July 14th, 2009 Posted in Alerts | No Comments »
WE ALL BREATHE THE SAME AIR!
IF YOU ARE A MINNEAPOLIS RESIDENT, PLEASE TRY TO RESPOND TO THIS URGENT ACTION ALERT FROM NEIGHBORS AGAINST THE BURNER (NAB) IN OPPOSING THE EXPANSION OF THE TOXIC HENNEPIN COUNTY GARBAGE INCINERATOR, WHICH SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BUILT IN THE FIRST PLACE!
ALSO, IF YOU ARE ABLE, PLEASE ATTEND THE MINNEAPOLIS PLANNING COMMSSION’S ZONING & PLANNING HEARING ON JULY 23, AT 9:30 AM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, ROOM 317, CITY HALL. IF YOU UNABLE TO ATTEND THE HEARING, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AND EXPRESS YOUR VEHEMENT OPPOSITION TO THE HERC EXPANSION.
Covanta Energy, the firm that runs the Hennepin “Energy Recovery” Center (HERC), wants to increase its annual load of garbage combusted by 77,000 tons. However, it is limited by a 1987 city permit. Because the boilers could handle more of the Schlock that is fed into them, Covanta is demanding a 21% increase in its trash incineration. A recently completed steam pipe would benefit Downtown businesses by lowering their energy bills and their bottom lines so it is clearly about profits at the expense of human and ecological health. Covanta claims that the increased emissions would remain within government-mandated allowable levels. However, EPA standards, which were formulated to allow polluting industries to get away with murder, are far too generous. The EPA’s idea of “safe” does by no means correspond with the real health impacts of exposure to toxic incinerator emissions. For that reason, the Minneapolis Planning Commission recently voted down Covanta’s request after two-hours of public testimony. Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL 60B) criticized the EIS that was conducted to assess the burner’s safety around the Target Field because it fails to consider the potential impact of increased burning beyond the North Loop. Ten percent more garbage deliveries will mean 21% more diesel exhaust spewing forth into the atmosphere, adding to the volume of particulate matter. This would increase microparticles in the lungs that remain and do damage in for the form of asthma, cardio-pulmonary diseases and other serious health problems. Given that, it is downright ludicrous to think that the original objections to more garbage trucks rolling in was the revolting smell that might offend the aesthetic sensibilities of baseball fans at the new playing field!
Burning more trash will increase toxic airborne emissions such as dioxins from the huge amounts of plastics that will be combusted along with endocrine disrupting compounds and heavy metals that will add greatly to the already dangerous chemical body burden of human beings and wildlife. Then there are the greenhouse gases that will further warm the planet and speed it toward complete climate chaos. Yes, we all breath the same air, but emissions would be at their most intense in the Downtown area and immediate surrounds on days of light breeze when the noxious fumes and particulate matter would hover in the air instead of being dispersed by the wind. The concentrations would be especially high when there is heavy humidity combined with traffic smog, which can be seen visibly hanging in the air as a brown haze. Combine the burner emissions with the cumulative exposures to car, truck and bus exhaust, and we have the makings of a major health crisis among people who work and live Downtown and in the adjacent neighborhoods. There is also the pollution that washes out of the air when it rains or snows then lands on the soil and runs off into surface waters affecting gardens, vegetation, animals and aquatic life. Activists who opposed the construction of the Hennepin County Garbage Burner in the late 1980s warned of these perils back then, but no one listened. It is outrageous that only now the authorities are beginning to pay attention after a decade’s worth of damage has been done.
NO MORE WASTE!
The dedicated activists of NAB are absolutely right. Burning garbage is nothing but a license to commit unbridled waste. We must adopt a policy of ZERO WASTE by reducing, restoring, reusing and recycling at the point of production. In addition, composting and mulching organic matter, including human wastes, will return vital nutrients to the soil, keeping ecosystems healthy and making food more nutritious. We must also scale down our consumption and power down our society by living more simply and ecologically in harmony with Mother Nature.
NO MORE BURNING!
As 3CTC has stated before, ENOUGH WITH THE BURNING, ALREADY! Humanity has abused the gift of fire to a frightening degree and look to where it has brought us—the brink of climate catastrophe. There is no need to burn anything. The sun does the burning for us and in a most efficient manner. Our Dear Old Sol delivers to Earth’s surface 240 Watts of power per square meter. This is averaged over the planet’s surface as well as over time–day and night and throughout the year. All we need do is harness that great flame in the heavens and reap its benefits with the clean technologies that are already available in the form of wind turbines and solar cells. We must also abandon the ruinous Car/Truck Culture by building clean mass transit systems powered by the same means and creating liveable, walkable, bikeable communities.
Dear Concerned Neighbor,
An important story is unfolding in Minneapolis right now. The Minneapolis Planning Commission met on June 22, 2009 to decide if the HERC (garbage incinerator next to new Twins Ballpark, aka Hennepin Energy Recovery Center) should be allowed to expand the amount of garbage they can burn by 21%. The Minneapolis Planning Commission voted “No” by 6-2. The proposed increase was defeated with the help of State Representatives Karen Clark and Frank Hornstein and State Senator Patricia Torres Ray testifying against the expansion.
Then Covanta (owner of HERC) appealed the decision. On July 23, 2009, the Minneapolis Council Committee on Zoning & Planning will hear the case again & decide if HERC will be allowed to burn 77,000 more tons of garbage a year. Approval of the proposed increase would have serious adverse effects on air quality & public health. Please find more information about the HERC proposal here: http://minneapolisneighborsforcleanair.com/
We especially urge all interested Minneapolis constituents to contact their specific City Council member & all Minnesotans to contact Mayor Rybak, to let them know why YOU are against this increased garbage burning:
rt@minneapolis.org or 612-673-2100
Contacts for specific Minneapolis City Council members– along with more background on the proposed expansion of HERC — are available at:
http://www.neighborsagainsttheburner.org/node/35
You can check back to this link for updates as the process unfolds. We are grateful for your active citizen participation in helping to safeguard the health of our families & communities!
This message sponsored by the anti-HERC Coalition including Minneapolis Neighbors for Clean Air, Neighbors Against the Burner, and numerous public leaders.
Please follow Neighbors Against the Burner on Twitter, username NABmn and Minneapolis Neighbors for Clean Air at MplsCleanAir.