By LESLIE BRADSHAW
Coal plants in Idaho—the people of Idaho have made their wishes clear, but are our legislative representatives listening?
You can be forgiven for thinking that coal plants and the whole mercury issue were dead in Idaho, but you might be wrong. Yes, Idaho passed a two-year moratorium on coal plant projects last year; yes, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Board unanimously voted to recommend to former Gov. Jim Risch that Idaho opt out of the federal Mercury Cap and Trade Plan; and, yes, the governor then did indeed opt Idaho out of the Cap and Trade program, which would allow states to trade credits for emissions to pollute other states. But a subcommittee of the House Environment, Energy and Technology Committee meets Monday, Jan. 22, to decide whether to approve the rules to prevent Idaho from participating in the federal Mercury Cap and Trade Plan. Will they do the right thing?
For the past two years, Idahoans have been educating themselves about the hazards of mercury emissions since the California-based company Sempra announced its plan to build a coal plant in Jerome County. We have learned that several Idaho rivers and lakes are already so polluted with mercury that the fish in them are unsafe to eat, and we don't even have any coal plants in our state—the mercury comes from plants in neighboring states and from mining in and around the Pacific Northwest. We have learned that those individuals most vulnerable to mercury poisoning are our children and the developing fetuses in pregnant women. We have learned coal plants are the single largest polluter of mercury we have today.
But our learning has not stopped at the hazards of mercury emissions. Over the past two years we have also learned a great deal about global warming: foremost, that it is indeed happening and, perhaps more importantly, that global warming is happening faster than scientists predicted even just a few years ago. There is no longer any credible scientific debate about it. The polar ice caps are melting at alarming rates with giant ice shelves shearing off in chunks the size of Manhattan. The past year, 2006, was the hottest year on record. Polar bears are dying as they drown attempting to swim from one chunk of melting ice to the next in search of food. Why would we want to add to all this by building another coal plant?
It is time we stop trying to find more oil, more coal and other fossil fuels and start focusing on the cheapest fuel of all, conservation. Idaho is one of the fastest growing states in the country, and we are blessed to also be one of the states with the most plentiful sunshine, wind and geothermal potential.
Petitions saying they do not want coal plants were signed by 8,500 Idahoans: neither for merchant operators to sell to neighboring states, nor for Idaho Power to generate more power for Idahoans. Scores more wrote letters and went to the Statehouse. I have never seen anyone who is not connected with the power industry in some way making the case that coal would be good for Idaho.
Gov. Butch Otter said during his election campaign last year that he did not want to see coal-fired power plants in Idaho. I ask that our legislators make the choice that reflects the will of the people by approving the rules on Monday that would keep Idaho out of the federal Mercury Cap and Trade Plan.
Leslie Bradshaw is president of Blaine County Citizens for Clean Energy.
