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Cleaning
Up Our Air
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| PIRGIM
Education Fund is working to reduce air pollution from
power plants in Michigan, which will curb ozone pollution
and mercury contamination. |
Michigan
is home to some of the dirtiest power plants in the nation.
Twenty-one power plants in our state do not meet modern
emission standards, contributing to increased asthma rates,
premature death, acid rain and global warming. As a member
of the American Lung Association's advisory committee on
outdoor air quality and a board member of the Michigan Environmental
Council (MEC), PIRGIM Education Fund works to protect public
health by cleaning up these plants and working to reduce
overall air pollution in Michigan.
Publicizing
The Risks
To educate all Michiganders about threats to Michigan's
air, we released Darkening
Skies: Trends Toward Increasing Power Plant Emissions
in Detroit in April 2002. Michigan Public Radio covered
the release on its statewide network of radio stations and
the report garnered coverage in the Ann Arbor News,
the Grand Rapids Press and the Oakland Press
.
In conjunction
with MEC, we also worked to educate and organize citizens
in Macomb, Oakland, Genessee, Saginaw and Bay counties and
to develop relationships with local organizations such as
children's advocacy groups, faith-based leaders and community
groups. Current local coalition partners include Kim Winchell,
the Michigan Interfaith Coalition for Creation and several
local doctors.
To ensure
that residents of Michigan's urban areas also know the risks
posed by air pollution, we worked with Detroiters Working
for Environmental Justice (DWEJ) to involve other urban
and minority organizations in the power plants issue. As
part of these efforts, PIRGIM Education Fund held a media
conference about the disproportionate impact of air pollution
on minorities with DWEJ, NAACP, Coalition of Black Trade
Unionists and several others.
Reducing
Diesel Exhaust
Along with power plants, diesel trucks are another major
air polluter. Diesel exhaust poses serious cancer risks
and contains exceedingly high levels of mercury. When the
Michigan Department of Transportation attempted to expand
its freight terminal in southwest Detroit, increasing semi-truck
traffic through the community from 2,000 to 16,000 trucks
per day, PIRGIM Education Fund united with the Arab Community
Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) to support
citizen efforts to fight the expansion. In October 2002,
we held a joint media conference with ACCESS, the Southwest
Detroit Business Association and the American Lung Association
of Michigan highlighting the serious cancer risks and other
health impacts posed by diesel exhaust.
In the
coming months, PIRGIM Education Fund will continue to work
with our partners to improve air quality and reduce pollution
by building widespread support for clean air in Michigan.
Home
| Drilling In The Great Lakes
| Clean
Water Enforcement | Strengthening
Our Democracy | Land
Use And Liveable Communities | Cleaning
Up Our Air | Protecting
Consumers | New
Energy Future
|
