updated 02.25.10

WINTER 2009 NEWSLETTER

CAC’s winter newsletter is now available and includes a special guest column by State Rep. Matt Pierce (D, Bloomington). Click here to read.

OUR CURRENT CAMPAIGNS:

2010 Indiana General Assembly:

Only a few weeks into the 2010 Legislative Session, and there are already several bills introduced that would dig deeper into the pockets of Hoosier utility consumers. Stay tuned to this site for constant updates, as legislation can change rapidly. Tune into our 2010 Billwatch by clicking here.

For our current factsheet on the most current bills in the General Assembly, click here.

Federal Energy Legislation:

Congress is currently debating legislation that would further subsidize coal and nukes, drive up energy costs for ratepayers and do virtually nothing to cap carbon or stop pollution. Click here to read our factsheet and please take action by calling Senators Lugar and Bayh (contact information on factsheet).

Read more about the Boxer/Kerry Senate bill (aka CEJAPA) here and the Waxman-Markey House bill (aka ACES) here.

For a great interview with CAC Program Director Kerwin Olson about the Waxman-Markey bill, click here.

Duke Energy Edwardsport Plant:

Duke Energy is building a new coal-gasification plant in Edwardsport, IN. The cost thus far has reached $2.35 billion and now Duke is asking for even more ratepayer dollars to fund their research and development into carbon waste capture and storage. Duke ratepayers are facing an enormous increase in rates to build this unnecessary plant.

To read more about this expensive and wasteful boondoggle, click here. Please contact IURC Commissioner David Hardy to fight this expensive boondoggle (contact information on the factsheet). You can also check the Duke topic on the sidebar to the left to find more information.

NIPSCO:

NIPSCO wants to raise electric rates for their customers by 16.5 percent! To learn more, go here.

IMPORTANT ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE:

CLEAN Action Alert: Tell Washington we're not stupid! Clean energy doesn't mean taxpayer bailouts for coal & nukes!

Instead of investing in truly clean energy technologies like energy efficiency and renewables, Washington D.C. wants to take our money and hand it over to the very energy industry that has made a mess of our environment and our pocketbooks. It's time they hear us, loud and clear, and stop standing up for the dirty, dangerous and expensive status quo.

Protect and Strengthen Our Public Water - Support a Water Protection and Reinvestment Trust Fund!

Our water and wastewater infrastructure is in desperate need of repair. The American Society of Civil Engineers has given both systems a D- grade. In order to protect our essential water resources, create tens of thousands of green jobs, and safeguard public health, join us in urging Congress to create a permanent and dedicated federal funding source! For more info, go here.

MULTIMEDIA:

On November 19, 2009 the EPA held two hearings to allow public testimony in regards to their proposed rule to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. To watch testimony from Grant Smith (CAC Executive Director) and Kerwin Olson (CAC Program Director), please visit our YouTube channel! Click here to watch!

IN THE NEWS:

The foundation of a democracy is an informed populace.

We know that the issues we work on can sometimes be complex, and information is the key to understanding it all. Check out our newsfeed on the right sidebar (or click here for expanded view) for a variety of news articles, commentary, and information sources. Stay informed!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

For event information, please check our calendar on the upper right hand side of this page, or click here for a larger calendar view!

courtesy of Nuclear Information and Resource Service:

Senators Kerry and Graham join forces to promote more nukes, oil and coal in climate bill!
Your actions are vital!

Email/fax now! Call in this Thursday, October 15!

The New York Times yesterday published a remarkable joint op-ed from Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC). Remarkable not because Graham became the first Republican to sign on to a climate bill, but because of the enormous price Kerry paid for that support.

Their op-ed calls for vastly increased support not only for new nuclear reactors but also coal and oil as well. Indeed, their proposal reads like nothing more than a wish list from the dirty energy industry. If adopted, their proposal would make the climate bill one in name only, and instead would provide a dirty energy bonanza that would rival the worst excesses of the Bush administration.

Here is a brief excerpt from the Kerry/Graham op-ed: "Nuclear power needs to be a core component of electricity generation if we are to meet our emission reduction targets. We need to jettison cumbersome regulations that have stalled the construction of nuclear plants in favor of a streamlined permit system that maintains vigorous safeguards while allowing utilities to secure financing for more plants."

You can read the entire op-ed here.

Note that the permit system has been repeatedly streamlined over the past two decades, and even NRC chairman Greg Jazcko admits the slow pace of NRC review of license applications is due to the poor quality of applications and their reliance on unapproved reactor designs. The only further streamlining would be an end to public participation entirely!

We all must act now!

If you haven't yet sent an e-mail and/or fax to your Senators in the past week, please click here to do so now! Don't be shy about contacting your Senators! Whether you've written them once this year or ten times, do so again. Remember: nuclear and utility lobbyists are contacting your Senators every single day. YOU are the most important lobbyists!

Please prepare for National Don't Nuke the Climate Call-In Day, this Thursday, October 15. A new support group for the Call-In Day has just formed on the GrassrootsNucleus networking site.

It will take all of us, reaching out as far and wide as we can, raising our voices as loudly and effectively as we can, to beat back this effort to nuke the climate bill.

For more information about this and other nuclear power issues, go to the website! Nuclear Information and Resource Service

At the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) public field hearing in Gary on March 3, 2009, over 600 people showed up to testify against NIPSCO’s requested rate increase. The hearing was held at a venue that only seated about half of those people, so about 300 people were left outside protesting and chanting “Fight the Hike!” Here is why:

• In the 4th quarter of 2008, NiSource profits rose nearly $100 million dollars compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Their profits rose to $162 million, up from $67 million in the 4th quarter of 2007.

• NiSource directors more than doubled their salaries last year. In 2007, NiSource directors made $80,000. In 2008, they raised that to $165,000.

• NiSource announced that it plans to cut about 370 jobs across its 16-state operating territory over the course of 2009.

• If NiSource profits are increasing and it is doubling the salaries of its board members, why is it cutting jobs and asking for rate increases in the worst economy we have seen since the Great Depression? We need to make our voices heard! We need to demand more public field hearings across Northern Indiana so that all of the people who did not have the chance to testify can voice their plights and let the IURC understand how this rate increase would impact them!

To find out how to take action to fight NIPSCO's rate increase, click here!