Little Village environmental group ties clean air, transit to Olympics

An environmental group is demanding that the city close two South Side coal-burning power plants or abandon its bid for the 2016 summer Olympics because of pollution concerns.

"No transit, no clean air, no Olympics!" shouted members of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) at a press conference yesterday outside Mayor Richard M. Daley's office in City Hall.

"As the city unveils its plans for the Olympics, and makes changes to meet the International Olympic Committee comments, we remind the mayor that we still face air pollution, employment and transit problems that unless fixed, will hurt our bid," says Kim Wasserman Nieto, a coordinator for the non-profit organization.

The organization is calling on Daley to close the Fisk Generating Station, at 1111 W. Cermak in Pilsen and the Crawford Generating Station at 3501 S. Pulaski in Little Village. Both are owned by Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of the California-based company Edison International.

LVEJO members want the plants replaced with renewable energy job training centers and alternative energy producers more in line with Chicago's turn toward a green economy.

Sixty percent of the proposed venues for the Olympics for 2016 would be near or close to a 10-mile radius of the two existing polluting coal power plants in Chicago, says LVEJO clean air organizer Samuel Villasenor.

The coal-fired plants emit pollutants such as mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, as well as particulates, which have been linked to asthma attacks and emphysema.

Because of their age, the Fisk and Crawford plants are exempt from federal regulations that require modern pollution control devices.

In 2001 a Harvard School of Public Health study linked the plants' air pollution to 40 premature deaths per year, 2,800 asthma attacks and 500 emergency room visits annually.

Midwest Generation reached an agreement with Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2006 on a long-range plan that would reduce most kinds of emissions at its plants by 2018.

This isn't stopping the LVEJO's clean air campaign, however.

"This is way too far in the future for the health of the 95,000 people who now live in Little Village alone," says Nieto.

"For us to be known as the greenest city in the nation, we really want the clean air for everyone from the residents in Chicago to the visitors that will be visiting the Olympics and the athletes," says Villasenor.

Organizers say this issue is closely linked with improvements in public transit.

Michael Pitula, an organizer for LVEJO's public transit campaign, said that the International Olympic Committee had ranked Chicago five out of the seven cities contending for the games on the issue of transportation.

"There are people today who spend 4 hours a day to get to and from work," says Pitula. "What's it going to be like if we have an Olympics and steps are not taken ahead of time to fix our transit mess?"

Pitula called on Daley to lobby congress for federal transportation funds and to push for a progressive state capital bill that will prioritize public transit over highways.

According to organizers, the funds could be used to put clean-air buses on hundreds of new routes and to beef up existing rail, as well as to restore service on the 31st Street bus line, which Little Village residents see as crucial to their region.

"We feel that projects like this would truly benefit any event that comes to Chicago," says Pitula.

LVEJO members have requested a community meeting with the mayor prior to the Feb. 9 deadline, when the city must submit its final bid for the Olympic games to the International Olympic Committee.

Nieto says the organization would prefer be a partner with the mayor.

"If our mayor isn't willing to represent to represent the true people of Chicago then we will represent ourselves with the IOC and let them know that it's not as pretty a picture as he paints it to be," she added.

	The Cradle to Grave Info: Kentuckians for the Commonwealth

KFTC is a grassroots community group with offices all over Kentucky. They work on a wide array of issues to improve the quality of life for residents of Kentucky.

* For years, coal miners would take canaries into the mines to warn of dangerous gases. When the canaries died, the miners knew it was time to get out of the mine. Now, we are the canaries, warning everyone about the dangers of coal before it is too late. We no longer believe the big lie that coal is a cheap source of energy, and we are no longer willing to have our homes and lives sacrificed for coal company profits. * http://www.kftc.org/our-work/canary-project

Coal River Mountain Watch - Remembering the Past, Working for the Future
Coal River Mountain Watch (CRMW) is a grassroots organization begun in 1998 in response to the fear and frustration of people living near or downstream from huge mountaintop removal sites. We began as a small group of volunteers working to organize the residents of southern West Virginia to fight for social, economic, and environmental justice. From our humble beginnings, we have become a major force in opposition to mountaintop removal. Our outreach coordinator, Julia Bonds, was the 2003 Goldman Prize winner for North America. CRMW's efforts figure prominently in Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s book /Crimes against Nature/. We have been active in federal court to challenge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits for valley fills and made regional news with demonstrations against a sludge dam and preparation plant near Marsh Fork Elementary School. http://www.crmw.net/index.php

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition <http://www.ohvec.org OVEC is an organization based out of Huntington, WV. OVEC works to organize residents of coal producing areas of West Virginia, specifically in Logan and Mingo County. The also work towards Clean Elections.

Coal River Mountain Watch MySpace
<http://www.myspace.com/coalrivermountainwatch CRMW's MySpace account.

Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment
<http://www.appalachian-center.org The Appalachian Center is a non-profit public interest law and policy organization dedicated to protecting the communities and natural resources of central Appalachia and advocating for a just and sustainable economy for the region.

West Virginia Highlands Conservancy <http://wvhighlands.org The Conservancy promotes, encourages, and works for the conservation and appreciation of the natural resources of West Virginia and the Nation, especially the Highlands of West Virginia,

WV Citizens Action Group <http://www.wvcag.org>
(www.wvcag.org)West Virginia Citizen Action Group (WV-CAG) has, since 1974, advocated for better public policy, rights of individuals, a clean environment and a stronger democratic process.

WV Environmental Council <http://www.wvecouncil.org WV Environmental Council helps to facilitate communication between citizens, Grassroots Organizations, and Government agencies to promote a healthy environment.

EarthJustice <http://www.earthjustice.org Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment.

Head On Radio with Bob Kincaid <http://www.headonradio.com/ Head On Radio is an internet radio show about West Virginia Politics.

Appalachian Voices <http://www.appvoices.org Appalachian Voices is an environmental organization based out of Boone, NC with a very active anti-MTR Program.

Aurora Lights <http://www.auroralights.org Aurora Lights is currently working with CRMW to create a Participatory GIS map of the area. In the past, Aurora Lights produced the Moving Mountains <http://www.fallingmountain.com/mtr.html> cd.

Mountain Justice Summer <http://www.mountainjusticesummer.org MJS is a multi-state movement that aims to work with existing local organizations in the fight against surface coal mining.

Informational

Coal Impoundment Project <http://www.coalimpoundment.org The Coal Impoundment Project was created after the Martin County, KY spill. This website maps all the known impoundments in the nation.

Regulatory Agencies

DEP http://www.wvdep.org The WVDEP is in charge of issuing mining permits and overseeing the operation.

MSHA http://www.msha.gov The Mine Safety and Health Administration is the federal agency responsible for overseeing worker safety in the mining industry.