You can
hear him say he hopes I record it.
This is what VLCIA considers “proof”: reciting a list of “authorities”
without addressing the specific criticisms or directly debating critics.
He still hasn’t produced
the citations to scientific literature
he’s been repeatedly asked for regarding health care,
nor has he produced the wood sourcing study.
You can hear Lofton recite much the same laundry list in Continue reading
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
In these two videos, Col. Ricketts responds to materials sent to VLCIA
by WACE.
He dismisses certain material as being
from Massachusetts
or being from
“folks come into the community.”
That’s rather rich, since as near as I can tell,
all of VLCIA’s “expert” panelists at their
6 Dec 2010 event
were from not from around here.
Some were from states a thousand miles from here.
Maybe somebody can transcribe
Brad Lofton’s enumeration of those “experts” from the board meeting,
since as near as I can tell VLCIA has provided no written list of them.
And of course Sterling Planet is located in Atlanta, not Lowndes County.
In the first video, Col. Ricketts says he’s responding to WACE materials: Continue reading
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:19:00 +0000Good morning everyone.
As a scientist and President of WACE it is my duty to point out that, more than three weeks after their latest panel, Mr. Lofton and the Industrial Authority have, yet again, not been able to share conclusive evidence with the community that biomass is safe. At the same time, WACE has time and again provided scientific studies and statements made by medical organizations that prove that biomass incineration bears significant health risks for our community.
Evidence provided by the pro-biomass panelists on December 6 (none of whom were medical professionals or represented a medical organization) was at best circumstantial, as can be expected from such a one-sided panel. Moreover, neither Dr. Teaf nor any of the other panelists have given us any evidence since then that biomass is safe, as their presentations lacked any sources or links to check the validity of their statements (see attached presentation from Dr. Teaf as an example). In other words, their “assurances” too that biomass is “safe”, like those repeatedly made by the Industrial Authority, remain empty words. The time for playing semantics and simply “assuring” our community that biomass is safe, without providing scientific studies to back up such claims, is over.
(The same pattern of mis-information can be observed in regard to claims that the biomass project is supported by groups like the Sierra Club, that biomass incineration is carbon neutral, or that biomass is economically speaking a safe investment. WACE will address these too on January 13.)
With best regards and wishes for a Healthy New Year,
Michael G. Noll, President
Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy
From: “Susan R. Wehling”
To: “Michael G. Noll”, “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: Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:47:28 +0000thanks Michael-we won’t stop until the incinerator goes. Sad that our reps, good people like Roy and Mary, continue to go along with this.
Susan
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 21:37:05 +0000Mr. Lofton.
If there is one thing I am passionate about, it is the health and well-being of my community. You do not seem to share that passion. Since you seem to be passionate about keeping files, why don’t you finally share your documents with us that prove that biomass is safe. While we are at it, the environmental impact analysis you keep referring to would also be useful.
In the mean time, WACE will keep you and the community up-to-date in regard to newly canceled biomass plants, shut down biomass plants, and biomass moratoriums … and all due to a combination of economic and environmental issues and the well established health risks.
Best regards, Michael G. Noll.
A week after Brad Lofton failed to produce evidence and offered
to file Dr. Noll’s correspondence “in the appropriate file”,
VLCIA has still not published the videos or slides from their
6 Dec 2010 event at the Rainwater Conference Center.
However, Brad Lofton and Col. Ricketts summarized that event for the VLCIA board at their recent board meeting, and they never presented any actual evidence there, either.
Brad Lofton said his toxicologist says the biomass plant in “no way shape or form” will cause health problems. Then he rattled off a long list of supporters of a Gainesville biomass plant. The rest of this post has videos of what he and Col. Ricketts said, plus screenshots of each of Dr. Teaf’s slides: see if you can find the details. Continue reading
From: “blofton@industrialauthority.com” <blofton@industrialauthority.com>,
To: “Michael G. Noll”, “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 14:01:51 -0500Dr. Noll-
Please feel free to continue sending e-mails, and we will make sure they get in the appropriate file. We appreciate your passion for one of our projects. As I mentioned yesterday, we’re enthusiastically moving forward at this time, and we will be breaking ground in the Spring.
Thanks,
BL
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone
From: “Michael G. Noll”Continue reading
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 +0000Mr. Lofton.
Moving forward with a project like yours
is nothing short of irresponsible and speaks of the lack of respect you have for the health of our community.
- after it has been established that biomass is dirtier than coal (see the data we shared from the Georgia EPD)
- 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)
The fact remains that you have not been able to provide quantitative data or scientific studies that prove that biomass is “clean” or
To: “Michael G. Noll”, “Mary B. Gooding”, “Ricketts, Allan” <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>, “Copeland, Roy”, “‘John S. Quarterman'”, “Susan R. Wehling”, Kay Harris
From: “blofton@industrialauthority.com” <blofton@industrialauthority.com>,
Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:08:10 -0500Dr. Noll,
Please refer to my previous e-mail re our position and the ample community awareness, substantial documentation, state, federal, local and environmental support we are proud to enjoy. We’re moving forward now, and we are looking forward to the ground breaking which will be Spring of 2011.
Regards,
BL
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone