| In The News.... - Energy Efficiency Solutions to High Natural Gas Utility Bills
- High-Speed Rail Development Key to Job Growth in Ohio
- Make A New Year's Resolution: Donate to ELPC
- Updated Midwest/Great Plains Wind Power Projects Map
- Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar Visits ELPC - Briefing with Environmental Leaders
- SLAPP Suits on the Rise in Midwest?
- ELPC Welcomes Policy Advocate Andy Olsen and ELPC Fellow Joe Shacter
- Eco-Tip
Energy Efficiency Solutions to High Natural Gas Utility Bills By Howard A. Learner, originally published in Crain's Chicago Business Get ready for shockingly high utility bills. Natural gas prices are already 65% above last winter's prices. The "perfect storm" of soaring and cold winter weather will produce hardships for businesses and for lower and fixed-income people who cannot afford to heat their homes, and will drain billions of dollars from Illinois' economy to gas-producing states. Beyond hoping for warmer weather, we need new solutions. Click here (pdf file) to read ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner's OpEd, on energy efficiency solutions that save consumers' money and can keep hundreds of millions of dollars in Midwest states' economies. High-Speed Rail Development Key to Job Growth in Ohio Building a high-speed train network is critical to Ohio's job growth and competitiveness. That's the message delivered by ELPC's Jesse Auerbach at the December 13th hearing conducted by the Ohio Rail Development Commission. "A viable transportation network is key to any city's success," explained Auerbach, special projects coordinator at ELPC. "With our highways and airports increasingly crowded, high-speed rail is a way to move people quickly, comfortably and safely. That translates directly into jobs and business opportunities for Ohio." The public hearing was sponsored by the Ohio Rail Development Commission and the Ohio Department of Transportation. The two state agencies were seeking comments on their feasibility study of a high-speed rail network in Ohio. The proposal seeks to upgrade 800 miles of track along two corridors intersecting in Cleveland: the first beginning in Toledo and ending in Pittsburgh and the second beginning in Cincinnati and ending in Toronto. When completed, the network is projected to carry 2 to 3 million passengers per year and cover all operating costs entirely through ticket sales. The network is projected to create over 14,000 new jobs and increase property values by billions of dollars. Click here to send a fax to your Congressman and Senators urging them to support funding for high-speed rail: http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/HighSpeedRail_clone. MAKE A New Year's resolution: Donate to ELPC Updated Midwest/Great Plains Wind Power Projects Map The Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) is pleased to make available an updated map of Midwest/Great Plains wind power projects. The wind map is designed to be used as a tool by our colleagues in the renewable energy and community development field to reach out to policymakers and businesses. The updated map and accompanying project-specific information is posted on ELPC's websites at www.elpc.org, www.repowermidwest.org and www.farmenergy.org. This updated Midwest/Great Plains Wind Power Projects Map shows the locations of all existing and planned wind power projects in the region, including projects from the MISO, PJM and SPP project queues. About 1,440 MW of wind power projects are now operating in the region, and at least 11,759 MW of projects are currently planned for construction. Since ELPC first released this map in June 2004 operating wind power projects have increased by 200 MW and proposed projects have increased by 8,000 MW. ELPC developed this map to be an information source and effective advocacy tool to support the use of renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS) and other federal and state incentives to spur wind power development. Many of the planned projects identified on this map will not move forward without an RPS in place, and others depend on the continuation of the recently reauthorized federal Production Tax Credit, in effect through December 31, 2005. Not every planned project may ultimately be built. There may be more projects in the early planning stages that are not on this map because we do not have complete information about them. ELPC will update this map periodically, as more information becomes available. Please contact ELPC Policy Associate Rebecca Stamey-White (rstamey-white@elpc.org, 312-795-3720) if you have questions or suggestions on this updated Midwest/Great Plains Wind Power Projects Map. This map is one in a series of three new tools that ELPC has released to support renewable energy development, policy, advocacy and on-the-ground work. The Community Wind Financing Handbook explains the options for structuring and financing community-based wind power projects, and should be a valuable resource for both clean energy advocates and local businesses that are promoting and developing community wind projects. The WTO Legal Impact on Commodity Subsidies and Green Box Opportunities report provides a legal analysis of how WTO trade rulings may affect Farm Bill commodity subsidies and lead to corresponding new clean energy and conservation program "green box" opportunities as part of a winning solution for farmers and environmentalists. Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar Visits ELPC
