Every year 24,000 people die prematurely because of pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Every year 38,000 heart attacks occur because of pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Every year 12,000 hospital admissions and 550,000 people suffering asthma attacks result from power plant pollution.

Every year, coal-fired power plants release 48 tons of mercury nationwide.

Power plants release over 40% of total U.S. C02 emissions, a primary contributor to global warming...

...and yet the coal industry wants you to believe that building more coal fired power plants in Michigan is a good idea!

...and now utilities want to burn (as biomass) our trees that capture and store harmful carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we need to live

Biomass and Wood Waste May be Dirtier than Coal and Much Worse Than Natural Gas

Comparison of three Relevant Air Emissions: Fossil fuels to wood burning biomass and “construction and demolition debris”

Comparison to coal (% above coal emissions)=[biomass level-coal level]/[coal level]

Comparison to natural gas (% above NG)= [biomass level-NG level]/[NG level]

N.B. All the numbers were taken from proposals or environmental statements from the power producers. All the numbers reflect use of pollution controls.

While I understand that this is a limited model, it does indicate that emission comparison need to be considered if our goal is to reduce greenhouse gases.

Natural gas (by the numbers) seems to be the most intelligent choice for a bridge fuel. We still need to find baseload energy that does not involve environmental degradation and a high level of risk to living things.

Coal the Biomass need to be taken off the table, or at least limited, as both are unsafe for humans.

Diesel Pollution: Threatening Health, Jobs in Michigan

Anyone whose ever been stuck behind a dump truck or biomass truck knows the black exhaust pouring out of diesel-powered vehicles is unpleasant, to say the least. What they, and you, might not know is what's in the exhaust and how it affects us. The black exhaust pouring out of diesel vehicles chips away at our health, putting Michiganders at an increased risk of heart attacks, lung cancer, and asthma. Diesel pollution is a silent killer.

In Michigan alone, it is annually estimated to cause the early deaths of 443 people, more than 15,000 asthma attacks, 648 non-fatal heart attacks, and over 57,000 lost work days. Further, diesel emissions have been shown to have 7 times the lifetime cancer risk than that posed by all the other 181 hazardous air pollutants combined.

The black carbon from diesel pollution is also a major contributor to global warming. In fact, black carbon is 2,000 times more potent as a greenhouse gas pollutant than the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide.

http://www.cleanwateraction.org/MI