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Coal
PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
6:36pm
Tue Jun 26, 2012

Preparing For Climate Change In Illinois

Efforts are underway in Chicago and across the state to inform citizens on the importance of being prepared for emergencies and the potential future effects of climate change, among other crises. We take a look at some of the latest efforts.

Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
12:42pm
Tue May 29, 2012

More Hot Days Ahead & Increased Fatalities Expected At Current Pollution Levels, Study Warns

Findings of a new report warn that by the end of the century, as many as 150,000 U.S. deaths could be attributed to extreme heat caused by climate change if steps are not taken to limit current carbon pollution levels.

The report, released by the Natural Resources Defense Council, assessed excessive heat in 40 cities and projected that by 2099 there will be an increase in the number of days where the heat index – how hot it feels when both the actual temperature and the relative humidity is factored – reaches between 105 and 110 degrees. These extended days of high temperature will lead to a rise in the number of heat-related deaths, according to the study.

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
11:21am
Fri May 25, 2012

Health Advocates Push For Carbon Emission Standards At Coal Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency held a hearing Thursday regarding the first of its kind limits on carbon dioxide emissions for new power plants.

News of the EPA’s proposed standards for power-plant emissions comes shortly after Midwest Generation announced Chicago’s two infamous coal-fired power plants, Frisk and Crawford, will shut down. Progress Illinois reported last month about Chicago’s power-plant saga.

Double lung-transplant recipient Dan Dolan-Laughlin, 65, is one of many people who planned to speak at the hearing to urge the EPA to follow through with its carbon-regulation proposal.

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Quick Hit
by Progress Illinois
1:51pm
Wed May 2, 2012

Op-Ed: 25 Groups Urge IL House To Reject Tenaska's Sweetheart Deal

The following was written by Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter.

Two dozen health, faith, farm, and environmental advocates joined with us this week to urge the Illinois House to reject a proposal to force Illinois ratepayers to subsidize the coal plant proposed by the Tenaska corporation. Twenty-five organizations signed the letter to Illinois lawmakers, a sign of new and growing opposition due to concerns about pollution from Tenaska’s plant and its very high cost.

“Creating a new electric plant that requires us to mine and burn more Illinois coal in communities already suffering from the effects of mining, while it places a long-term surcharge on the electricity costs for low-income people is not only poor policy, it is unjust,” said Rev. Dr. Clare Butterfield, Executive Director, Faith in Place and the Illinois Interfaith Power & Light Campaign, among the faith leaders joining opposition to Tenaska’s legislation.

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PI Original
by Matthew Blake
4:05pm
Mon Nov 21, 2011

Tangled Up Over Tenaska

Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club’s Illinois Chapter, wrote an op-ed for Progress Illinois November 4 that slammed the Taylorville Energy Center, a proposed coal-to-gas plant in Taylorville, Illinois. Darin likened Tenaska, Inc. the Omaha, Nebraska-based company in charge of the project to, “The monster in a bad horror movie who gets up off the floor after we assume they are finally dead.”

Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
4:13pm
Wed Nov 16, 2011

New EPA Rules Target Coal Plant Emissions

A coalition of environmental groups Tuesday rebuked the recent efforts of some Congressional lawmakers to roll back plans to implement more stringent federal clean air rules on power plants, contending the move would significantly impact public health within the Chicago area.

At the center of the debate have been two newly-proposed Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Act rules – the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) and the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for power plants – intended to reduce the amount of pollutants emitted by facilities such as the Fisk and Crawford coal-fired power plants, located on the Chicago’s Southwest Side.

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