBER!!!
BY POPULAR DEMAND, THE COALYMPICS II
Community residents and students gather with Chicago activists to
participate in LVEJO's coalympics II. Gathered at the corner of
Kostner and 31st across the Little Village Lawndale High School,
blocks away from the coal fired power plant, students participated
in the coal games to draw attention to the problem of air pollution
in Little Village and Chicago, caused by the Midwest Generation Coal
Power Plant located in Little Village.
The participants took part in traditional Olympics events such as,
The Coal Dig, The Coal plant Jump and finally The CTA Dash Race.
These events mimicked real Olympic Games and where infused with an
environmental justice twist, to address the issue of air quality and
public transportation, especially since Mayor Dailey wants to bring
the games to Chicago in 2016. In order to even consider Chicago for
the games we must clean up our act and close down the two COAL POWER
PLANTS in Chicago (in the Little Village and Pilsen community).
*** LETS SHOW THE
WORLD THE GREEN CITY WE SAY WE ARE, BY CLOSING DOWN THE COAL POWER
PLANTS BY FEB 2009 AND REPLACING THEM BOTH WITH GREEN CAMPUSES***
Preparation of the event - Pics: 852,853,854,856,857,881,883,884
PARTICIPANTS PICS: 870,871
COMPETITION PICS: 890,891,893,896,897
AUDIENCE PICS: 906,907,911
AWARD CEREMONY PICS: 902,903,904,905
*** LETS SHOW THE WORLD
THE GREEN CITY WE SAY WE ARE, BY CLOSING DOWN THE COAL POWER PLANTS
BY FEB 2009 AND REPLACING THEM BOTH WITH GREEN CAMPUSES***
top of page
Follow Up:
"Coalympics"
Bring Attention to Pollution in Little Village"
11/20/2008 by John Dagys.
Nov. 20, 2008 - 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 of two nearby coal-fired power plants that pollute the city's skies.
The Crawford Generating Station at 3501 S. Pulaski in Little Village and the Fisk Generating Station at 1111 W. Cermak in Pilsen are two of the handful of remaining coal power plants in the state. Both plants, owned by Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of California-based Edison International, lie directly in the way of the proposed 2016 Olympics, according to local activists.
Groups such as the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), 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."
Statistics from the LVEJO link more than 40 premature deaths each year to power plant pollution, as well as 1,000 asthma attacks and 500 emergency room visits. The group says health conditions could worsen in the years to come, especially considering that more than 100 schools lie within a two-mile radius of a plant.
The Crawford and Fisk stations combined produce 230 pounds of mercury emissions each year, in addition to pumping out 17,675 tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, according to recent EPA estimates.
"If you look at the statistics, we need something now," said Samuel Villasenor, clean power community organizer for LVEJO. "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 prizes, which were gold-painted asthma inhalers.
The goal of the event, Villasenor said, was to build 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, a 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."
LVEJO and community advocates pay
a little visit to Mayor Daley on
"National Boss Day"
to demand clean air and better public transit, NOW!
Before the Olympics on 2016
Press conference at City Hall with concerns regarding the Olympic strategy.
click on any image for full size view
Fisk and Crawford Power Plants in Illinois
People-on-the-street interviews conducted by YAOTL (Youth Activists Organizing Tomorrow's Leaders)
What a
warming world will look like
for coastal America...
A Coastal Nation
Beginning with just one meter of sea level rise,
our nation would be physically under siege, with calamitous and
destabilizing consequences.
The US is a coastal nation with over 12,000 miles of coastline.
With 53% of all Americans living in and around coastal cities
and towns, it is important to understand the impact of
climate-induced sea level rise on our nation. Previous studies
have focused on a six-meter rise. The following study takes a
more conservative approach, beginning with a sea level rise of
just one meter.
tion.”For years environmental advocates have been trying to get the coal-burning power plants in Pilsen and Little Village to close down or clean up, citing evidence that they produce enough toxic air pollution to cause at least 40 premature deaths and scores of trips to the emergency room each year.
But when two dozen activists—many wearing air filter masks for effect—gathered outside Mayor Daley’s office Wednesday morning, they delivered the message with a new, urgent twist: it’s about the Olympics.
“We’ve been fighting to shut them down for a long time, but the mayor hasn’t shut them down,” said Kimberly Wasserman Nieto, an organizer for the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, which was behind the event. “So we figured that if he won’t do it for the residents, maybe he’ll do it for all the Olympic visitors.”
In other words, they’re trying to use the Olympics as leverage. The strategy should sound familiar: south- and west-siders have already started forming coalitions to demand funds for affordable housing, transportation, and parks before they agree to using chunks of their neighborhoods for Olympic facilities.
And why not? The mayor does as much of what he wants as he can; banding together to pressure him may not work, but it’s certain that nothing else will.
That said, it’s going to be tough to force the power plants to shut down. For starters, the mayor and his staffers have their defenses well-established by now. They say they don’t have the authority to force the plants to close or even curb emissions, even though they’d of course like cleaner air; and they say that jobs would be lost and electric rates might climb. All of these arguments are debatable, but since 2006 the Daley administration has also been able to point to a deal the state brokered with Midwest Generation, the owner of the plants, to cut most of their pollution within a decade.
The LVEJO activists say that’s too long—the health of hundreds of Chicagoans will be imperiled over that time, and the plants won’t even be cleaned up before the 2016 games. They’d like to see the plants turned into training centers for renewable energy jobs. “We want to really be seen as the greenest city,” said Samuel Villansenor, another organizer.
The group is also part of the growing chorus demanding public transit improvements as part of any Olympic package. Michael Pitula, LVEJO’s point man on transit, called on Daley to make a priority of securing more federal and state funding for the RTA, clean up the CTA’s bus fleet, and boost its maintenance staff. “Come on everybody and join me: No transit, no clean air, no Olympics!” he hollered.
Of course, Mayor Daley was 1,000 miles away, and most of the media with him; the hallway outside his office was an echo chamber. But the LVEJO leaders said they’ve already sent him a letter asking for a community meeting. If they don’t hear anything back, they say they’ll show up outside his office again. Then they’ll start drafting a note to the International Olympic Committee.
“We’ll tell them it’s not as pretty a picture as [Daley's] painted it,” said Wasserman Nieto. She added: “We’re not opposed to the Olympics per se, but we need to get the mayor’s atten
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release - Attention: News Assignment -
Press Conference and Awards Ceremony:Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, 10:00am
Dvorak Park, 1119 W. Cullerton St., Chicago
Press Contacts:
Michael Pitula 773-762-6991 publictransit@lvejo.org | Samuel Villasenor 773-762-6991 cleanpower@lvejo.orgKimberly Wasserman Nieto 773-656-5099 coordinator@lvejo.org | Download the event flyer (doc)
|
Download the Press Release (doc)
Coalymic Games to highlight environmental concerns with the Olympic Bid!LVEJO and partner organizations host
CHICAGO-The Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) will be hosting the Coalympics at Chicago’s own Dvorak Park at 1119 W. Cullerton St. on Saturday, the 27th of September at 10:00am. Across the street from the Fisk Coal Power Smoke Stack to educate attendees on the subject of air quality, public transit and the mayors Climate Action Plan in Chicago and the effect it will have on the city’s chance to successfully bid for the Olympics in 2016. As of August 19th of 2008, Chicago was notified that it failed to meet the new standards set forth by the USEPA CLEAN AIR to regulate soot.
LVEJO will call on the Mayor and other officials to expand CTA service, close 2 coal-fired power plants on Chicago’s Southwest Side, and create a Renewable Energy Jobs Program by 2010, 6 years in advance of the 2016 Olympics. The environmental justice organization will present information on the impact these plants will have on Chicago residents, Olympians and spectators.
According to Samuel Villasenor, “more than sixty percent of the proposed venues for the Olympics in Chicago would be within a ten-mile radius of at least one of these two coal power plants”.
“Just as athletes wore air masks in Beijing concerns of there health will be raised if the power plants are not shut down.” The June IOC report questioned "how people would get from rail lines to the large concentration of sports venues planned for the lakefront, saying they were 'not in close proximity.'" Chicago did not explain how it would increase either bus or train service for the Olympics. LVEJO is calling for CTA to order new “clean air buses.” on existing and new routes such as the proposed 31st Street route. The new route will provide access to jobs and the Olympic Village site in what is currently a “transit desert”.
The event will include fun, Olympics-inspired activities with a twist, such as the “Coal Power Plant Hurdle,” where participants will race while jumping over miniature coal power plants instead of regular hurdles. LVEJO will offer information to the public about the organization’s views, ideas, and plans of action. The purpose of this event is to inform the local citizens about Chicago’s air condition, the effect that this air condition has on the health of the general public, and the harm that it may do to the city’s potential bid for the 2016 Olympics. “The City of Chicago cannot soley rely on the Governors Mercury Rule to clean up the plants and fix public transit. Mayor Daley must act as the green mayor and take drastic action to show, Chicago is serious about the environment.”
Download the event flyer (doc)
|
Download the Press Release (doc)
Download:
Art on the Street final proposal.doc
ART ON THE
STREET FLYER (English) |
ART ON THE STREET FLYER- (Espanol)
Comments regarding LVEJO |
Open invitation to Mrs. Blagojevich
Little Village environmental group ties clean air, transit to Olympics
August 29, 2008 | 6:04 AM
An environmental group is demanding that the city
close two South Side coal-burning power plants or abandon its bid
for the 2016 summer Olympics because of pollution concerns.
"No transit, no clean air, no Olympics!" shouted members of the
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) at a press
conference yesterday outside Mayor Richard M. Daley's office in City
Hall.
"As the city unveils its plans for the Olympics, and makes changes
to meet the International Olympic Committee comments, we remind the
mayor that we still face air pollution, employment and transit
problems that unless fixed, will hurt our bid," says Kim Wasserman
Nieto, a coordinator for the non-profit organization.
The organization is calling on Daley to close the Fisk Generating
Station, at 1111 W. Cermak in Pilsen and the Crawford Generating
Station at 3501 S. Pulaski in Little Village. Both are owned by
Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of the California-based company
Edison International.
LVEJO members want the plants replaced with renewable energy job
training centers and alternative energy producers more in line with
Chicago's turn toward a green economy.
Sixty percent of the proposed venues for the Olympics for 2016 would
be near or close to a 10-mile radius of the two existing polluting
coal power plants in Chicago, says LVEJO clean air organizer Samuel
Villasenor.
The coal-fired plants emit pollutants such as mercury, sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides, as well as particulates, which have
been linked to asthma attacks and emphysema.
Because of their age, the Fisk and Crawford plants are exempt from
federal regulations that require modern pollution control devices.
In 2001 a Harvard School of Public Health study linked the plants'
air pollution to 40 premature deaths per year, 2,800 asthma attacks
and 500 emergency room visits annually.
Midwest Generation reached an agreement with Gov. Rod Blagojevich in
2006 on a long-range plan that would reduce most kinds of emissions
at its plants by 2018.
This isn't stopping the LVEJO's clean air campaign, however.
"This is way too far in the future for the health of the 95,000
people who now live in Little Village alone," says Nieto.
"For us to be known as the greenest city in the nation, we really
want the clean air for everyone from the residents in Chicago to the
visitors that will be visiting the Olympics and the athletes," says
Villasenor.
Organizers say this issue is closely linked with improvements in
public transit.
Michael Pitula, an organizer for LVEJO's public transit campaign,
said that the International Olympic Committee had ranked Chicago
five out of the seven cities contending for the games on the issue
of transportation.
"There are people today who spend 4 hours a day to get to and from
work," says Pitula. "What's it going to be like if we have an
Olympics and steps are not taken ahead of time to fix our transit
mess?"
Pitula called on Daley to lobby congress for federal transportation
funds and to push for a progressive state capital bill that will
prioritize public transit over highways.
According to organizers, the funds could be used to put clean-air
buses on hundreds of new routes and to beef up existing rail, as
well as to restore service on the 31st Street bus line, which Little
Village residents see as crucial to their region.
"We feel that projects like this would truly benefit any event that
comes to Chicago," says Pitula.
LVEJO members have requested a community meeting with the mayor
prior to the Feb. 9 deadline, when the city must submit its final
bid for the Olympic games to the International Olympic Committee.
Nieto says the organization would prefer be a partner with the
mayor.
