“nothing short of irresponsible” –Dr. Noll to Mr. Lofton

Dr. Noll responding to Mr. Lofton’s latest. -jsq
From: “Michael G. Noll”
To: “blofton@industrialauthority.com”, “Mary B. Gooding”, “Ricketts, Allan”, <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>, “Copeland, Roy”, “‘John S. Quarterman'”, “Susan R. Wehling”, Kay Harris
Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC
Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 17:55:18 +0000

Mr. Lofton.

Moving forward with a project like yours

  1. after it has been established that biomass is dirtier than coal (see the data we shared from the Georgia EPD)
  2. after it has been established by medical associations throughout the country that the hundreds of tons of pollutants your proposed plant would spewout (as identified in your own application) would result in significant health issues (increase and/or worsening of COPD, asthma, cancer, heart disease)
is nothing short of irresponsible and speaks of the lack of respect you have for the health of our community.

The fact remains that you have not been able to provide quantitative data or scientific studies that prove that biomass is “clean” or

“safe”. Repeatedly using the term “green” in your narrative does not make it so either and is by now misleading at best. Moreover, referring to “substantial documentation” on the issue of health risks associated with your project, without actually being able to share them with this group, speaks volumes on its own.

By the way, statements made by entities like the EPA and the USDA (in reference to the question of “carbon neutrality”) cannot be used to back up your claim that biomass is safe. Likewise, your toxicologist (who is neither a medical professional, nor does seem to understand the dangers of dioxin) cannot be taken seriously in his “assurances” that biomass is safe … when the ALA, the ACS, and the AHA, to name but a few, say otherwise, backed up by numerous studies.

I guess I should not be surprised that an individual who likes to use Wikipedia for doing research (a source my students are not allowed to use) would fall into the occasional mis-informational trap. Most of us have done this at some point. Eventually, though, it is time to wake up and to do some serious research … which for reasons, as of yet unknown to me, you refuse to do.

Be assured that WACE (and the multitude of members in the community who have joined us / a number that is growing steadily) will continue their work to educate our community about your misguided project, and to provide alternatives for a truly sustainable future for Valdosta and Lowndes County. Our forum on January 13 will be another step in that direction. All members of the Industrial Authority and the community at large are cordially invited to attend this forum.

Until then, I encourage you to share your documentation proving that biomass is “clean” and “safe”, or your environmental impact analysis you referred to yesterday. In this day and age, it is fairly simple to do so via email attachments (pdf, doc, etc.) or you can simply post them to your website … unless, of course, you do not have such documents, which brings us back to the beginning of this email …

Best regards, Michael G. Noll.