---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Lora Chamberlain" <noreply@list.moveon.org>
Date: May 23, 2014 3:00 PM
Subject: Springfield - Fix the gosh darn RPS
To: <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Cc:
Do we need the Fix to the Renewable (Energy) Portfolio Standard, (RPS), when Springfield may be funding a solar boom?
As reported in Crain's, "Here comes the sun: Rooftop solar panels in Illinois get jump-start" http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140522/NEWS11/140529897/exelon-enviros-agree-on-bill-to-launch-illinois-solar-industry?utm_source=NEWS11&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness#
Frack Free Illinois has objections to the newly introduced
Amendment 3 of HB2427, the "solar energy procurement" bill,
(bills can be read at www.ilga.gov ), and continues to advocate for the Fix to the RPS.
Although we welcome the investments in solar energy in IL, and we herald the green jobs that might be created with this bill, regarding the long term health of our environment and the urgent need for mitigation of climate change, and compared to the fix of the RPS, this deal made with Exelon for the procurement of Renewable Energy Certificates, (RECs), from solar installations, is wholly insufficient.
Frack Free Illinois objects to this one time only morsel being offered to the residents of Illinois when what we need is the long lasting, comprehensive fix to the RPS, SB103 / HB2864, that was being discussed by the environmental groups and lawmakers this session.
This Exelon deal is just another example of Springfield bowing to the whims of corporations, setting up scenarios for boondoggles, kicking the real issues down the road, while placating residents with crumbs.
Specific objections to language in Amendment 3 of HB include:
- The $30 million solar procurement in HB2427 is just a fraction of how much money would be available to fund new renewable energy procurement if the RPS was actually fixed. Just the amount that has been already stranded in the Renewable Energy Resources Fund is $53 million, not to mention how this fund would grow in the future.
- The solar procurement in the bill may or may not actually happen, it depends heavily on whether there is any money left in the Illinois Power Agency's Renewable Energy Resources Fund. This is a big "if" when lawmakers are stilling battling it out in Springfield over the budget. The idea that the fund might come out of this session without being raided is questionable indeed.
- Why does Springfield want to pick winners (solar) and losers (wind) with HB2427 here in IL?
The only answer that we can think of is that we know that Exelon prefers that wind not win.
- Exelon is positioned to tap 1/2 of the procurement amount, $15 million, if they sell their solar energy credits to the Illinois Power Agency, so is this bill just another boondoggle for Exelon? It would not come as much of a surprise to most Illinoisans if Springfield is, once again, shoveling money to their corporate donors.
We must actually mitigate climate change and clean our environment of hundreds, if not thousands, of toxic pollutants. Real people, real children, and real animals/wildlife are suffering right now as we twiddle with these corporate approved deals. Frack Free Illinois urges every Illinois environmental group and concerned IL lawmakers to continue to work and press forward with a long lasting fix to the RPS, one that will drive the funding and building of all types of renewable energy production in this state, as quickly as possible.
You can call your State Rep and Sen at 1-217-782-2000.
And please sign and pass our petition for Springfield to Fix the RPS, once and for all, and to kick start our renewable energy renaissance here in IL. We need as much renewable energy as we can build, as fast as we can build it, and all of the green jobs that fixing the RPS would bring! http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/springfield-fix-our-renewabl?mailing_id=22629&source=s.icn.em.cr&r_by=1415825
You can help us reach out to folks this weekend and lobby in Springfield on Monday, please read about
The IL Tour de Frack / Stop the Flanagan South Pipeline / Lobby in Springfield Memorial Day Weekend Camping Trip:
Fracking / Frac Sand Mining / Tar Sands Pipelines Outreach -- This Weekend!
Frack Free Illinois and Tar Sands Free Midwest announce a Memorial Day Weekend full of camping and outreach -
– Join us for 1-2 or 3 days.
The weather this weekend is going to be beautiful: day 70s to 80s, night 50-60s, only 10% chance of rain -- perfect for hiking, camping, bonfires and outreach on the enviro issues of our time.
Here are the details: This is a self guided, self motivated, self funded weekend of fun and activism. Grab your friends, tent, cooler and come on out. Discuss carpooling and sign up for the event at these FB pages: https://www.facebook.com/events/570941016356164/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/616248755114161/
Step 1 - please make your reservations for camping on Sunday night asap – see below thanks! Sat. night camping is not limited so no problem there, but Sunday night might be a little tight, so please make reservations. Then please tell us you are coming on FB below,
Step 2 - load your car with your friends, gear and cooler and come out to meet us,
Step 3 - print this email off and bring it with you.