for Briefing with Environmental Leaders   (1st photo L to R) ELPC Board Chair Ellen Craig, Governor Edgar
and ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner
(2nd photo) Governor Edgar at ELPC Lunch Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar spoke to ELPC's Board of Directors and a group of Illinois environmental colleagues over lunch in ELPC's conference room on Wednesday, December 8th. Governor Edgar shared his analysis on the recent national and state elections and explained some of the opportunities that environmentalists may have to achieve favorable policy developments. This briefing was part of ELPC THINKS, a series of discussions bringing together environmental leaders and senior public officials on new strategies for progress. SLAPP Suits on the Rise in Midwest? ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner was interviewed for a front-page Chicago Tribune article that ran in 15 newspapers around the nation about the unfortunate growing trend of lawsuits being brought by businesses against citizens involved in public participation activities on environmental issues. These so-called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or “SLAPP suits,” deter civic participation and environmental enforcement activities. The recent Chicago Tribune article (click here - pdf file) describes a case where a local activist’s participation in public hearings involving a trash company’s environmental practices led to the company filing a multi-million dollar libel suit against him. ELPC successfully defended Citizens for a Better Environment (CBE) against a SLAPP suit brought by a steel company seeking about $350,000 in fees. After we won the case before the Federal District Court and the U.S. Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Steel Company sought certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied the petition and finally brought the case to an end. ELPC’s public interest legal capacity is unfortunately necessary, as more of these SLAPP suits are brought to deter grassroots citizen participation on important local environmental issues. ELPC Welcomes Policy Advocate Andy Olsen
and Senior Policy Advocate Joe Shacter ELPC is pleased to welcome Andy Olsen, who is transitioning from a consultant to an ELPC Policy Advocate responsible for field organizing and constituency building with ELPC’s Federal Farm Bill - Clean Energy Development Initiative program. Mr. Olsen has led several collaborative renewable energy efforts in Wisconsin, and he managed the Governor’s Alternative Fuels Task Force. He has served as President of the Board of RENEW Wisconsin and on the Wisconsin Citizens Utility Board. Mr. Olsen is an elected Dane County Supervisor and a member of the Dane County Lakes & Watershed Commission. ELPC is also pleased to welcome Joe Shacter as a Senior Policy Advocate. In this position, he will focus on transportation strategies that reduce greenhouse gas production, a cause of global warming. Mr. Shacter recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum for four years. Before then, he worked at United Airlines on transportation issues and in a variety of management positions at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Eco-Tip The air we breathe indoors is three times more polluted than the air outside. Over time, the indoor toxins can have harmful health and environmental impacts. One source of these toxins is that most paints release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air for years after application. Using low or zero-VOC paints can help to improve indoor air quality dramatically while reducing ozone depleting contaminants. The paints are also scent-free; ELPC staff were able to work while our eco-office was painted thanks to the lack of fumes. Practically every commercial brand of paint offers a line of durable low or zero-VOC paints at a price comparable to regular paint, and there are a few alternative paint companies that offer formaldehyde free, low or zero-VOC paints. A few easy to find low-VOC paints are Benjamin Moore Pristine EcoSpec, Cloverdale EcoLogic and AFM Safecoat. The next time you have a paint project, be sure to ask for low or zero-VOC paints. If you have questions about the ingredients, you can also request Materials Safety and Data Sheets (MSDS) from the manufacturer. | 
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