March 2015

Training Opportunity March 21st 

Thank You Senator Dave Koehler for being a sponsor of SB 1485! Your leadership for this bill is critically important for more clean energy jobs that will be a great asset to our area and the state.

Senate Bill 1485 is part of the new legislation that has been introduced to promote clean energy jobs in Illinois and help reduce pollution. Illinois House Bill 2607 and Senate Bill 1485 will promote energy efficiency, increase non-polluting non-toxic clean energy jobs, and help the state meet the upcoming federal guidelines for cutting carbon dioxide pollution. 

These important bills will help promote new jobs and clean up our environment in several ways:

• By "fixing" the Renewable Portfolio Standards (or "RPS") to increase the share of power coming from renewable sources in Illinois, like wind and solar, to 35% by 2030.
• By increasing energy efficiency standards to reduce overall electricity usage in our state by an accumulative 20% by 2025. Energy efficiency is the cheapest, cleanest form of energy we have; it is the energy we don't use. By retrofitting our homes, businesses, schools and hospitals with the latest energy efficient technologies (including better insulation, newer windows and lighting, better/smarter systems for our heating, ventilation and cooling systems), we can accomplish the same amount of work and use less energy. That saves money on energy bills, cuts pollution from power plants and puts lots of people to work making and installing energy efficient measures.
• By shifting our state toward cleaner energy through market-based strategies to reduce carbon pollution. This will provide a healthier future for all of us. The recently proposed Clean Power Plan offers Illinois an opportunity to modernize our energy infrastructure and scale up our clean energy economy. The tools that would be used to realize the goals of that plan also promote investments that can power our state and clean our air  and improve the health of our communities.

On March 21^st there will be a special training session at the Illinois Chapter Sierra Club office, 70 East Lake Street, Chicago, to learn more about the Illinois Clean Jobs campaign and how you can help.

Training Details:

WHO: Sierra Club Volunteers 
WHAT: Clean Power Plan statewide grassroots training
WHEN: Saturday, March 21st from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Sierra Club Offices--70 E Lake St, Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60602 [ map ]

RSVP: action.sierraclub.org/ILCleanPowerPlanTraining

Questions?  Contact Caroline Wooten by phone at 312-251-1680 ext 194 or by email at caroline.wooten@sierraclub.org.