Category Archives: SAVE

The right of students to breathe clean air –Erin Hurley of SAVE @ VCC 24 March 2011

Erin Hurley provided the very model of how to give a speech:



I’m the president of

Students Against Violating the Environment at VSU.
I’m here representing
200+ members of SAVE, that consists of students, faculty, community members.
We are deeply concerned with environmental issues and
we are networking together to make this city a more humane and
sustainable community
for future generations.

As a student, I feel I have the right to be able to breathe clean air
at the college I attend.
With this biomass plant possibly being built here,
the future for generations to come are in jeopardy, and we want to protect our fellow and future students’ health.

Please take into consideration the future health of this university
and its community,
and don’t sell grey water to the proposed biomass plant.

Here’s

the video:




Erin Hurley, President of
SAVE, Students Against Violating the Environment, speaking at

Regular meeting of the Valdosta City Council, 24 March 2011,

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

She said who she was, who she represented, how many, what they were for, what they wanted, quickly enough that attention didn’t waver, slowly and loudly enough to be heard, and briefly enough to transcribe, with pathos, logic, and politic. Even the mayor looked up at “As a student….”

-jsq

“So, why should you care?” –Erin Hurley

The VDT isn’t the only newspaper in town.
This LTE appeared in the VSU newspaper,

the Spectator, yesterday, 3 March 2011.
And the Spectator even puts LTEs online.
-jsq



SAVE says Biomass spells bad news for Valdosta and VSU

By: Erin Hurley

How many of y’all have heard of the Biomass Plant that has been proposed
for Valdosta? Many of ya’ll probably don’t know what Biomass is;
I know I didn’t until about two years ago when this project first
started. The Biomass plant is an incinerator that will burn sewage,
sludge and tree “debris” in order to create energy. What’s the
big deal, right?

Continue reading →

“An error was made” –Luana Goodwin

This LTE appeared in the VTD 23 Jan 2011. -jsq

I wonder if there is any way for the Industrial Authority, County Commission
and City Council to now do the right thing for Lowndes County.
How can they save face?

Reading the scientific data makes it clear that an error was made,
and clearly this data wasn’t made available to those who have been
charged with finding appropriate industry for us,
industry that will raise the quality of life for the citizens of Lowndes County
by providing good jobs.
They can be excused for an industry that provides only a few jobs.
Jobs are jobs, after all. But how can we help them apologize to all
of us and thank those citizens who have spent so many hours
of their own time gathering information and providing a forum to educate us?
I wish it were possible.

Luana Goodwin

Valdosta

LAKE visits Blazer Gardens at VSU



Students growing local food on the roof at VSU?
A local chef cooking it for fresh student meals?
LAKE had to see this, so Bobbi Anne Hancock showed us where
Blazer Gardens will be, on top of the Hugh C. Bailey Science Center.

Greenhouse A will have squash, peppers, and tomatoes, and already has

some citrus growing in it; jsq gets a taste:

It all starts with

composting.
Bobbi and Erin Hurley of SAVE

help raise awareness about clean local foods.

Bobbi and Jim Parker

discuss how it’s good for you and tastes good, too!

Continue reading →

Brad Lofton’s memory fails him again



On 28 Dec 2010

Brad Lofton wrote:

No one but WACE has made any claims about our efforts to substantiate
this project.

Who are all these people, then,

asking questions at the VLCIA’s 6 Dec 2010 event?

For example,

this one, following up about the Environmental Impact Study
he requested back at the EPD air quality hearing

(see video of that event).
He didn’t get an answer then,
and at VLCIA’s 6 Dec event he still only got allusions to studies and standards
that were not produced.

You can see Brad Lofton in that video, listening.
Did he forget so quickly?

What about
SAVE’s event at VSU at which Dr. Sammons spoke?
What about the well-attended Biomass Town Hall that
Pastor Angela Manning organized?
And other events.

What about my question at the 6 Dec 2010 VLCIA board meeting?

Continue reading →

“Your determination to sell our community your biomass project” –Dr. Noll to Brad Lofton

First of a series. -jsq

From: “Michael G. Noll”

To: Brad Lofton <blofton@industrialauthority.com>, “John S. Quarterman,
Allan Ricketts, <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>

CC: “Susan R. Wehling”, “Mary B. Gooding”, Roy Copeland, Kay Harris

Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:46:25 +0000

Hello Mr. Lofton.

I can certainly admire your determination to sell our community your
biomass project as “green” or “safe”. However, as WACE already pointed
out, there is a difference between fiction and fact (see my guest
column in the VDT on December 12, 2010).

In the last couple months, WACE has provided the Industrial Authority
and the community with a plethora of scientific literature and
statements made by medical organizations that unequivocally state that
biomass is neither “green” nor “safe”. At the same time, neither you
nor Mr. Ricketts have been able to provide up-to-date scientific proof
to us to challenge the position that biomass is, in fact, dirtier than
coal and bears significant health risks.

Anyone who cares enough for the community he or she lives in, must
understand the responsibility to provide such proof. I have
difficulties to imagine that you or Mr. Ricketts do not share such a
sentiment, despite the disagreements we might have.
Let’s cut to the chase in regard to your panel of experts:

Continue reading →

Video of Dr. Sammons’ talk at VSU



Here is

a video of most of Dr. William Sammons’ presentation
at the

SAVE Biomass Forum at VSU.
His slides from that talk
are available on the LAKE web pages, so you can follow along.

Instead of dirty biomass we could have clean efficiency and conservation (retrofitting produces twice as many jobs as biomass)
and solar power, which is booming nationwide,
burns no trees, and emits no pollutants.

You can also contact your
local elected or appointed officials.

-jsq

Why is the VDT suddenly anti-biomass and pro-solar?

What has caused the VDT to decide to look into the matter?
Johnna Pinholser acknowledges that it was Growing oposition of proposed biomass energy plant:



A growing organization of concerned citizens are opposing the building
of a biomass energy plant in Lowndes County.

Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy hope to promote clean and sustainable
energies while also educating the public on how a biomass plant could
be detrimental to community health.



The goal of the organization and the opposition to the plant is not to
inhibit economic development but to promote a conversation on sustainable
energy, Dr. Michael Noll, WACE president, said.

The new organization is not the only one in the community speaking out
against the biomass plant.

Continue reading →

“Proposed plant said to be ‘medical atrocity'”



Johnna Pinholster writes in the
the Valdosta Daily Times (paper 25 Oct,

online 27 Oct 2010)
about the

the SAVE Biomass Forum at VSU:

A medical atrocity.

That is the phrase Dr. William Sammons used to described biomass energy
plants at Monday night’s biomass forum at Valdosta State University’s
Student Union theater.

Dr. Sammons answered many of the unanswered concerns about the biomass
incinerator, and,

unlike the lack of peer-reviewed evidence from the plant proponents:

Continue reading →

Bigger Hall: SAVE Biomass Forum at VSU



Due to popular demand, the SAVE Biomass Forum has moved to a larger hall,
the Student Union Theater.
That’s on the east side of North Oak Street, across from Baytree Road.

It’s still Monday, 25 October 2010 from 7 to 9 PM,
organized by Students Against Violating the Environment (SAVE)
at Valdosta State University (VSU).
The featured speaker is Dr. William Sammons, a pediatrician who
has spoken nationally on the subject.
Forum flyer
PDF
is available.
See
SAVE’s facebook event page for any updates.

Continue reading →