Obama For America's Natives? - 'Clean Energy' Viable Source For Navajo Nation
Is Obama The Choice For Native Americans?
Submitted by Kimberly Lyman reporting from Indigenous Space
(Super Tuesday has passed but this is a good read for politically savvy Native Americans who are thirsting for election news!!! If anyone has positive posts or articles pertaining to the election and its candidates, please submit to bobbieo@digitaldune.net but PLEASE, no rants or negative contributions.
P.S. -I still have not made up my mind, yet - B)
US Senator Barack Obama is the choice of the Native American Times to become the next president of the United States. This choice made before the all important super Tuesday election to get as many Native Americans to the polls as possible to push Obama to victory. This is not an anti-Hillary vote but a decision based on what is best for Native Americans.
Alaska will be caucusing; Colorado with the Ute Nation and large Native urban populations will have a primary; the Nez Perce will be voting in the all Democratic caucuses; The Kickapoo, and Prairie Band Potawatomi will be voting in the Kansas Caucuses; The Dakota and Ojibwa people will be voting in Minnesota’s Primaries; Republican Crows, Northern Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Cree and others will be voting in Montana’s caucuses; the Pueblos, Navajos, and Apaches will be voting in New Mexico Primaries; the Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga and other tribes will voting in New York’s primaries; In North Dakota the three Affiliated tribes, Devil’s Lake Sioux, Standing Rock Sioux and Turtle Mountain Chippewa will be voting in their caucuses; Oklahoma with their over 300, 000 Indians and over 30 federally recognized tribes will be heading to the polls for their primary; in Utah the Navajo, Ute’s, Shoshone, Paiutes and Goshute tribes will vote in their primaries. Over 1 million Indianswill be voting on Super Tuesday and they can have a deciding say in who is the next president of the United States. And one man seems to know and care about that fact.
Obama has started to aggressively reach out to Native Americans in word and deed. In his words he has put together a policy which truly addresses Native problems. In his deeds he has actually gone to Indian reservations to seek our votes. He is also the co-sponsor of the all important Indian Health Care Improvement Act. And he continues to seek the Native vote.
As he explains it, he says he understands to be treated differently and unfairly. Part of the change he proposes is one of justice and equality. He is also proposing sweeping changes in health care for Native Americans that include mental health. While the economy is the driving issue on the national stage its ‘Health Stupid, ’ in Indian Country. People are dying too soon, babies are not making it to adulthood, and diabetes is robbing our way of life in ways never imagined. It’s hard to worry about the paycheck when you are too sick to go anyway.
According to his advisors on Indian issues, he will address the nagging problem of criminal jurisdiction on Indian land. From runaway meth use to domestic violence to murder the problems on Indian land should be the providence of Indian governments where they are able. It is a significant distinction because it is clear some in the federal government doesn’t believe Indian governments are legitimate or evolved enough to handle a more expansive role in criminal jurisdiction. It is part of the change this campaign has represented.
Sen. Hillary Clinton is a force of nature and has been a voice for justice in her deliberations. She has become a polarizing figure in national politics and the republican party is licking its chops to get a shot at her. She also represents the past. And while I believe she is worthy of National office she is not the best choice.
Perhaps more than anything, Obama inspires us to want and dream of more. Indian Country has been waiting for someone like Barack for a long time. Now is the time for positive change and now is the time to vote Barack Obama on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 for President of the United States. Native Americans can make history next week if we all pull together and get behind the man who actually wants our vote.--------------------
Clean Energy For Navajos
By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK - Investing in renewable energy development and energy efficiency could provide more jobs and economic benefits for the Navajo Nation than building the proposed Desert Rock Energy Project, according to an economic analysis released by Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment.
The 168-page report, prepared in consultation with Ecos Consulting of Durango, compares ?clean energy? alternatives such as solar and wind power to the proposed 1,500 megawatt plant to be built near Farmington by Sithe Global Power LLC and Diné Power Authority.
Coal Plant impacts
The report assesses economic factors such as short- and long-term employment, financial risks, environmental and health impacts, potential costs of carbon pollution, and profitability for the tribe.
"As far as solar and wind technology, the Navajo Nation has the potential and has the resources to make these projects viable,” Dailan Long of Diné Care said earlier this week. ”The Navajo Nation could be a leader in renewable energy development, so this is what we?re pushing. Our job is to make this happen."
