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Fall 2008 News & Issues
2008 Elections: Grow Green Recommendations
Commission Races
Only one Commission race, for District 6, is contested this year, since Commissioner Elton Dodson decided not to run for re-election in District 10. Our recommendation is based upon questionnaire responses, information posted on the candidates’ Web sites, and other public statements. For complete details, see the Election 2008 page.
District 6 |
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 Ed Robinson |
Red Petrovs |
| Ed Robinson is our choice for District 6. Ed has
been involved in local efforts to protect our natural
resources for many years, and environmental
issues are a prominent aspect of his platform.
We believe that Ed’s strong and demonstrated commitment to protecting our environment will benefit all Athenians. |
Red Petrovs is a very effective leader of the
OneAthens Initiative to alleviate poverty, which
Grow Green supports. However, several of his statements indicate that he favors a hands off approach to growth management which we feel would not be protective enough of our natural resources. |
Constitutional Amendments
We have based our recommendations for the three constitutional amendments upon those of the Georgia Environmental Action Network and other state-wide environmental groups.
YES on Amendment 1: To encourage preservation of Georgia’s
forests through a conservation use property tax
reduction program.
YES on Amendment 2: To authorize local school districts to use
tax funds for community redevelopment purposes.
NO on Amendment 3:To authorize the creation of special Infrastructure
Development Districts providing infrastructure
to underserved areas.
Athens Transit Development Plan Update - Input needed!
Athens Transit has begun an update of their Transit Development Plan. The purpose of the plan update is to assess the operations of Athens Transit System to ensure that the system meets the needs of the community in an efficient and economically effective manner.
Whether or not you use Athens Transit for your transportation needs, ATS would like to hear from you. Your input on routes, schedules, and transit amenities is very important to ATS.
You can provide input via an online survey at http://www.athenstransit.com/tdp.html. Call 706-613-3430 if you have any questions about the Plan update.
Jackson County industrial development proposal - Take action!
From our colleagues at Protect Jackson County:
PROTECT JACKSON COUNTY FROM INDUSTRIAL SPRAWL
The proposed Jackson Park Industrial Complex (set for the currently undeveloped 700+ acres opposite South Jackson County Elementary School and off Jefferson/Mary Collier/Crooked Creek Roads) would turn key parts of our community into an industrial wasteland. Protect our neighborhoods, our rural places, our family farms and our family businesses. Support orderly, planned development in Jackson County. Say “no” to industrial blight and insist that everyone stick to Jackson County’s Comprehensive Plan.
It will be the second largest industrial park in Georgia. Over half of the now undeveloped 700+ acres will be under concrete. 7.5 million square feet of manufacturing -- no tenant yet. 28,000 trips added to Jefferson Road. Unmeasured effects to air, wildlife, water, etc.
This project is a bad idea -- this is an issue where everyone from those who support green space to those who are 'pro-development' agree.
Download more talking points here.
NOTE: The Jackson County Planning Commission has POSTPONED consideration of this item to October 23. Please consider what you could do to help and let us know. E-mail is easiest, but phone is fine too: (706) 208-1610.
We need petitions (download the form here) (signed by Jackson county residents/citizens/businesses) in hand on Wednesday, October 15, 2008. Please drop an email to protectjacksoncounty@hotmail.com and we will pick them up -- a .puff would be helpful as a backup. Call (706) 208.1610 with any questions or to become more involved.
Come to the Planning Commission Meeting at the Jackson County Courthouse at 6:00 pm on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23 and make sure your representatives know what you think!
One coal-fired power plant halted; another in the works!
On June 30, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore issued a ruling that effectively halts construction of a coal-fired power plant in Early County. Judge Moore ruled that an administrative law judge had erred in upholding EPD's issuance of a permit to Dynegy for the plant because, among other things, the permit failed to regulate CO2 emissions. According to our colleagues at the Sierra Club, Friends of the Chattahoochee, and Green Law, who brought the suit to overturn the permit, "The Judge held that EPD must limit the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
from the plant, a decision that will have far-reaching implications nationwide;
this is the first time since the April 2, 2007, Supreme Court decision requiring
the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate CO2 that a court has applied
that standard to CO2 from an industrial source rather than from motor
vehicles." More details about this significant decision - which will be appealed by Dynegy - are available at GreenLaw's web site.
Meanwhile, another proposed coal plant to be located in Washington County is still in the works. From our colleagues at the Sierra Club:
Just recently, Power4Georgians, a coalition of ten Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), including Jackson EMC, have proposed to build an 850-megawatt dirty coal-fired power plant on a 1,200-acre site in Washington County.
If built, the Washington County plant would have a hazardous impact on Georgia’s water and air quality. To obtain water for the plant, the EMCs are proposing to build a 30-mile pipeline to the Oconee River. In addition, they plan to dig 16 wells throughout Washington County to draw from groundwater during periods of drought. The proposed plant will also emit smog-forming nitrogen oxides, mercury, soot-forming sulfur dioxide, and global warming pollutants such as carbon dioxide for generations to come.
The good news is that there are clean energy alternatives such as energy efficiency, wind, solar and biomass that Georgia utilities could be investing in instead of new coal and nuclear power plants. IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF AN ELECTRICITY CO-OP, YOU HAVE A VOICE IN HOW YOUR POWER IS GENERATED.
Sierra Club is working with EMC members to fight this proposal. If you are a member of Jackson EMC, or want to get involved, contact Seandra Rawls at seandra.rawls@sierraclub.org.
Green Happy Hour every 3rd Friday
Join environentally-minded friends and colleagues for an informal gathering to network and discuss local environmental issues. We meet on the 3rd Friday of every month at 5:30 pm, downtown at Littke Kings Shuffle Club, 223 W. Hancock.
Get Involved!
Join us! Grow Green members are working on a variety of land use issues: the local elections, TDRs, affordable housing, and greenspace protection, to name a few. You can download a membership form and mail it and a check for annual dues to:
Thank you!
Check out "Thinking About Getting Involved In Government And Community Issues?" by John Huie. If you haven't already joined our listserve, please sign up!
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