The coalition, named Michigan Energy, Michigan Jobs, has until July 9 to gather 322,609 signatures in order to file the petition to the Secretary of State. If approved, Michigan voters will vote on the initiative in the Nov. 6 elections this year.

In 2008, a law was passed that requires 10 percent of Michigan’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2015. According to a state report, less than 4 percent of the state’s electricity currently comes from renewable sources.

The Detroit Free Press reported Michigan Energy, Michigan Jobs plans to spend more than $1 million to collect about 500,000 signatures between now and the deadline in July.

The coalition describes itself as “a bipartisan coalition of Michigan businesses, labor organizations, health care advocates and other groups” on its website.

“This proposal will help us build a clean energy industry right here in Michigan, so that Michiganders can buy Michigan energy, and we can stop exporting our money and our jobs,” according to the group’s website.

The coalition argues the amendment, which would be Section 55 of Article IV of the state’s constitution, would bring around $10 billion to the state if passed.

A mid-Michigan tie

A 30,000-acre wind turbine farm constructed and managed by Chicago-based Invenergy LLC is in the process of being built in Gratiot County outside of the Village of Breckenridge.  Once completed, it will be the largest in the state of Michigan.

Jeff Ostrander, Breckenridge village manager, said there will be 133 wind turbines in Wheeler, Bethany, Emerson and Lafayette Townships when the project is completed.

Ostrander said further expansion won’t be an option in the four townships, because the current plan will max out their power grid.

“There’s not enough capacity in the current power grid in this immediate area to tranfer the power to surrounding areas,” he said.

The Michigan Energy, Michigan Jobs initiative calls for incentives to bring green energy to Michigan, making it easier for businesses to hire local workers. It also caps yearly utility-rate increases related to the new energy standard at 1 percent in an attempt to protect consumers from larger bills.

Locally, renewable energy sources have been gaining popularity.

Union Township Zoning Administrator William Woodruff said the township uses four wind turbines to help power the township.

“The turbines account for about 10 to 15 percent of the electric energy use at the township hall,” Woodruff said.

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe also began installation of their first wind turbine last fall. The turbine supplies power for heating and air conditioning in homes across the reservation. It is a project coordinated through the tribe’s Housing and Planning Departments, Seventh Generation Cultural Center, the United States Department of Energy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The wind turbine will be located near the corners of Shepherd and Remus roads. The foundation has been poured and the project is nearing the stages of raising the bases of the tower, said Environmental Response Program Specialist Craig Graveratte.

“In 2005, I wrote a small grant for a wind turbine to power the greenhouse at 7th Generation/Elijah Elk Cultural Center,” said Sally Kniffen, environmental specialist for the tribe. “That request was taken by Beaver Pelcher to the tribe’s lobbyist, and it turned into a major earmark/grant (of) $250,000. With that money, the tribe decided the best use was to invest in a wind energy feasibility study.”

Steve Smiley, a Michigan energy economist, was hired, finished the study and proposed a comprehensive renewable energy plan and presented it to Tribal Council, Kniffen said.

Along with the wind energy grants, the tribe applied for Housing Grants and an Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant.

“The turbine itself will be about 199 feet tall. It is expected to generate between 300,000-500,000 KW per year, depending on the winds,” Graveratte said.

The cost savings of the project is between $30,000 and $50,000 per year, which will be applied to the general fund to offset energy costs, Kniffen said.

As for the wildlife issues, the threats will be very minimal, as some studies have reported more birds are killed by things like glass buildings and natural predators like cats, Graveratte said. They will take on the issue through a case-by-case basis and evaluate it at that time.

“This project is a good project; we have learned a lot,” Kniffen said. “Unfortunately, it has not been an easy road to energy sovereignty. Renewable energy is the future, and it will be a big achievement for the tribe to move in this direction.”

The wind turbine is scheduled to be completed this summer, but there is no exact date set.

According to previously published reports, the solar panels would require less steam from the Power House and help the absorption chiller with heating and cooling the air and water.

“Since the EHS Building was already lead-certified and we had to get them installed, this building was our first choice,” said Director of Energy Optimization Mike Walton.

Walton said there are other ongoing projects on campus, including lighting upgrades and demand control ventilation. The upgrades in lighting started a year ago in Grawn Hall and are now making way across campus to other buildings.

“These were solar thermal panels that CMU already had,” he said.

The panels were originally intended for the Student Activity Center to heat the swimming pools and other domesticated water. The decision to move the panels was made to concentrate green initiatives for one building.

CMU received a green award from the American School University for efforts toward becoming a more environmentally-friendly campus.

Former CMU President Mike Rao founded the Great Lakes Institute for Sustainable Systems in 2008; since then, over 14 projects were completed with others in the works for the future.

The list is constantly growing, said Director of the Institute for Sustainable Systems Tom Rohrer.

“Some of the things we were directed to do (in 2008) were to take a look at energy conservation measures and all alternative possibilities,” Rohrer said. “We first had to put together a committee on campus that took a comprehensive inventory of CMU’s costs related to energy, and then created a plan.”

Moore Hall is the test-run for  lighting sensors, Rohrer said. The sensors are motion-controlled and turn off lights if they detect no movement in a room for a set amount of time.

If they are successful, there is a proposal to install them everywhere on campus.

Despite concerns from Michigan residents about the climate’s effect on the feasibility of alternative energy systems, Rohrer has no doubt in his mind about efficiency initiatives at CMU.

“People can talk negatively — the weather is too cold, dark and there is not enough wind — but latent heat for solar panels is still very viable,” Rohrer said.

An updated list of projects can be found by contacting Rohrer in his office in Anspach 106. Each project on the list shows the cost of completion and the annual savings. The list also explains how the majority of the projects will pay for themselves within a few years, as well as show continued savings for the future, he said.

There are many perspectives on how to implement green technology in the midst of a recession, said Director of Environmental Studies and panelist Thomas Rohrer.

“This is the time that we have the opportunity to re-invent our energy,” Rohrer said.

The leader in the 21st century will be the green energy leader, he said.

Fellow panelist and assistant political science professor Thomas Stewart said a healthy economy is dependent on a healthy environment.

“History is just replete with examples of the environment crashing and the economy crashing around it,” he said.

One of the largest employers in Michigan, and one of the few still hiring, is the Hemlock Semiconductor plant, Stewart said. Part of the plant works to manufacture solar power generating applications, and Stewart cited it as an example of what green energy can do for the economy.

Saline sophomore and panelist David Fraser said that wind and solar plant employment is greater than coal plant employment.
“Looking to be more sustainable can actually improve the economy,” he said.

Panelist and Grand Rapids senior Jack Buck said he was concerned with this approach and how it paralleled earlier economic approaches. He was concerned this was placing all of the investments in one area and, like when all of Michigan’s economy was in car production, there was potential for failure.

“Whose to say five to 10 years from now they won’t send those jobs overseas like they did with every other job in America?” he said.
In addition to the job concerns, some people are concerned about green energy living up to its claims.

One example is green cars, which still require energy to manufacture and leave toxic batteries to dispose of, said panelist and Battle Creek junior Travis Faber. He asked his fellow students to realize the immediate limitations of green energy.

“Without coal and oil and stuff right now, you cannot convert over our energy,” he said.

Such read a 2006 billboard advertisement for a new car, whose apparent purpose was to undermine American ingenuity. The ad, which appeared in South Africa, has since been removed, but its taunting message remains: the world no longer needs America.

What is the appropriate response to such a provocation? I think Thomas L. Friedman, a New York Times columnist, said it best during his recent speech in Grand Rapids.

“That billboard pisses me off,” he said.

Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, spoke mostly about energy during his address to the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan. But his message went well beyond his plea for a “Green Revolution.”
It was about American pride.

According to Friedman, and also Dr. Benjamin Carson, a world-renowned neurosurgeon who spoke on campus recently, America is quickly falling behind other countries in critical areas.

On the energy/climate change front, Friedman points out that the Chinese are enforcing stricter efficiency standards and furthering investment in alternative energy. Meanwhile, according to Carson, America’s youth is getting lapped by other countries in math and science, subjects that drive innovation.

As Friedman put it, “We need to get back to work on our country and our planet.”

For Friedman, this involves an E.T. — energy technology — revolution in America. To lead this revolution, and lessen our dependence on oil, he calls for a $1 per gallon gas tax, among other measures.

This would end the easy, minor steps being taken to reduce climate change, what he calls the “Green Party.” It would begin the “Green Revolution,” a complete shift in the energy market that will propel America’s future.

Friedman’s main cause, and the topic of his last book, “Hot, Flat and Crowded,” is energy innovation.

But speaking more broadly, what will it take to awaken Americans?

As a college student, I love the optimism of a university campus. It is a symbol of America’s potential and may be the determining factor of its future.

But here, too, there is somewhat of a “party.” It’s easy to get captivated with minor accomplishments (I got a B on my ecology midterm!) while missing the big picture (America is losing the fight against global warming).
It will take more than a party to preserve this country’s future.

But then again, I’m not ready for the “American nothing” age, either.