With ties to Occupy Chicago about a dozen protesters covered
themselves in fake oil and performed a symbolic death in front of the
Canadian Consulate in downtown Chicago Thursday evening.
Those who “died” were joined by more than 100 supporters in protesting Canada’s extracting of crude oil from the Alberta Tar Sands, which is the world’s third-largest deposit of oil. The protesters pointed to a recent report
which said the oil derived from the tar sands could emit 10 to 12 times
more greenhouse gases than conventional crude oils, and the Chicago Tribune recently reported that the increased level of emissions could be as high as 22 percent. Read more »
The closing date for the Fisk and Crawford coal-fired power plants was pushed forward to this September, which provides a sense of urgency for Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. The Crawford plant in Little Village was initially slated to close in December 2014, as set by a February agreement between Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and plant owner Midwest Generation.
“It’s a lot sooner than expected and it has me on my toes,” says Rafeal Hurtado, an organizer at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, or LVEJO. “People are taking it more personal now, thinking, ‘Okay, this is really happening.’” Read more »
The following was written by Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter.
Two dozen health, faith, farm, and environmental advocates joined with us this week to urge the Illinois House to reject a proposal to force Illinois ratepayers to subsidize the coal plant proposed by the Tenaska corporation. Twenty-five organizations signed the letter to Illinois lawmakers, a sign of new and growing opposition due to concerns about pollution from Tenaska’s plant and its very high cost.
“Creating a new electric plant that requires us to mine and burn more Illinois coal in communities already suffering from the effects of mining, while it places a long-term surcharge on the electricity costs for low-income people is not only poor policy, it is unjust,” said Rev. Dr. Clare Butterfield, Executive Director, Faith in Place and the Illinois Interfaith Power & Light Campaign, among the faith leaders joining opposition to Tenaska’s legislation.
The past year has proven to be a challenging time for defenders of
clean air regulation, as opponents on the national level have stepped up
their efforts to roll back or weaken existing U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency standards while fighting to block or delay new rules
that are set to go into effect.
The proposed Taylorville Energy Center in Christian County would not
be required to capture its carbon dioxide emissions nor limit its
overall CO2 emissions, according to a draft of an Illinois EPA air
permit (PDF). As a result, the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) calls it unlawful
because they believe it violates the Clean Air Act. Read more »
A recent federal court ruling to delay U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency plans to enforce tougher clean air standards for power plants,
has left both critics and defenders wondering whether the decision did
in fact signal the death knell for implementation of the new rules.
On December 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a
stay of the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which would have
required power plants in 27 states beginning January 1 to comply with new
regulations designed to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
emissions. Read more »
Some progress is expected today when it comes to cleaning up air quality in the Chicagoland area. The Chicago City Council is expected to consider Ald. Danny Solis' (25th Ward) revised ordinance that was approved by the Committee on Health and Environmental Protection earlier this week.
"We were not happy with the lack of community process in drafting this ordinance and think it could have been stronger, but we recognize it is a step in the right direction," said Jerry Mead-Lucero, a member of the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO), who testified in front of the committee on behalf of the organization in support of Solis' lead ordinance. "This is a good first step, but we hope that Alderman Solis will agree to work more closely with residents and organizations like PERRO and others in the future to ensure we are really doing everything we can to reduce the pollution in our community."
With ties to Occupy Chicago about a dozen protesters covered
themselves in fake oil and performed a symbolic death in front of the
Canadian Consulate in downtown Chicago Thursday evening. 
The closing date for the Fisk and Crawford coal-fired power plants was pushed forward to this September, which provides a sense of urgency for Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. The Crawford plant in Little Village was initially slated to close in December 2014, as set by a February 
The following was written by Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter.
The proposed Taylorville Energy Center in Christian County would not
be required to capture its carbon dioxide emissions nor limit its
overall CO2 emissions, according to a 
A recent federal court ruling to delay U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency plans to enforce tougher clean air standards for power plants,
has left both critics and defenders wondering whether the decision did
in fact signal the death knell for implementation of the new rules. 
Some progress is expected today when it comes to cleaning up air quality in the Chicagoland area. The Chicago City Council is expected to consider Ald. Danny Solis' (25th Ward) revised ordinance that was approved by the Committee on Health and Environmental Protection earlier this week.