"If our mayor isn't willing to represent to represent the true
people of Chicago then we will represent ourselves with the IOC and
let them know that it's not as pretty a picture as he paints it to
be," she added.
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The Cradle to Grave Info:
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth |
|---|
KFTC is a grassroots community group with offices all
over Kentucky. They work on a wide array of issues to improve the
quality of life for residents of Kentucky.
* For years, coal miners would take canaries into the mines to warn of
dangerous gases. When the canaries died, the miners knew it was time to
get out of the mine. Now, we are the canaries, warning everyone about
the dangers of coal before it is too late. We no longer believe the big
lie that coal is a cheap source of energy, and we are no longer willing
to have our homes and lives sacrificed for coal company profits. *
http://www.kftc.org/our-work/canary-project
Coal
River Mountain Watch - Remembering the Past, Working for the Future
Coal River Mountain Watch (CRMW) is a grassroots organization begun in
1998 in response to the fear and frustration of people living near or
downstream from huge mountaintop removal sites. We began as a small
group of volunteers working to organize the residents of southern West
Virginia to fight for social, economic, and environmental justice. From
our humble beginnings, we have become a major force in opposition to
mountaintop removal. Our outreach coordinator, Julia Bonds, was the 2003
Goldman Prize winner for North America. CRMW's efforts figure
prominently in Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s book /Crimes against Nature/. We
have been active in federal court to challenge the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers permits for valley fills and made regional news with
demonstrations against a sludge dam and preparation plant near Marsh
Fork Elementary School.
http://www.crmw.net/index.php
Ohio
Valley Environmental Coalition <http://www.ohvec.org
OVEC is an organization based out of Huntington, WV. OVEC works to
organize residents of coal producing areas of West Virginia,
specifically in Logan and Mingo County. The also work towards Clean
Elections.
Coal
River Mountain Watch MySpace
<http://www.myspace.com/coalrivermountainwatch
CRMW's MySpace account.
Appalachian
Center for the Economy and the Environment
<http://www.appalachian-center.org
The Appalachian Center is a non-profit public interest law and policy
organization dedicated to protecting the communities and natural
resources of central Appalachia and advocating for a just and
sustainable economy for the region.
West
Virginia Highlands Conservancy <http://wvhighlands.org
The Conservancy promotes, encourages, and works for the conservation and
appreciation of the natural resources of West Virginia and the Nation,
especially the Highlands of West Virginia,
WV
Citizens Action Group <http://www.wvcag.org>
(www.wvcag.org)West Virginia Citizen Action Group (WV-CAG) has, since
1974, advocated for better public policy, rights of individuals, a clean
environment and a stronger democratic process.
WV
Environmental Council <http://www.wvecouncil.org
WV Environmental Council helps to facilitate communication between
citizens, Grassroots Organizations, and Government agencies to promote a
healthy environment.
EarthJustice
<http://www.earthjustice.org
Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to
protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of
this earth and to defending the right of all people to a healthy
environment.
Head
On Radio with Bob Kincaid <http://www.headonradio.com/
Head On Radio is an internet radio show about West Virginia Politics.
Appalachian
Voices <http://www.appvoices.org
Appalachian Voices is an environmental organization based out of Boone,
NC with a very active anti-MTR Program.
Aurora
Lights <http://www.auroralights.org
Aurora Lights is currently working with CRMW to create a Participatory
GIS map of the area. In the past, Aurora Lights produced the Moving
Mountains <http://www.fallingmountain.com/mtr.html>
cd.
Mountain
Justice Summer <http://www.mountainjusticesummer.org
MJS is a multi-state movement that aims to work with existing local
organizations in the fight against surface coal mining.
Informational
Coal
Impoundment Project <http://www.coalimpoundment.org
The Coal Impoundment Project was created after the Martin County, KY
spill. This website maps all the known impoundments in the nation.
Regulatory Agencies
DEP
http://www.wvdep.org The WVDEP is in charge of issuing mining
permits and overseeing the operation.
MSHA
http://www.msha.gov The Mine Safety and Health Administration is the
federal agency responsible for overseeing worker safety in the mining
industry.
 |
Other Links of Interest |
|---|
The COAL-OLYMPICS!
In Little Village!
|
Las COAL-OLIMPIADAS!
DE LA VILLITA!
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