I don't care where you're from...I'm asking, begging that you sign this petition:
http://action.sierraclub.org/...
Especially if you happen to be in Michigan, SIGN this petition:
http://action.sierraclub.org/...
If you're in favor of a world with less coal and more renewable energy, sign this petition:
http://action.sierraclub.org/...
If you're in favor of the green manufacturing industry, sign this petition:
http://action.sierraclub.org/...
They're all the same petition.
This here petition - http://action.sierraclub.org/... - is a petition to ask Rick Snyder to get a move on with Michigan's offshore wind power regulatory framework. If you know how HUGE the Lakes are, and are aware of how much wind is out there, and if you realize that Michigan is entirely surrounded by Great Lakes, then you know how critical this issue is to the future of offshore wind power in the US.
MICHIGAN has the LONGEST coastline in the continental United States. The only other state in the union that has more coastline than Michigan is ALASKA.
That is why offshore wind power moving forward in Michigan is so HUGELY critical.
And that is why I NEED you to sign this petition and demand that Rick Snyder get moving on Michigan's offshore wind power regulatory framework.
Michigan needs jobs and clean energy, and offshore wind in the Great Lakes offers us a tremendous opportunity to create both, building our clean energy economy.
The first step for offshore wind is creating a regulatory framework. We need a process in place to evaluate projects and take all issues into consideration. With a good regulatory framework we can be assured that we’re developing this great resource responsibly.
Tell Governor Snyder to stop holding Michigan back from a clean energy economy. Ask him to move forward with developing an appropriate offshore wind regulatory framework now!
I called Kaydon Bearings in Muskegon today.
Kaydon Bearings is a block and a half away from where I went to elementary school: Lincoln Park Elementary. It's a building I pass on the way to the grocery store, or the candy store, or the lake...I pass it weekly.
"Hello, Kaydon Bearings..."
"Hi! I heard you guys make ball bearings for wind turbines."
"Yes sir, that is true."
"Do you make them for the big ones?"
"I don't know for sure, let me transfer you to one of our engineers who works in that department....*beeep beeep....beeep beeep* Hello, Kaydon Bearings, * speaking."
"Hello *, is it true your company makes ball bearings for wind turbines?"
"Yes it is."
"What size of turbines?"
"I dunno...3 to 5 MW....those huge ones."
"Cool...where do you send your bearings?"
"Where? Worldwide. We send them EVERYWHERE."
Kaydon Bearings in Muskegon Michigan, a block and a half from where I went to elementary school, and just off the road from my route to the grocery store makes WIND TURBINE BALL BEARINGS, shippped ALL OVER THE WORLD.
DO NOT TELL ME that there are NO JOBS associated with wind power. DO NOT TELL ME that a stronger industry won't be FANTASTIC for this old rust belt town. There are thousands of little machine shops all around this state...tens of thousands all around the country that are ready and able to start manufacturing parts for offshore and onshore wind turbines.
But we NEED to nurture this industry. We NEED to give it certainty. And a legislative framework in the state with more coastline than any other state in the Continental US is a GOOD place to start.
SIGN the PETITION! And then PASS IT ON!
http://action.sierraclub.org/...