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Rough Draft Of Letter To Senator Grassley

Dear Senator Grassley,

As a concerned American citizen, I am writing to urge you to take all possible action to halt the creation of a coal-fired power plant in Marshalltown, Iowa. I am a student at Grinnell College, in Grinnell, and I am taking a course titled, “Renewable Energy: The Energy Basis of Humans and Nature.” So far in the course, I have seen no legitimate reason why we should continue in our fossil-fuel based economy. In fact, all of the evidence is against doing so, from both an environmental and economic standpoint. We have had readings by leading thinkers including Bill Mollison, founder of the permaculture movement, William McDonough, author of “Cradle to Cradle”, a book that stresses the importance of a non-wasteful culture, and many others, all of which extol the virtues of renewable energy and energy production that generates economic activity for local communities.

According to a survey commissioned jointly by Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, Iowa Farmers Union and Plains Justice, over 79 percent of Iowans think "Iowa should focus on increased (energy) conservation steps and more fuel efficiency to reduce demand for electricity before it constructs new coal-fired power plants." ” (http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/28040). For an excellent example of where this has worked in Iowa before (to great economic success as well), consider Wes Birdsall, the General Manager of Osage Municipal Utilities in Osage, Iowa. Mr. Birdsall headed an effort to increase the energy efficiency of that community, and for a one-time investment of around $250,000, he created a source of $1.1 million annually in savings resulting from decreased energy payment costs. Each citizen of Osage saved $260 per year (Who Owns the Sun? People, Politics, and the Struggle for a Solar Economy, by Daniel Berman and John O'Connor 1996).

I am not alone in my placement of the environment at the forefront of my issues of concern. Many other voting Iowans share my views. Together, by simultaneously working from the bottom up and the top down, we can work with Governor Culver and other Senators and Congress people to make Iowa the leading state in renewable energy (http://www.chetculver.com/news/releases/display.asp?prID=88).

I thank you. Your children thank you. Your Nation thanks you.

Sincerely,

Alex Reich