Help stop the Marshalltown coal plant this week

by: desmoinesdem

Sun Jan 13, 2008 at 18:23:57 PM CST

The Iowa Utility Board will hold hearings starting tomorrow, January 14, at 10 am. The hearings will take place at the Whitehall Auditorium on the grounds of the Iowa Veterans Home (1301 Summit St, Marshalltown).

The invaluable noneed4thneed has information on the testimony of Iowa native James Hansen, a climate scientist from NASA.

After the jump I'm putting information about events this week organized by the Cedar Rapids-based environmental law group Plains Justice. For more on that group, check out their website.

If you attend any of these events, or hearings at the IUB, please put up a diary with your impressions.

"At a January Iowa Utilities Board hearing, an impressive slate of experts will testify that the proposed Marshalltown coal plant would be a costly mistake.   Iowa's renewable energy revolution is the answer for our power needs, not a $1.5 billion investment in 19th century technology."

- Carrie La Seur, President, Plains Justice

Plains Justice, Environmental Advocates, Physicians for Social Responsibility and Sierra Club invite you to meet these experts.

Join Dr. James Hansen, Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, speaking as a private citizen, along with six other nationally recognized experts on global warming, public health, energy conservation, alternative energy and economic sustainability.  Dr. Hansen, Dr. Neil Harl, Tom Sanzillo, Dr. Kristen Welker-Hood, Scudder Parker, David Schlissel and Dr. Ezra Hausman will summarize their testimony and take questions from the audience.

A new poll shows that Iowans want an energy policy that safeguards our grandchildren's future, not cheap short-term fixes with devastating long-term consequences. Iowans have the vision and common sense to see the economic opportunity in alternative energy, efficiency and   conservation, which keep our communities and our world healthy and sustainable.

Join us at one of these two events and be a part of Iowa's clean energy future

Wednesday, January 16th

State Historical Society of Iowa

600 East Locust Street

Des Moines, Iowa

Moderator, Senator Rob Hogg

7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, January 17th

Old Brick Community Center

26 E. Market St

Iowa City, Iowa

Moderator, Professor Craig Just

7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

You Are Also Invited to a Plains Justice Fundraiser Before the Iowa City Speaker Event:

Thursday, January 17th,

Old Brick Community Center,

26 E. Market St., Iowa City, Iowa,

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

$15 per person, $25 per couple, $10 Seniors and Students

Beverages and hors d'œuvres will be served

RSVP to plainsjustice116@mchsi.com

Plains Justice is an environmental justice law center based in Cedar Rapids.  Our founding in 2006 was in part a response to a nationwide rush to build 150+ coal burning power plants, the biggest industrial source of global warming gases.   Forty-two have been proposed in the Midwest alone. We have had some great successes as we challenge proposed plants in Waterloo and Marshalltown, Iowa; Big Stone City, South Dakota; and Gascoyne and South Heart, North Dakota

Finding alternatives to coal plants means working hard to create solutions. Our new Clean Energy Ambassador project, for example, will help small utilities improve their bottom line by implementing proven, cost-effective energy efficiency programs that lower bills.

This is a real fight to safeguard our grandchildren's future.  The health and sustainability of our communities and our world are at stake.   Stand with us as we work for truly clean energy, not short-sighted fixes with disastrous long-term consequences.