Long said the alternative report is a ?descriptive road map? for companies to look into and see how they can develop their projects on the Navajo Nation, ?and it?s a chance for us to really sit down with the tribal council members and our Navajo representatives and say, ”Let?s talk about this.”
”We’re saying no to Desert Rock, but we're also saying yes to something else.”
Sithe media liaison Frank Maisano of Bracewell & Giuliani said Thursday there's no doubt that renewables are going to play an important role in developing a diverse fuel mix for the region.
"They will play a huge role and they can be a significant revenue source, they can be a significant job source, and they can be a significant power source. But renewables alone cannot carry the load that is intended for out there.
"Secondly, to deny the fact that the Navajo sit on 200 years of coal and to not use that to the benefit of the Navajo people is another significant reason why the Navajos need to do a coal plant as well as renewable projects,” Maisano said. ”It’s not one or the other. It’s a matter of the right mix of both.”
He said Sithe is building two solar projects in Nevada as well as the coal-fired Toquop plant. “These are part and parcel of having diverse options. It’s not about blocking one. It’s about having the ability and diversity to do each of these and take full advantage of the opportunities that are presented.”
Maisano said that while renewables can generate a significant revenue stream, ?I think it?s probably wildly optimistic to think that they can do as much right now as affordably as coal.?
Job Report
Diné CARE’s Jan. 12 report, “Energy and Economic Alternatives to the Desert Rock Energy Project,? unveiled last week during Environmental Justice Day in Santa Fe, found that developing clean energy would create 80 percent more construction jobs and five times as many long-term operation and maintenance jobs compared to employment figures for Desert Rock.”
The report further determined that clean energy would provide greater indirect job creation and economic multipliers within the regional economy.
"Wind, solar and energy-efficiency technologies, which are cost-effective, reliable and available, would provide greater Navajo economic development and lower cost electricity than Desert Rock, with fewer negative consequences and more sustainable benefits,’ said Ecos Chris Caldwell, co-author of the report.
"Burning coal to produce electricity is not even the best, let alone the only form of economic development for the Navajo Nation,” he said.
The proposal from Sithe, DPA, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to build the Desert Rock plant ?has been insufficiently examined as a possible economic development option, the report says, in that it does not give sufficient considerations to alternatives to mining and burning coal.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement devoted approximately two of its 1,500 pages to an analysis of alternative sources of energy and
determined that their use would not meet the purpose and need for the project or were otherwise not feasible.
The interior Southwest “made up of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Nevada “ is home to 33 existing coal plants that produce approximately 319,000 gigawatt hours of electricity and 400 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Another 19 plants have been proposed.
The Draft EIS for Desert Rock does not discuss the cumulative environmental impacts that would result from some, most, or all of these projects being approved, the report says.
"As a result, individual EIS documents for each project could assert that their individual contribution to air quality and climate change problems is modest by itself, and the federal government could choose to approve many or all of them.
"Only later would it become apparent that their total energy production greatly exceeds the regional need for new power, their total emissions cause major portions of the Southwest to drop out of compliance with air quality regulations, and that their total CO2 emissions would make compliance with individual state and regional climate stabilization targets impossible,” the report states.
It recommends the Draft EIS be revised to assess cumulative impacts of the current coal plant proposals on the drawing board. Those include two plants each in Arizona and New Mexico, six each in Colorado and Nevada, and three in Utah.
In terms of CO2 emissions, the proposed 13,017 megawatt capacity of the 19 plants would be equivalent to putting 16 million new cars on the road.
Maisano said the Desert Rock permit “is the strictest permit ever for a coal-fired power plant. We have gone beyond what the permit will present,” by agreeing to additional reductions in mercury and a 110 percent sulfur reduction.
TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
'MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR HYPOCRISY' By Joe Perez
http://www.mtwsfh.blogspot.com
NATIVE ISSUES BLOG
Professor Robert J. Miller
http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/
AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org
FOR ANNIE'S NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com
CATCH COLORADAN PETER JONES AT:
http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com
SUPPORTING NATIVE AMERICAN/FIRST PEOPLE - ARTISTS, FILM MAKERS, ENTERTAINERS, ETC. http://www.krystynmedia.blogspot.com.
