ACTION ALERT: Nevada Coal Plants
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! SAY “TIME OUT” OVER HUGE NEW PROPOSED COAL PLANTS UPWIND FROM UTAH
Background
The state of Nevada is proposing three new monstrous coal-fired power plants, literally just over the border from Utah. The White Pine Energy Station and the Ely Energy Center together would comprise over 4,000 megawatts of power, enough for over 200,000 new homes in Las Vegas, already the sprawl capitol of the world. These plants would be located approximately 150 miles (as the crow flies) upwind from the Wasatch Front and immediately upwind of Great Basin National Park. The Toquop Energy Plant (pronounced Towkwop), a 750-MW coal plant would be located just outside of Mesquite, Nevada and immediately upwind from St. George and all of Washington County.
In terms of new coal power concentration, this is one of the largest proposed in the nation. And two remarkable ironies are that while Nevada has no coal industry (all of the coal would be shipped in from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming), it has some the best available solar resources in the world. Once again King Coal is calling the shots when it comes to future energy supplies, at the expense of our health and the planet.
Take Action
It’s time to call for a TIME OUT. Nevada activists are already calling on Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons to issue a time out until state and federal regulators develop policies to regulate carbon dioxide and to also consider the impacts to air quality. Let’s join in the call. Please consider sending a letter to Governor Jim Gibbons with the following message, or one of your own. Then copy your letter to the additional officials listed below. You can also send a letter to Utah’s Governor Huntsman asking him to put pressure on Governor Gibbons to take a time out from coal, as these issues are regional issues, not just state issues.
Dear Governor Gibbons,
Utahns are working hard to clean up our dirty air and prevent more asthma, pulmonary disease, and other respiratory problems associated with air pollution. We are also taking steps to address our growing mercury problem. The three new coal-fired power plants proposed in your state will only make the problems worse. I ask you to please issue a time out from coal. Please consider the effects to those of us downwind before these plants are permitted and built. Nevada should instead engage in opportunities to develop clean renewables such as solar power and geothermal.Thank you,
Governor Jim Gibbons
State Capitol
101 N. Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701
(775) 684-5670
Fax: (775) 684-5683
http://gov.state.nv.us/ContactUs_NORTH.htm
Nevada Congressman Dean Heller, 2nd District
http://heller.house.gov/zipauth.shtml
Las Vegas Office
600 Las Vegas Blvd., Suite 680
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-255-1651 (Office)
702-255-1927 (Fax)
Senator Harry Reid
Las Vegas
Lloyd D. George Building
333 Las Vegas Boulevard
South, Suite 8016
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Phone: 702-388-5020
Fax: 702-388-5030
http://reid.senate.gov/contact/email_form.cfm
Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Air Quality Planning
Jennifer Carr, Bureau Chief jcarr@ndep.nv.gov
901 South Stewart Street 775/687-4670 (direct line is 687-9346)
Suite 4001
Carson City, NV 89701–5249
Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr.
State Capitol Complex
East Office Building, Suite E220
PO Box 142220
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-2220
801-538-1000
800-705-2464
Fax 801-538-1528
Lt. Governor’s Fax 801-538-1133
More Action You Can Take
You can also send a short letter to the editor of the Nevada newspapers, whose email addresses are list below.
Talking points:
- Coal is not the energy of the future.
- Nevada is blessed with ample sun and geothermal resources
- Consider the effects of these huge plants on those of us downwind in Utah.
- Coal plants are huge water users, something that is even more precious in the West and during a drought. And it will only get worse with climate changes.
Below are addresses to newspapers where letters to the editor can be submitted
Please let us know if you write a letter or submit a letter to the editor!