Sat. May 24th -- Hiking in Starved Rock and passing out flyers to the visitors about frac sand mining and fracking to raise awareness about the dangers to the area.. Here is the trail map so you can plan your day:http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/publications/documents/00000005.pdf
We will be passing out the flyers and maps of a few frac sand mines to activists east of the park on
Route 71, on the main road into Starved Rock from Ottawa, from 11:30am to 12:30pm on Sat. May 24th -- you will not be able to miss our car. Stop, pick up frac sand/fracking flyers, pick a hiking route, hike and talk to folks on the hiking paths about the issues.
Sat Night Camping – WAUPECAN VALLEY PARK, 2015 W. Southmor Road, Morris, Illinois.
At the end of the day, 7:30p, meet back at the campground, 30 miles east of Starved Rock, we will have a bonfire and roast some marshmallows. There will be a meet and greet with some of the frac sandivists from the area, such as Ashley Williams, for a casual update on what is going on with the frac sand issue in LaSalle County. Waupecan Valley Park is a private campground so all of those pesky rules of the State Parks do not apply. The Valley has clean pit toilets, picnic tables and fire rings. They sell firewood – a small wheelbarrow or a large. The Ridge has the necessities for RV sites with all hookups and the shower house with hot showers and flush toilets.
Located off I-80 at the Morris Exit, 112A. Go south on Rt. 47 through town to the Illinois River Bridge. One mile south of the bridge, at the second crossroad, Southmor Road, turn west and come two and one-quarter miles to the gate marked Waupecan Valley Park.
It is $9.00 a night per tent – we suggest you stop off on the way to Starved Rock and set up your tent, say you are with Frack Free Illinois or Tar Sands Free Midwest, there will plenty of room for tents. Phone numbers for any questions or reservations: 815 942-1209 Office / 815 942-0822 Home Please leave a message – they are usually working outside during the daylight hours, or WaupecanValley@comcast.net
Sunday, May 25th, Havana, IL – We will drive 2 hours southwest to Havana, situated on the Illinois Riverhttp://www.distancebetweencities.net/ottawa_il_and_havana_il/route 　
Hike and flyer folks who are recreating along the Illinois river about the Flanagan South Enbridge Pipeline, and how it is going to dive under the river at Havana -- a very stressful place for a tar sands/frack oil pipeline. There will be boaters and fishermen who might be interested in knowing about the dangers of tar sands spills. Tar Sands Free Midwest will be writing up the flyer and will be coming with us, so lots of expertise on the trip. There are many lakes and nature preserves in this area to discover and to flyer, near Havana, Chautauqua and Emiquon are 2 of them very near Havana Refuge Locator Map - Chautauqua - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sunday evening meet back at the campground in Havana, IL,
Riverfront Campground, 416 N Schrader Street, Havana.
This campground is next to a marina, it has room for at least 50 tents. It is close enough to walk to restaurants, has a snack shop, and 'over a hill" is a shower that we can use. The snack shop sells beer. There is an occasional free musical entertainment. Jill Paulus is reserving 5 tent spots, since they are only $5.00 each, 3 are taken. Please call Jill at 630-469-4843 and tell her that you want one. If all of Jill's spots are taken then please call to reserve a tent spot near us 1-309-543-6240, please ask to be included in the 5-Tent site area reserved by Jill Paulus on for May 25. This is the Park District of Havana, 200 S. McKinley Street. (send a $5.00 check here if you wish, but call first) Http://www.westernillinois.worldweb.com/HavanaIL/Lodging/Campgrounds/
Monday, May 26th, Memorial day -- Springfield IL We will drive 1 hour from Havana into the Capitol of Springfield
http://www.distancebetweencities.net/springfield_il_and_havana_il/route
Meet up for a tail gate lunch in the visitor parking lot of the Capitol, Edwards and College Sts, just SW of the Capitol, any time from 12a-2pm, bring your own lunch and cooler, or go into the nearby Boone Saloon and enjoy their fare. Afterward we will be going into lobby the IL Reps and Sens returning from their Memorial Day break at 2-3pm. Memorial Day is an awesome time to get to talk to many Reps and Sens, there is no one else there except us and them. Come on out and talk to them about the Green Dozen Fracking bills.www.frackfreeil.wordpress.com and the fix to the RPS http://illinois.sierraclub.org/legislation/2014/rps.pdf
Info on all the bills will be discussed at the tail gate lunch.
Please post that you are coming on both FB pages below -- there was a snafu when we put up the FB pages so it is helpful to post on both -- thanks!https://www.facebook.com/events/570941016356164/ https://www.facebook.com/events/616248755114161/
See you this weekend -- it will be fun and laid back
?s call Lora at 773-486-7660
Sincerely,
Dr. Lora Chamberlain organizer - Frack Free Illinois
Drlora2@yahoo.com
773-486-7660
From: "Lora Chamberlain" <noreply@list.moveon.org>
Date: May 23, 2014 3:00 PM
Subject: Springfield - Fix the gosh darn RPS
To: <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Cc:
Do we need the Fix to the Renewable (Energy) Portfolio Standard, (RPS), when Springfield may be funding a solar boom?