Submitted by Kimberly Lyman reporting from Indigenous Space
(Super Tuesday has passed but this is a good read for politically savvy Native Americans who are thirsting for election news!!! If anyone has positive posts or articles pertaining to the election and its candidates, please submit to bobbieo@digitaldune.net but PLEASE, no rants or negative contributions.
P.S. -I still have not made up my mind, yet - B)
US Senator Barack Obama is the choice of the Native American Times to become the next president of the United States. This choice made before the all important super Tuesday election to get as many Native Americans to the polls as possible to push Obama to victory. This is not an anti-Hillary vote but a decision based on what is best for Native Americans.
Alaska will be caucusing; Colorado with the Ute Nation and large Native urban populations will have a primary; the Nez Perce will be voting in the all Democratic caucuses; The Kickapoo, and Prairie Band Potawatomi will be voting in the Kansas Caucuses; The Dakota and Ojibwa people will be voting in Minnesota’s Primaries; Republican Crows, Northern Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Cree and others will be voting in Montana’s caucuses; the Pueblos, Navajos, and Apaches will be voting in New Mexico Primaries; the Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga and other tribes will voting in New York’s primaries; In North Dakota the three Affiliated tribes, Devil’s Lake Sioux, Standing Rock Sioux and Turtle Mountain Chippewa will be voting in their caucuses; Oklahoma with their over 300, 000 Indians and over 30 federally recognized tribes will be heading to the polls for their primary; in Utah the Navajo, Ute’s, Shoshone, Paiutes and Goshute tribes will vote in their primaries. Over 1 million Indianswill be voting on Super Tuesday and they can have a deciding say in who is the next president of the United States. And one man seems to know and care about that fact.
Obama has started to aggressively reach out to Native Americans in word and deed. In his words he has put together a policy which truly addresses Native problems. In his deeds he has actually gone to Indian reservations to seek our votes. He is also the co-sponsor of the all important Indian Health Care Improvement Act. And he continues to seek the Native vote.
As he explains it, he says he understands to be treated differently and unfairly. Part of the change he proposes is one of justice and equality. He is also proposing sweeping changes in health care for Native Americans that include mental health. While the economy is the driving issue on the national stage its ‘Health Stupid, ’ in Indian Country. People are dying too soon, babies are not making it to adulthood, and diabetes is robbing our way of life in ways never imagined. It’s hard to worry about the paycheck when you are too sick to go anyway.
According to his advisors on Indian issues, he will address the nagging problem of criminal jurisdiction on Indian land. From runaway meth use to domestic violence to murder the problems on Indian land should be the providence of Indian governments where they are able. It is a significant distinction because it is clear some in the federal government doesn’t believe Indian governments are legitimate or evolved enough to handle a more expansive role in criminal jurisdiction. It is part of the change this campaign has represented.
Sen. Hillary Clinton is a force of nature and has been a voice for justice in her deliberations. She has become a polarizing figure in national politics and the republican party is licking its chops to get a shot at her. She also represents the past. And while I believe she is worthy of National office she is not the best choice.
Perhaps more than anything, Obama inspires us to want and dream of more. Indian Country has been waiting for someone like Barack for a long time. Now is the time for positive change and now is the time to vote Barack Obama on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 for President of the United States. Native Americans can make history next week if we all pull together and get behind the man who actually wants our vote.--------------------
Clean Energy For Navajos
By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK - Investing in renewable energy development and energy efficiency could provide more jobs and economic benefits for the Navajo Nation than building the proposed Desert Rock Energy Project, according to an economic analysis released by Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment.
The 168-page report, prepared in consultation with Ecos Consulting of Durango, compares ?clean energy? alternatives such as solar and wind power to the proposed 1,500 megawatt plant to be built near Farmington by Sithe Global Power LLC and Diné Power Authority.
Coal Plant impacts
The report assesses economic factors such as short- and long-term employment, financial risks, environmental and health impacts, potential costs of carbon pollution, and profitability for the tribe.
"As far as solar and wind technology, the Navajo Nation has the potential and has the resources to make these projects viable,” Dailan Long of Diné Care said earlier this week. ”The Navajo Nation could be a leader in renewable energy development, so this is what we?re pushing. Our job is to make this happen."
Long said the alternative report is a ?descriptive road map? for companies to look into and see how they can develop their projects on the Navajo Nation, ?and it?s a chance for us to really sit down with the tribal council members and our Navajo representatives and say, ”Let?s talk about this.”
”We’re saying no to Desert Rock, but we're also saying yes to something else.”
Sithe media liaison Frank Maisano of Bracewell & Giuliani said Thursday there's no doubt that renewables are going to play an important role in developing a diverse fuel mix for the region.
"They will play a huge role and they can be a significant revenue source, they can be a significant job source, and they can be a significant power source. But renewables alone cannot carry the load that is intended for out there.
"Secondly, to deny the fact that the Navajo sit on 200 years of coal and to not use that to the benefit of the Navajo people is another significant reason why the Navajos need to do a coal plant as well as renewable projects,” Maisano said. ”It’s not one or the other. It’s a matter of the right mix of both.”
He said Sithe is building two solar projects in Nevada as well as the coal-fired Toquop plant. “These are part and parcel of having diverse options. It’s not about blocking one. It’s about having the ability and diversity to do each of these and take full advantage of the opportunities that are presented.”
Maisano said that while renewables can generate a significant revenue stream, ?I think it?s probably wildly optimistic to think that they can do as much right now as affordably as coal.?
Job Report
Diné CARE’s Jan. 12 report, “Energy and Economic Alternatives to the Desert Rock Energy Project,? unveiled last week during Environmental Justice Day in Santa Fe, found that developing clean energy would create 80 percent more construction jobs and five times as many long-term operation and maintenance jobs compared to employment figures for Desert Rock.”
The report further determined that clean energy would provide greater indirect job creation and economic multipliers within the regional economy.
"Wind, solar and energy-efficiency technologies, which are cost-effective, reliable and available, would provide greater Navajo economic development and lower cost electricity than Desert Rock, with fewer negative consequences and more sustainable benefits,’ said Ecos Chris Caldwell, co-author of the report.
"Burning coal to produce electricity is not even the best, let alone the only form of economic development for the Navajo Nation,” he said.
The proposal from Sithe, DPA, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to build the Desert Rock plant ?has been insufficiently examined as a possible economic development option, the report says, in that it does not give sufficient considerations to alternatives to mining and burning coal.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement devoted approximately two of its 1,500 pages to an analysis of alternative sources of energy and
determined that their use would not meet the purpose and need for the project or were otherwise not feasible.
The interior Southwest “made up of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Nevada “ is home to 33 existing coal plants that produce approximately 319,000 gigawatt hours of electricity and 400 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Another 19 plants have been proposed.
The Draft EIS for Desert Rock does not discuss the cumulative environmental impacts that would result from some, most, or all of these projects being approved, the report says.
"As a result, individual EIS documents for each project could assert that their individual contribution to air quality and climate change problems is modest by itself, and the federal government could choose to approve many or all of them.
"Only later would it become apparent that their total energy production greatly exceeds the regional need for new power, their total emissions cause major portions of the Southwest to drop out of compliance with air quality regulations, and that their total CO2 emissions would make compliance with individual state and regional climate stabilization targets impossible,” the report states.
It recommends the Draft EIS be revised to assess cumulative impacts of the current coal plant proposals on the drawing board. Those include two plants each in Arizona and New Mexico, six each in Colorado and Nevada, and three in Utah.
In terms of CO2 emissions, the proposed 13,017 megawatt capacity of the 19 plants would be equivalent to putting 16 million new cars on the road.
Maisano said the Desert Rock permit “is the strictest permit ever for a coal-fired power plant. We have gone beyond what the permit will present,” by agreeing to additional reductions in mercury and a 110 percent sulfur reduction.
TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
'MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR HYPOCRISY' By Joe Perez
http://www.mtwsfh.blogspot.com
NATIVE ISSUES BLOG
Professor Robert J. Miller
http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/
AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org
FOR ANNIE'S NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com
CATCH COLORADAN PETER JONES AT:
http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com
SUPPORTING NATIVE AMERICAN/FIRST PEOPLE - ARTISTS, FILM MAKERS, ENTERTAINERS, ETC. http://www.krystynmedia.blogspot.com.
posted by BobbieoAZ @ 8:29 PM
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