There is a campaign out there that, if successful, will endanger our children’s and grandchildren’s future. In 2023, the Michigan legislature passed a law that would make it possible for farmers to site solar and wind farms on their own land in response to the many local ordinances that effectively zoned out large solar and wind developments and energy storage. This new law sets limits on large renewable energy developments to address health, safety and esthetic concerns that have been raised. However, a campaign to overturn this important climate and clean energy law is underway, led by a well-funded organization called Citizens for Local Control.
There have been a lot of recent frightful changes in the climate because of the use of fossil fuels. Michiganders are well aware of the blanket of smoke that covered the eastern United States in 2023 caused by the wildfires in Canada. The wildfire smoke caused a huge spike in asthma and other respiratory diseases here. A combined area bigger than the land mass of Michigan burned in Canada and scientists tell us that global warming will increase the intensity and frequency of these fires.
Scientists also tell us that the six-year drought in California was made much worse by the use of fossil fuels. California used to produce 30% of the fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets nationwide, but the drought changed that. The drought has resolved, but now, a new, devastating weather phenomenon means that California has been getting four times more rain than its monthly average in some months. Scientists say atmospheric rivers are enhanced by the burning of fossil fuels and their contribution to climate disruption. Neither condition is conducive to growing crops. The United Nations predicts widespread food shortages if we continue to use fossil fuels at the current rate.
Citizens for Local Control is opposing critically needed large-scale renewable energy facilities and instead advocating for the continued use of fossil fuels and nuclear power. There has been only one nuclear plant completed in the last 30 years in the US and it came in at $17 billion over the original projected budget and seven years late. It is anticipated to increase the ratepayers' utility bills dramatically in the area it serves. In Michigan, efforts to reopen the closed Palisades nuclear power plant have already cost taxpayers more than $150 million, and at least that much additional funding is being sought even though it is unclear that the old and rundown facility can be brought back to life.
The Citizens for Local Control is also spreading disinformation about renewable energy. Among misleading claims, the group says solar panels are not being recycled. In reality, the reason panels are not being recycled is that there is nothing to be recycled. Photovoltaic solar panels only started to be used to any degree 14 to 15 years ago. The panels are guaranteed for 25 years. There are plans to recycle solar panels in the future with a plant being built in Kentucky to do so. By comparison, coal ash is not being recycled and it is the second largest item to be land filled behind household waste. And waste from nuclear power plants in Michigan is being stored in temporary cement casks on the shores of the Great Lakes because there is no permanent storage anywhere in the United States for this highly toxic waste.
Citizens for Local Control say that wind and solar are not reliable. However, Iowa gets over 60% of its electricity from wind and solar, the biggest percentage in the nation. It has the tenth most reliable electrical grid and the eighth cheapest electricity in the nation.
There are too many other pieces of disinformation that Citizens for Local Control are propagating for this limited space to cover. If you have any questions about their information contact Mike Buza at theoriginalzub@yahoo.com.
Parents want their children to have a better life than they had. If you want a prosperous life for your children or grandchildren, please do not sign the petition being passed around by Citizens for Local Control.