As reported in Crain's, "Here comes the sun: Rooftop solar panels in Illinois get jump-start" http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140522/NEWS11/140529897/exelon-enviros-agree-on-bill-to-launch-illinois-solar-industry?utm_source=NEWS11&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness#
Frack Free Illinois has objections to the newly introduced
Amendment 3 of HB2427, the "solar energy procurement" bill,
(bills can be read at www.ilga.gov ), and continues to advocate for the Fix to the RPS.
Although we welcome the investments in solar energy in IL, and we herald the green jobs that might be created with this bill, regarding the long term health of our environment and the urgent need for mitigation of climate change, and compared to the fix of the RPS, this deal made with Exelon for the procurement of Renewable Energy Certificates, (RECs), from solar installations, is wholly insufficient.
Frack Free Illinois objects to this one time only morsel being offered to the residents of Illinois when what we need is the long lasting, comprehensive fix to the RPS, SB103 / HB2864, that was being discussed by the environmental groups and lawmakers this session.
This Exelon deal is just another example of Springfield bowing to the whims of corporations, setting up scenarios for boondoggles, kicking the real issues down the road, while placating residents with crumbs.
Specific objections to language in Amendment 3 of HB include:
- The $30 million solar procurement in HB2427 is just a fraction of how much money would be available to fund new renewable energy procurement if the RPS was actually fixed. Just the amount that has been already stranded in the Renewable Energy Resources Fund is $53 million, not to mention how this fund would grow in the future.
- The solar procurement in the bill may or may not actually happen, it depends heavily on whether there is any money left in the Illinois Power Agency's Renewable Energy Resources Fund. This is a big "if" when lawmakers are stilling battling it out in Springfield over the budget. The idea that the fund might come out of this session without being raided is questionable indeed.
- Why does Springfield want to pick winners (solar) and losers (wind) with HB2427 here in IL?
The only answer that we can think of is that we know that Exelon prefers that wind not win.
- Exelon is positioned to tap 1/2 of the procurement amount, $15 million, if they sell their solar energy credits to the Illinois Power Agency, so is this bill just another boondoggle for Exelon? It would not come as much of a surprise to most Illinoisans if Springfield is, once again, shoveling money to their corporate donors.
We must actually mitigate climate change and clean our environment of hundreds, if not thousands, of toxic pollutants. Real people, real children, and real animals/wildlife are suffering right now as we twiddle with these corporate approved deals. Frack Free Illinois urges every Illinois environmental group and concerned IL lawmakers to continue to work and press forward with a long lasting fix to the RPS, one that will drive the funding and building of all types of renewable energy production in this state, as quickly as possible.
You can call your State Rep and Sen at 1-217-782-2000.
And please sign and pass our petition for Springfield to Fix the RPS, once and for all, and to kick start our renewable energy renaissance here in IL. We need as much renewable energy as we can build, as fast as we can build it, and all of the green jobs that fixing the RPS would bring! http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/springfield-fix-our-renewabl?mailing_id=22629&source=s.icn.em.cr&r_by=1415825
You can help us reach out to folks this weekend and lobby in Springfield on Monday, please read about
The IL Tour de Frack / Stop the Flanagan South Pipeline / Lobby in Springfield Memorial Day Weekend Camping Trip:
Fracking / Frac Sand Mining / Tar Sands Pipelines Outreach -- This Weekend!
Frack Free Illinois and Tar Sands Free Midwest announce a Memorial Day Weekend full of camping and outreach -
– Join us for 1-2 or 3 days.
The weather this weekend is going to be beautiful: day 70s to 80s, night 50-60s, only 10% chance of rain -- perfect for hiking, camping, bonfires and outreach on the enviro issues of our time.
Here are the details: This is a self guided, self motivated, self funded weekend of fun and activism. Grab your friends, tent, cooler and come on out. Discuss carpooling and sign up for the event at these FB pages: https://www.facebook.com/events/570941016356164/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/616248755114161/
Step 1 - please make your reservations for camping on Sunday night asap – see below thanks! Sat. night camping is not limited so no problem there, but Sunday night might be a little tight, so please make reservations. Then please tell us you are coming on FB below,
Step 2 - load your car with your friends, gear and cooler and come out to meet us,
Step 3 - print this email off and bring it with you.
