We can't ignore these threats to our health and safety. It's time to set a path to 100% clean energy. Regional. C4.

In challenging times for farmers, it's even more important to maximize the connections between financial health and conservation, and support farmers in achieving both.

In challenging times for farmers, it's even more important to maximize the connections between financial health and conservation, and support farmers in achieving both.

The post How conservation can enhance a farm’s financial health — even in challenging times first appeared on Growing Returns.

In challenging times for farmers, it's even more important to maximize the connections between financial health and conservation, and support farmers in achieving both.

In challenging times for farmers, it's even more important to maximize the connections between financial health and conservation, and support farmers in achieving both.

My 12-year-old daughter Anna has become quite the environmentalist lately. She’s even started turning out the lights while you’re in the room to save on energy! Yes, this can be annoying. But I admire her passion and enjoy watching her become more invested in our planet. Anna and the 1.4 million kids skipping class to […]

The strong results of today’s California-Quebec cap-and-trade auction once again illustrate the stability of the market as all current and future allowances sold. At the same time, we are seeing some interesting market trends. May auction at-a-glance All 66,321,122 current allowances sold, clearing at $17.45, $1.83 above the floor price of $15.62. This is the […]

The strong results of today’s California-Quebec cap-and-trade auction once again illustrate the stability of the market as all current and future allowances sold. At the same time, we are seeing some interesting market trends. May auction at-a-glance All 66,321,122 current allowances sold, clearing at $17.45, $1.83 above the floor price of $15.62. This is the […]

The strong results of today’s California-Quebec cap-and-trade auction once again illustrate the stability of the market as all current and future allowances sold. At the same time, we are seeing some interesting market trends. May auction at-a-glance All 66,321,122 current allowances sold, clearing at $17.45, $1.83 above the floor price of $15.62. This is the […]

Written by Marcia G. Yerman

A concerned mom questions the health effects of breathing silica dust in the NY subway system.

By Christie Hicks and Andrew Barbeau  As Illinoisans consider ways to drive down pollution and the costs of energy, one place to look is what they drive. The transportation sector has now overtaken the power sector as the leading source of carbon pollution in Illinois, responsible for nearly one-third of all carbon emissions. Any state-level […]

By Christie Hicks and Andrew Barbeau  This post is the third in our CEJA series.  As Illinoisans consider ways to drive down pollution and the costs of energy, one place to look is what they drive. The transportation sector has now overtaken the power sector as the leading source of carbon pollution in Illinois, responsible […]

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Monday, May 22, 2019 - Edition #67

The Money is Flowing … FirstEnergy’s ROI Could be Astronomical

FirstEnergy and its bailout allies are pulling out the stops. A dark money group named Generation Now has spent more than $2.76 million on TV and radio ads promoting the bailout bill (HB 6). That’s a lot of money.

Even before this ad buy, FirstEnergy and FirstEnergy Solutions invested $1.2 million in campaign contributions and $2.7 million on lobbying and public relations efforts. Since the legislation would subsidize First Energy or its subsidiary to the tune of at least $150 million in the first year alone, Americans for Prosperity—Ohio (AFP) calculated that the legislation would provide the utility giant with a return on investment (ROI) of more than 3,000%. 

“Let that sink in for a second,” testified AFP’s Micah Derry, “and think about (what) the average person, or a small business owner might think when they hear that information. Surely one thought that would cross their mind would be that it’s a better deal than the government has ever offered them.”
 

--> Behind Every FirstEnergy Supporter Lies a Lobbyist  Among the few who testified in favor of FirstEnergy’s bailout was a gentleman from Vermont. Enterprising Dayton Daily News reporter Laura Bischoff got to thinking: "Why would some guy from Vermont travel all the way to Ohio to give testimony?" It’s not a surprise that the man was concerned that the closure of a nuclear plant reduced taxes available to his small New England town. What was news was that his travel expenses were covered by the Nuclear Energy Institute, of which FirstEnergy is a key supporter.

It seems FirstEnergy also is willing to write testimony for people who might support its bailout. Enterprising investigators at the Energy and Policy Institute downloaded digital copies of written testimony and discovered that the same person—Christopher Curry—was listed as the “author” of seven of the testimony files. Lo and behold, Curry is a Washington, D.C.-based employee at the Dewey Square Group, a lobbying firm to which FirstEnergy Solutions disclosed paying $800,000 in a bankruptcy case filing last month. Scaring the Seniors The front group Generation Now doesn’t seem to care about logic. Its mass mailings threaten Ohio seniors with “skyrocketing” energy bills if the bailout legislation fails, yet it’s actually HB 6 that charges Ohioans some $300 million annually to subsidize uneconomic power plants owned by giant utilities or New-York-based hedge funds. Generation Now also suggests HB 6 protects Ohio’s competitive energy markets, yet subsidies for failing nuclear and coal plants actually disrupt markets and competition. 

Yet its Generation Now’s television ads – complete with flames leaping from the Ohio Statehouse – that win the prize for the most bizarre … and frightening. What are the lobbyists trying to suggest – give us a bailout or we’ll burn your house down? 
That seems persuasive … 


Couldn’t Have Said It Better

No need for us to recap Thomas Suddes’ recent piece for The Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial board. It’s right on the money.
 
“Say this much for the proposed bailout, by Ohioans, of FirstEnergy Solutions’ two Ohio nuclear power plants: The debate shows who really has power at the Statehouse.

“Shameless as plant-closing General Motors Corp. CEO Mary T. Barra is (amid layoffs, her total 2018 compensation was $21.8 million), can anyone imagine Barra asking the Republicans who run Ohio’s General Assembly to boost the sticker price of every car sold in Ohio to save GM’s Lordstown plant?

“That’s not far from what House Bill 6, the proposed nuclear bailout, would do to the checkbook of an Ohioan who pays an electric bill, whether to DP&L, FirstEnergy, AEP or Duke. The Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear plants, built by what’s now FirstEnergy, can’t produce power as cheaply as ever-more-plentiful natural gas. Without customer subsidies, Perry and Davis-Besse will shut down. And something like St. Paul on the road to Damascus, Ohio’s GOP-run House has suddenly become a convert.” --> --> Copyright © 2019 Environmental Defense Fund |Energy, All rights reserved.


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Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Readers of this blog know how concerned EDF is over the Trump EPA’s approval of many dozens of new chemicals based on its mere “expectation” that workers across supply chains will always employ personal protective equipment (PPE) just because it is recommended in the manufacturer’s non-binding safety data […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Readers of this blog know how concerned EDF is over the Trump EPA’s approval of many dozens of new chemicals based on its mere “expectation” that workers across supply chains will always employ personal protective equipment (PPE) just because it is recommended in the manufacturer’s non-binding safety data […]

Across the Mississippi River watershed, there needs to be a concerted effort to better manage the river. This includes restoring wetlands and riparian buffers to improve water filtration and flood mitigation and giving the river more space to flow between the levees.