by Audrey M.
Air quality has increasingly become a source of concern across the nation and throughout the world. From rising hospital bills to extreme weather, air pollution is plaguing regions once immune from such a plight. The culprit of these environmental and economic issues, coal-burning power plants, are responsible for one-third of U.S. carbon emissions, yet these plants continue to exist and assault our quality of life (“Beyond Coal” 2013). One reason these violations continue may be due to the fact that climate change has yet to be taken seriously by policy makers and the public alike. However, as the research mounts, and as the truth about the health and ecological effects of coal burning spreads, this can and will change.
Although the state of Michigan, as well as the entire nation, is at risk for coal-burning health concerns such as premature death, asthma, heart attack, and lung cancer, to name a few, several Michigan counties are at greater risk than others. According to a study conducted by the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program, sixteen Lower Peninsula counties are considered serious “areas of concern” ("Counties with Dangerous Air Quality" 2013). These concerns are decided by the levels of mercury, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrochloric acids, and sulfuric acids found in the air. Of these sixteen counties, only one has been rewarded for being a double threat; the small town of St. Clair (not to be confused with St. Clair Shores) has not one, but two coal-burning DTE Energy plants. The Detroit Edison Co. Public Power Agency and the Detroit Edison Co. are located within two miles from one another. Worsening the air quality situation is St. Clair’s proximity to the aptly nicknamed Chemical Valley, which lies on the United States and Canadian border. Here, lies 40% of Canada’s entire industry, where everything from cosmetics, to fertilizers, to pesticides, and plastics are manufactured. Not surprisingly, St. Clair has repeatedly topped the nation’s list of highest cancer rates, often stealing the number one spot! Furthermore, this rural county has recently become the bed of research regarding Wilms Tumors. On average, only five hundred cases of this rare disease are documented annually, making all the more alarming the fact that a total of eight children in the last seven years alone have developed this cancer, all of whom live within five miles of the two DTE Energy plants. Despite the fact that the Clean Air Act, designed to limit carbon pollution, was developed in 2007 and signed in 2012, the two DTE plants continue to wreak havoc on the quality of life for the community of St. Clair; so much so that the Sierra Club is suing four Michigan DTE plants (two of which are the St. Clair plants mentioned previously) for 1,400 violations of the Clean Air Act (Sands 2013).
The DTE Energy plants are integral parts of the St. Clair community. Most who live there can reference at least one friend employed by “the Edison,” making the air pollution issue even more complicated. Lying on the edge of the St. Clair River, much of the economy depends on the marine activity: freighters coming in and out of the harbor, loading and unloading mounds of coal. In other words, the coal industry is a source of pride for many who live here. But, the effects of the Edison are felt by many. Some even recall the period preceding the 1953 development of the plant, when one could walk along the frozen river, all the way to Canada to see the two-mile stretch decorated with Christmas trees. Since the emergence of the Edison however, the temperature of the water has raised to such a degree that it no longer ices over. Other locals have pointed out that in one particular area of the river, down river from the plant, many animals seem to congregate during the winter months due to the exceptionally toasty water temperature. This is only the surface of what is intended to be unearthed regarding the particular ecological effects of the DTE Energy plants. With high mercury levels in the St. Clair area, one can imagine the havoc this is wracking on the marine life ingesting these toxins. In sum, I intend to investigate the environmental effects the DTE Energy plants have facilitated. I plan to trace the damage done to the marine and animal life, the topography, the ecology, and the health of St. Clair’s citizens.
References
Although the state of Michigan, as well as the entire nation, is at risk for coal-burning health concerns such as premature death, asthma, heart attack, and lung cancer, to name a few, several Michigan counties are at greater risk than others. According to a study conducted by the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program, sixteen Lower Peninsula counties are considered serious “areas of concern” ("Counties with Dangerous Air Quality" 2013). These concerns are decided by the levels of mercury, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrochloric acids, and sulfuric acids found in the air. Of these sixteen counties, only one has been rewarded for being a double threat; the small town of St. Clair (not to be confused with St. Clair Shores) has not one, but two coal-burning DTE Energy plants. The Detroit Edison Co. Public Power Agency and the Detroit Edison Co. are located within two miles from one another. Worsening the air quality situation is St. Clair’s proximity to the aptly nicknamed Chemical Valley, which lies on the United States and Canadian border. Here, lies 40% of Canada’s entire industry, where everything from cosmetics, to fertilizers, to pesticides, and plastics are manufactured. Not surprisingly, St. Clair has repeatedly topped the nation’s list of highest cancer rates, often stealing the number one spot! Furthermore, this rural county has recently become the bed of research regarding Wilms Tumors. On average, only five hundred cases of this rare disease are documented annually, making all the more alarming the fact that a total of eight children in the last seven years alone have developed this cancer, all of whom live within five miles of the two DTE Energy plants. Despite the fact that the Clean Air Act, designed to limit carbon pollution, was developed in 2007 and signed in 2012, the two DTE plants continue to wreak havoc on the quality of life for the community of St. Clair; so much so that the Sierra Club is suing four Michigan DTE plants (two of which are the St. Clair plants mentioned previously) for 1,400 violations of the Clean Air Act (Sands 2013).
The DTE Energy plants are integral parts of the St. Clair community. Most who live there can reference at least one friend employed by “the Edison,” making the air pollution issue even more complicated. Lying on the edge of the St. Clair River, much of the economy depends on the marine activity: freighters coming in and out of the harbor, loading and unloading mounds of coal. In other words, the coal industry is a source of pride for many who live here. But, the effects of the Edison are felt by many. Some even recall the period preceding the 1953 development of the plant, when one could walk along the frozen river, all the way to Canada to see the two-mile stretch decorated with Christmas trees. Since the emergence of the Edison however, the temperature of the water has raised to such a degree that it no longer ices over. Other locals have pointed out that in one particular area of the river, down river from the plant, many animals seem to congregate during the winter months due to the exceptionally toasty water temperature. This is only the surface of what is intended to be unearthed regarding the particular ecological effects of the DTE Energy plants. With high mercury levels in the St. Clair area, one can imagine the havoc this is wracking on the marine life ingesting these toxins. In sum, I intend to investigate the environmental effects the DTE Energy plants have facilitated. I plan to trace the damage done to the marine and animal life, the topography, the ecology, and the health of St. Clair’s citizens.
References
- Sands, David. "Michigan Air Pollution Lawsuit Filed By Sierra Club Alleges DTE Energy Violated Clean Air Act." Huffington Post, March 12, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/12/michigan-air-pollution-lawsuit-dte_n_2860760.html (accessed February 11, 2014).
- Sierra Club, "Beyond Coal." Last modified 2013. Accessed February 10, 2014. http://content.sierraclub.org/coal/burning-carbon-pollution-and-climate-disruption.
- Sierra Club, "Counties with Dangerous Air Quality." Last modified 2013. Accessed February 12, 2014. http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=stoppolluters_asthma_map.
- Williams, Rebecca. Michigan Radio News for Michigan NPR Network, "Investigating rare childhood cancer cluster in Michigan (Part 3)." Last modified March 07, 2012. Accessed February 09, 2014.