When, at first, we went to print the comic book, a security officer
blocked publication. So we called him and demanded a meeting. He agreed,
and we read through the comic book over coffee to address his concerns. At
the end, he granted permission to print and then asked: “Could I have
a few extra copies for my kids?”
The premise, and the promise, were brilliant in their simplicity:
Turn tree waste into fuel, help break the Middle Eastern choke hold on
America’s economy and bring hundreds of jobs to rural Georgia.
What wasn’t there to like?
Plenty, starting with the closing last month of the Range Fuels cellulosic
ethanol factory that promised to help make Georgia a national leader
in alternative energy production. Then there’s the money — more
than $162 million in local, state and federal grants, loans and other
subsidies committed to the venture.
Hm, who was involved in that?
“Range Fuels represents a new future for our country,” proclaimed
then-Gov. Sonny Perdue, flanked by dignitaries and beauty queens. “With
Georgia’s vast, sustainable and renewable forests, we will lead the
nation.”
“Georgia’s status as the nation’s Bioenergy Corridor continues to
grow with the location of a renewable energy power plant in Valdosta,”
said Governor Perdue. “Our vast supply of biomass, technology innovations
and business-friendly environment are very attractive to companies such
as Wiregrass Power.”
This LTE appeared in the VDT Sunday 13 February 2011. -jsq
Abraham Lincoln said, “The probability that we shall fail
in this struggle should not deter us from the support of a cause
that we believe is just.”
Such a cause for us is opposition to the biomass plant.
Given its support from city and county officials more concerned
about doing the bidding of the rich and powerful than they are about
the health of children, it is likely a “done deal.”
Done by those who will profit from the deal.
None of the national health organizations endorse biomass plants
as safe for children.
The American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association,
and the World Health Organization have concluded that biomass plants
pose serious threats to children.
None of the deal makers, investors, or politicians who signed off
on their deal live in the community which will most be affected by
the poisonous toxins that will fill the air.
Their children don’t attend the schools, nor do they attend any
of the seven area churches.
Meetings have been held on the biomass project.
Some by the Industrial Authority, WACE, the NAACP, and SCLC.
And not a single citizen has spoken in favor of it.
When I asked a council member about this, he said,
“They are afraid of you.”
It is not the proponents who have anything to fear.
“I came home to Valdosta in 1995, and I found just outside of these walls;
a plaque that read; the mayor and council shall make all appropriate
and necessary laws; for the control of slaves; and free men of color.
That plaque was removed reluctantly; at the urging of Mr. George Rhynes;
while the plaque; has been removed! I have discovered; that the policy
that gave birth to that plaque are still in place; and one of the policies
is the one that I told you about two weeks ago; or perhaps three weeks ago
now. That would not; and could not abide by; because it was designed only
for the purpose of controlling the citizens of this city and that I would
never be bought and I would never be bossed as a matter of conscience.
Now it was suggested; at the end of the last meeting; that some of us
come before you; ah making a grand stand; and somehow creating theater.
It was suggested that Floyd Rose just wants to be arrested. I have been
arrested before; I spent twenty-five long hours in solitary confinement
in the Lowndes County Jail; because of you; and anybody with any common
sense; would never want to go to the Lowndes County Jail to spend
any time. That is foolishness and it’s crazy!
Regular meeting of the Valdosta City Council, 20 February 2011
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Sure, everyone wants jobs for the people right now and jobs
so the children don’t have to go somewhere else to find one.
But what good is that if those jobs suck up all the water
those children need to drink?
This is the problem:
“What I believe the three most important things are,
not only for our community, and our state, and our country,
but for our country,
thats jobs number 1, jobs number 2, and jobs.”
Brad Lofton, Executive Director,
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
speaking at the
Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner,
Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 January 2011.
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
I shook Brad Lofton’s hand after that speech and told him I liked it,
because I did: in general it was a positive speech about real accomplishments.
I’ve also pointed out I had a few nits with that speech.
This one is more than a nit.
This one is basic philosophy and policy.
Now one would expect an executive director of an industrial authority
to be all about jobs.
And that would be OK, if
Continue reading →
Many “clean wood chips” burning biomass plants can easily turn to
burning more contaminated fuels (which may be cheaper or even free),
or get paid to take really dirty wastes like trash or tires. Public
opposition to biomass facilities has driven siting that follows the
“path of least resistance,” which often translates to states where
environmental regulations are lax and companies are given huge tax
incentives to build these kinds of incinerators, and investors count
on the local residents being uninformed and apathetic. Environmental
justice siting concerns often get buried in the excitement and notion
of “green energy.”
Zoning laws are often legal weapons deployed in facilitating energy apartheid.
There’s more, including a writeup about the local proposed incinerator,
starting:
Residents in Valdosta, Georgia are fighting to block a 40 megawatt biomass incinerator slated for construction on a 22-acre site in their community. The community is already overburdened with polluting industries and heavy truck traffic.
Former Lowndes County County Commissioner and former Sheriff G. Robert Carter
was honored by a variety of local dignitaries at the
annual Lake Park Chamber of Commerce (LPCoC) dinner.
Speakers included
Crawford Powell, former LPCoC chair and current County Commissioner
for District 3, Carter’s old district,
Richard Lee, former County Commissioner for District 2,
Joyce Evans, current County Commissioner for District 1,
Joe Pritchard, County Manager, and
Crawford Powell again, on
Lifting the next generation higher,
and on
a framed picture of G. Robert Carter.
Honoring G. Robert Carter, at the
Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner,
Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 January 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
LAKE also applauds G. Robert Carter for his service to the county.
Frenchie points out that there are other biomass plants
in the county, and
he even helped set one of them up.
He wonders if biomass opponents know that.
(Yes, VLCIA has mentioned it enough times.)
Video by Gretchen Quarterman
of the regular meeting of the Lowndes County Commission, 25 Jan 2011
for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
I was in Amsterdam because my documentary, Damage Done: The Drug War
Odyssey, was being screened as part of a Cannabis Tribunal. Former NYPD
detective Frank Serpico, who is in my film, travelled with me.
We were invited to speak because Damage Done is about a group of cops,
including Frank, and Canadian Senator Larry Campbell, who believe that
the War on Drugs does more harm than the drugs themselves.
We presented a copy of our film to the chief of the Amsterdam-Amstelland
Police, who told me that he became a cop because of Frank.
Now I want to say though we’ve met on what would have been my 87th birthday
may be some place of honor.
For this honor I want to thank you, and I must say to you:
unless the schools you have named for me teach children how to live
as much as how to make a living they will become little more than
battlegrounds for the frustrated individuals.
Unless the bridges that you have named for me
Georgia native son Martin Luther King continues to inspire
non-violent resistance to oppression,
now in Arabic comic book form in Egypt.
Egyptian activist Dalia Ziada obtained rights to translate
The Montgomery Story from 1958 into Arabic.
She says:
