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Events
'Dance for the Earth' Benefit - Save the Date!
5th
Annual Earth Day Benefit for the Ecology Center's
Mary Beth
Doyle Environmental Health Fund
Location: Downtown Home & Garden
Address: 210 S. Ashley, Ann Arbor (map)
Date: Saturday, April 25
Time: 8:00 - 11:00pm
Join the hottest Earth Day party in town with live music from BRENNAN ANDES and the ARKATOOTHIS ORCHESTRA, dancing, Earth Day theme costumes, drum parade, and silent auction featuring local artists and earth-friendly items ...all for a great cause!
Make a donation to the Silent Auction!
$15 + Cash Bar Students $10 Tickets on sale March 15th
To learn more about becoming a sponsor or purchasing tickets, contact Ken Kozora at 734-761-3186 ext. 120.
back to topMark Your Calendars for EcoRide 2009!
Be there on Sunday, June 28, 2009, at Hudson Mills Metropark for the annual EcoRide!
Details coming soon!
Check out the results & prizes from last year's event here.
For more information about the 2009 EcoRide and how you can participate or help out, contact Ken Kozora at 734-761-3186 ext. 120.
back to topTake Action
Tell Legislators to Support Granholm's
Bold Plan for a Clean Energy Future
The Ecology Center applauds Gov. Jennifer Granholm's far-reaching announcement to fundamentally change how Michigan fuels its energy needs. Granholm’s bold energy vision, which she laid out in her State of the State address earlier this month, calls for reducing fossil fuel use by utilities by 45 percent by 2020. This would put Michigan at the very top of states in terms of developing clean energy jobs, combating climate change, and moving away from dirty power sources. The Governor put forward a vision to redirect the energy future of the state toward clean energy sources, and she outlined several specific policies to get us there.
Unfortunately, Michigan's Legislature has been lagging in its support for clean energy and has favored dirty coal plants. Your legislators need to hear from you about supporting the policies the Governor outlined:
1) Renewable Energy Payments: The Governor proposed that Michigan become the first state to pass a Feed-in Tariff or Renewable Energy Payment. Simply put, this law would pay homeowners and small businesses a fixed rate for installing renewable energy systems. This law has completely transformed the energy system in Germany, where renewable energy is booming. In fact, Michigan is exporting the solar panels it produces to Germany because of this law. The Ecology Center has long advocated for such a policy in Michigan. Already, the coal industry and its allies in the Legislature are organizing to stop Granholm's plan.
2) Putting the Brakes on Coal: The Governor will require that Michigan's "coal rush" is at least slowed down by requiring that all 8 plant proposals undergo a significant new review to ensure that they are "feasible and prudent." The Ecology Center and our allies in the Clean Energy Now coalition will work to ensure that this braking of coal proposals leads to a complete stoppage of the industry's dirty energy rush.
3) Investing in Efficiency: The Governor proposed a major change in the way our utilities are paid. Instead of paying utilities only for energy they sell, they would also be compensated for helping you save energy. This system - known as decoupling - would help Michigan take advantage of our cheapest and most readily available strategic energy asset: energy efficiency. Moreover, the Governor proposed a Michigan Energy Corps that would weatherize 100,000 homes, thus creating jobs while saving energy and money.
4) Michigan Saves: The Governor highlighted a " Michigan Saves" program that the Ecology Center has been helping to develop. This program overcomes the initial cost barriers that can stop investments in energy efficiency or renewable energy, even when the payback period is short. The program would actually buy the insulation or solar panel or lights or other clean energy upgrade, and then get repaid out of the savings that you accrue. This would be a breakthrough in how we incentivize clean energy projects.
Putting these proposals together, Granholm's bold vision incorporates much of what the Ecology Center has argued is needed to help bring our state out of the economic doldrums through clean energy investments. The hard work begins NOW, and the support of Michigan legislators is critical to making our state a clean energy leader.
