Informative Oil and Gas Meeting Held at the Lenawee County Heath Department

The Lenawee Health Department responded to my request to discuss potential health issues of the intensifying oil and gas operations in and around Adrian and invited me to a meeting that they arranged bringing in the Michigan DEQ past Friday, February, the 21st. I asked Mayor Jim Berryman, Sister Elise from the Adrian Dominicans, and John Kuschell, and my wife Amy to join me and luckily all could make it. It was a very informative meeting. I will report in details after receiving answers to some clarifying questions I send to the DEQ.

Timbaktu

Dear Friends,

Below is a link to a very inspirational 30 minute documentary on sustainable and spirited farming - a success story from rural India. Please spread to your friends.

Have a great weekend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0Wp-5Mjs7Y&fb_source=message

Outrageous Injustice

3 ordinary citizens exhibited their right of peaceful nonviolent action in a democratic country resulting in receiving a 2 year prison sentence while the polluters of Enbridge causing the worst pipeline accident in American history in Marshall, Michigan are still running free.

Vicci Hamlin, Lisa Leggio and Barbara Carter took courageous and peaceful action to block the construction of a dangerous tar sands pipeline. Now they're being held without bail and are facing prison time.

I just signed this petition calling for their release. I think you should too:  http://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/free-the-felines-the-mi-cat-3?sp_ref=29551444.4.2517.e.11078.2&source=mailto_sp

Where am I living? Definitely NOT the land of the free!

Michigan House Votes to Give Sweetheart Deal to Oil Drillers for Valentine’s Day

LANSING—The Michigan House of Representatives today passed a controversial bill package that gives oil and gas companies new powers to construct pipelines on private property over the objections of Michigan landowners, while giving new tax breaks to industry. HB 4885 (Nesbitt), HB 5254 (Outman), HB 5255 (Stallworth), and HB 5274 (Pettalia)  are designed to encourage so-called enhanced oil recovery operations, which entail pumping carbon dioxide (CO2) into closed oil wells to extract previously unattainable oil. Under the proposed legislation, oil and gas companies would get a 40% break on the oil severance tax while taxes on drilling for gas would be reduced by 20%.
“These bills hurt taxpayers, landowners, and threaten water supplies while giving  taxpayer handouts to the oil and gas industry,” said Mike Berkowitz, Legislative Director for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter. “Fundamentally, we should not be giving tax breaks to an oil industry that is putting our water at risk and making record profits.”
Supporters of the industry-backed proposals say there will be environmental benefits from carbon sequestration during the oil recovery process that is promoted as part of the bill package.  Those claims, however, ignore the damage that will likely result from expanded drilling in environmentally sensitive areas.   Moreover, any benefits from carbon sequestration must be weighed against disruptive new pipeline construction, well conversions required to accommodate the process, additional air pollution as well as costs and environmental impacts of increased transport of oil.  The combination of increased combustion of oil and other impacts means the bill package will likely result in the release of more greenhouse gases.  

“These bills pose an alarming new threat for all local Michigan residents who are facing aggressive oil, gas and related pipeline construction in their communities.   Sierra Club strongly opposes giving new eminent domain authority to private oil and gas companies at the expense of the rights of private property owners and the public” said Anne Woiwode, Director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.  “The recent expansion of oil and tar sands pipelines in Michigan has led to many private landowners witnessing pipeline construction within a few yards of their homes or businesses.  Giving oil and gas companies more ability to take lands for the transportation of fossil fuels and pipeline development is the wrong decision for Michigan, for clean water, and for property owners.”

The bills now head to the Michigan Senate.

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 The Sierra Club is the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization, with over 150,000 members and supporters in Michigan. 

Tar sands protest group appeals to Obama after 3 members jailed

Environmentalists face two-year sentences for protest against pipeline involved in 2010 Kalamazoo River spill

 

Rod Sanford/Lansing State Journal/AP

President Barack Obama traveled to Michigan's Ingham County on Friday to sign the recently passed farm bill at Michigan State University, less than an hour's drive from the site of a major inland tar sands oil spill. A group of local environmentalists hopes to use the president’s visit to warn him of the potential dangers of tar sands oil ahead of his final decision on Keystone XL and other proposed pipeline projects.

Read the entire story here: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/7/anti-pipeline-groupappealstoobamaafterthreemembersjailed.html

More Info about MICATS in the Lansing Online News and the Earth First Journal and through their own website at: http://www.michigancats.org

4 states confirm water pollution from drilling

Associated Press review of complaints casts doubt on industry view that it rarely happens.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — In at least four states that have nurtured the nation's energy boom, hundreds of complaints have been made about well-water contamination from oil or gas drilling, and pollution was confirmed in a number of them, according to a review that casts doubt on industry suggestions that such problems rarely happen.

(c) 2012 Katie Orlinsky

Read the whole story here http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/05/some-states-confirm-water-pollution-from-drilling/4328859/

Statement from Sierra Club On Proposed Oil Industry Sweetheart Bills

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                
 Monday, January 27, 2014                 

Statement from Sierra Club On Proposed Oil Industry Sweetheart Bills
Giant Tax Breaks, Eminent Domain Privileges Considered Tuesday By House Panel

LANSING--Proposals before a legislative panel Tuesday that would give oil and gas companies new powers to construct pipelines on private property over the objections of Michigan landowners--and give new tax breaks to the industry--were strongly opposed today by the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, which issued the following statement from State Director Anne Woiwode:

On Tuesday the state House Energy and Technology Committee will hear testimony for the first time on House Bills 4885, 5255 and 5254.   House Bill 4885 would reduce state revenues from oil and gas development by dramatically reducing the so-called severance tax on gas and oil enhanced recovery drilling, including the controversial fracking process. Under the proposed legislation, oil and gas companies would get a 50% break on the oil severance tax, from the current 6.6% to 3.3% while gas drilling taxes would be reduced by 40%, from 5% to 3%.  This proposed handout to the oil and gas industry not only gives them an unneeded tax break, but encourages drilling activities that threaten our Great Lakes system, putting our waters at risk.  We believe fracking is too risky to continue in Michigan and should be stopped.  Giving tax breaks to the oil industry to encourage more fracking is the last thing Michigan’s elected officials should be considering.  Instead, Michigan lawmakers should take up legislation introduced last year that would strengthen weak environmental protections for fracking and invest more money in environmental monitoring of our water and air and other protections to safeguard human health and our natural resources.

Moreover, House Bills 5254 and 5255 pose an alarming new threat for all local Michigan residents who are facing aggressive oil, gas and related pipeline construction in their communities.   Sierra Club strongly opposes giving new eminent domain authority to private oil and gas companies at the expense of the rights of private property owners and the public.  We call on lawmakers to reject both bills. The proposed legislation would also restrict the amount of information pipeline companies would have to release to the public. The recent expansion of oil and tar sands pipelines in Michigan has led to many private landowners witnessing pipeline construction within a few yards of their homes or businesses.  Giving oil and gas companies more ability to take lands for the transportation of fossil fuels and pipeline development is the wrong decision for Michigan, for clean water, and for property owners.

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The Sierra Club is the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization, with over 150,000 members and supporters in Michigan. 

The legislature continues to go in the wrong direction.  Please write your Senator (Caswell) and Representative (Jenkins or Shirkey) and ask them to oppose these bills.