Sat. May 24th -- Hiking in Starved Rock and passing out flyers to the visitors about frac sand mining and fracking to raise awareness about the dangers to the area.. Here is the trail map so you can plan your day:http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/publications/documents/00000005.pdf
We will be passing out the flyers and maps of a few frac sand mines to activists east of the park on
Route 71, on the main road into Starved Rock from Ottawa, from 11:30am to 12:30pm on Sat. May 24th -- you will not be able to miss our car. Stop, pick up frac sand/fracking flyers, pick a hiking route, hike and talk to folks on the hiking paths about the issues.
Sat Night Camping – WAUPECAN VALLEY PARK, 2015 W. Southmor Road, Morris, Illinois.
At the end of the day, 7:30p, meet back at the campground, 30 miles east of Starved Rock, we will have a bonfire and roast some marshmallows. There will be a meet and greet with some of the frac sandivists from the area, such as Ashley Williams, for a casual update on what is going on with the frac sand issue in LaSalle County. Waupecan Valley Park is a private campground so all of those pesky rules of the State Parks do not apply. The Valley has clean pit toilets, picnic tables and fire rings. They sell firewood – a small wheelbarrow or a large. The Ridge has the necessities for RV sites with all hookups and the shower house with hot showers and flush toilets.
Located off I-80 at the Morris Exit, 112A. Go south on Rt. 47 through town to the Illinois River Bridge. One mile south of the bridge, at the second crossroad, Southmor Road, turn west and come two and one-quarter miles to the gate marked Waupecan Valley Park.
It is $9.00 a night per tent – we suggest you stop off on the way to Starved Rock and set up your tent, say you are with Frack Free Illinois or Tar Sands Free Midwest, there will plenty of room for tents. Phone numbers for any questions or reservations: 815 942-1209 Office / 815 942-0822 Home Please leave a message – they are usually working outside during the daylight hours, or WaupecanValley@comcast.net
Sunday, May 25th, Havana, IL – We will drive 2 hours southwest to Havana, situated on the Illinois Riverhttp://www.distancebetweencities.net/ottawa_il_and_havana_il/route 　
Hike and flyer folks who are recreating along the Illinois river about the Flanagan South Enbridge Pipeline, and how it is going to dive under the river at Havana -- a very stressful place for a tar sands/frack oil pipeline. There will be boaters and fishermen who might be interested in knowing about the dangers of tar sands spills. Tar Sands Free Midwest will be writing up the flyer and will be coming with us, so lots of expertise on the trip. There are many lakes and nature preserves in this area to discover and to flyer, near Havana, Chautauqua and Emiquon are 2 of them very near Havana Refuge Locator Map - Chautauqua - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sunday evening meet back at the campground in Havana, IL,
Riverfront Campground, 416 N Schrader Street, Havana.
This campground is next to a marina, it has room for at least 50 tents. It is close enough to walk to restaurants, has a snack shop, and 'over a hill" is a shower that we can use. The snack shop sells beer. There is an occasional free musical entertainment. Jill Paulus is reserving 5 tent spots, since they are only $5.00 each, 3 are taken. Please call Jill at 630-469-4843 and tell her that you want one. If all of Jill's spots are taken then please call to reserve a tent spot near us 1-309-543-6240, please ask to be included in the 5-Tent site area reserved by Jill Paulus on for May 25. This is the Park District of Havana, 200 S. McKinley Street. (send a $5.00 check here if you wish, but call first) Http://www.westernillinois.worldweb.com/HavanaIL/Lodging/Campgrounds/
Monday, May 26th, Memorial day -- Springfield IL We will drive 1 hour from Havana into the Capitol of Springfield
http://www.distancebetweencities.net/springfield_il_and_havana_il/route
Meet up for a tail gate lunch in the visitor parking lot of the Capitol, Edwards and College Sts, just SW of the Capitol, any time from 12a-2pm, bring your own lunch and cooler, or go into the nearby Boone Saloon and enjoy their fare. Afterward we will be going into lobby the IL Reps and Sens returning from their Memorial Day break at 2-3pm. Memorial Day is an awesome time to get to talk to many Reps and Sens, there is no one else there except us and them. Come on out and talk to them about the Green Dozen Fracking bills.www.frackfreeil.wordpress.com and the fix to the RPS http://illinois.sierraclub.org/legislation/2014/rps.pdf
Info on all the bills will be discussed at the tail gate lunch.
Please post that you are coming on both FB pages below -- there was a snafu when we put up the FB pages so it is helpful to post on both -- thanks!https://www.facebook.com/events/570941016356164/ https://www.facebook.com/events/616248755114161/
See you this weekend -- it will be fun and laid back
?s call Lora at 773-486-7660
Sincerely,
Dr. Lora Chamberlain organizer - Frack Free Illinois
Drlora2@yahoo.com
773-486-7660
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