Check out the February 3, 2009 Press Release
News
New Coalition Calls for Promise
to Shut Down Incinerator
By Margaret Weber
Photo: Brian Kaufman, Detroit Free Press |
Detroit’s political leaders now have an unprecedented opportunity to implement a new vision for the city that includes waste reduction and recovery of waste assets instead of burning the city’s trash. Only once in a generation do city leaders usually have such an opportunity to change direction and make decisions that will positively transform the lives of its residents.
By implementing the New Business Model for Solid Waste, adopted by City Council in April, Detroit’s leaders can choose to reduce waste, lower waste-disposal costs, create new green jobs through the recovery of materials, and improve the health of Detroiters. This New Business Model will recover materials through recycling and reuse, greatly reduce the waste sent to landfills, and end the city’s dependence on wasteful and health-threatening incineration — if Detroit’s elected leaders have the insight and courage to say NO to the old ways of dealing with our garbage. Ending incineration of municipal solid waste will bring many new opportunities to create jobs and diversify our industrial base.
The New Business Model for Detroit Solid Waste Coalition is a collaborative of 10 environmental, civic and recycling organizations: Sierra Club Southeast Michigan Group, Rosedale Recycles, Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit, Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES), Greenacres Woodward Civic Association, Sierra Club Environmental Justice, Ecology Center, Michigan Environmental Council, East Michigan Environmental Action Council. The coalition urges end of incineration of solid waste.
Clear leadership from mayoral candidates on the Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Facility (GDRRF, which oversees the incinerator) can be a pivotal step in moving the city toward a more sustainable future.
We therefore urge all mayoral candidates to state clearly and unequivocally that they will end Detroit’s reliance on incineration of municipal solid waste by July 1, and will firmly commit to a cheaper and more environmentally responsible means of waste management.
Because Detroit’s 20-year bond debt to build and upgrade the incinerator will be completely repaid by July 1, 2009, the city will be free to choose an entirely different approach to garbage disposal and waste management for the next 20 years. A new vision for waste management is now required, and each one of us will have to stand firmly on green ground if Detroit’s future is to be viable.
The current trash burning system obligates the city to deliver all residents’ solid waste to the incinerator and to cover the cost of keeping the facility running. Contrast that to a system that earns money and creates jobs through recycling and recovering materials and pays to landfill only the remainder of unused waste.
Incineration wastes Detroit’s resources. Burning solid waste means that materials of value are destroyed rather than made available for reuse in jobs and industry such as paper recycling and plastics re-manufacturing. In addition, it always takes more energy to create products out of raw materials than out of already processed materials. Burning solid waste means we use more energy (more cost, more carbon, more global warming), while we lose resources and jobs.
The incinerator is not the only polluter in the I-94/I-75 corridor, but its emissions add significantly to the cumulative mix of area toxins. Michigan Department of Community Health reports show that hospitalization of children for asthma in zip codes near the “big burn” is three times the Michigan average. Eliminating incineration will be one step toward alleviating the respiratory burden for many residents.
The transition to a new model of waste management in Detroit must also be transparent. We call upon all mayoral candidates to clearly state they will require all public agencies and departments, including GDDRA, to make all decisions related to waste management in the city through a public process that is completely compliant with the Open Meetings Act.
To be taken seriously as a mayor who will lead Detroit into a sustainable future, each candidate must convince Detroit voters that she/he will work to end incineration and institute a new model for waste management in the city.
Margaret Weber is coordinator of Rosedale Recycles and convener of the New Business Model for Detroit Solid Waste Coalition.
Ecology Center Welcomes Ken Kozora
By Lauren Darmanin
With the help of friend and Ecology Center Clean Energy Program Director David Wright, Ken is able to power all of his music, including synthesizer, electronic percussion, bass, trumpet, and flute using solar panels. |
For annual fundraising events like Dance for the Earth and EcoRide, there are dozens of pieces that need to come together to make them fun and successful. Ken Kozora, the Ecology Center's new event coordinator, will be the one behind-the-scenes (except when he's in front of the camera or microphone) organizing, planning, wrangling, and managing these events. Ken has the energy and experience to make it happen: he has been working with the Ecology Center since 1988 in various capacities as a member of the events committees, coordinating events and providing live entertainment. "The Ecology Center works on some serious projects, and these events are designed to be fun and lighthearted," he said.
Ken became involved with the EcoRide just by being in the right place at the right time. He was walking down Detroit Street one day and saw a band playing on a stage with people riding bikes. Thinking it looked cool, he decided to stop by and check it out. Always having an interest in conservation and ecology, he decided to get involved.
While the fundamentals of the EcoRide have not changed over the years, Ken tries to keep the event fresh for riders by adding a new twist each year, such as new activities or different routes. There are more festivities now than in the past, making the EcoRide "a way for the community to come together in a fun way for a great cause," Ken said.
Dance for the Earth is another great fundraising event that Ken has been coordinating since its onset in 2005. The Dance was created in memory of Mary Beth Doyle, the Ecology Center's Environmental Health Campaign Director who passed away in 2004 after a tragic car accident. Mary Beth was a big supporter of the local music community and loved to dance, so this annual earth day benefit started as a way to "reflect and celebrate Mary Beth's love of life, incorporating things she liked to do," said Ken. "Every year there is a parade with costumes, which reminds us of her spontaneity. The activities we do reflect her nature." All proceeds from the event go toward the Mary Beth Doyle Environmental Health Fund, which is used to finance projects that help protect families and children against toxic chemicals.
Ken was inspired to join the Ecology Center staff "because of their courage in advocating for what is right from the door-to-door level, to working with national corporations, to the international playing field. I am impressed with their dedication to their mission, as well as the breadth and scope of their influence." Also important to Ken is the ability to really make a difference in the world. Clean energy, specifically advocating for solar and wind energy, is one of Ken's passions. "I'm pleased to see that after 30 years solar energy has a very promising future because it has been one of my lifelong interests. It seems like there is now enough political will to make it happen in a big way."
Ken would never underestimate the power and impact of positive thinking. "People can wake up in the morning and decide to have a positive attitude," he said. "The effect this has on your actions can change the world."
Ken describes himself as a composer, musician, and educator. He is involved with a charity called Horns for the Holidays (a program of Arts Alliance), which recycles instruments for kids in Washtenaw County who otherwise could not afford them. He started the program 12 years ago because it combines his interests and values: the environment, music, and helping kids.
Lauren Darmanin is an Ecology Center work-study intern.
Seeking Volunteer Writers
The Ecology Center is constantly seeking to increase the quality of our content and our talent pool. We are looking for volunteer writers who are passionate about our campaigns and related issues, and who are able to communicate clearly to our diverse audience. Familiarity with current and emerging trends and an understanding of science and policy are a plus, but if you write well, enjoy researching new topics, and are eager to be a part of our work for a safe and healthy environment, we’d love to hear from you, too!
Hot topics for 2009 include:
Green Jobs
Clean Energy
Chemicals Policy
Green Chemistry
Dioxin Contamination
Environmental Health
Environmental Justice
Environmental Policy & Legislation
And more!
How to apply:
We look forward to hearing from you!1) Introduce yourself, and let us know why you are interested in writing for the Ecology Center.
2) Include a writing sample: Introduce it with the headline and a one- or two-line intro.
3) Send us your ideas: What environmental issues are you passionate about? Do you have ideas for book reviews? Are you interested in writing whatever we need help with?
4) Send your email with the following subject line: "EcoLink Volunteer Writer" to ecolink@ecocenter.org. Please, no phone calls.
EcoLink — February 2009
An online publication of the Ecology Center
Comments and questions are welcome.
Please send to EcoLink Editor
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