Big Stone II

[btrout4life_PREV (deleted)]

I live in the land of Minnesota and I am very proud of my home and her beauty, but detrimental things are happening to her. Since the beginning of time humans have been making negative impacts on our world, but now we are starting to see the reactions to our actions and we also know that we can make positive changes.



Near Milbank, South Dakota is a coal plant called Big Stone I and is also the place where they wish Big Stone II a 630-megawatt coal-fired plant designed to deliver power to Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota to be built. Otter Tail Power Company is the lead developer for this project they are located in Fergus Falls, MN.



Why does this matter? Why should you care? Well, coal is from the past. Scientists and doctors are telling us that coal is bad. When burned it produces mercury, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter. Also it is getting more and more expensive to find coal. Coal is a fossil fuel. It is a thing from our past, when it is gone it is gone. However we can harvest the wind, collect solar energy, and there are so many bio-fuels and we could produce from anything that grows from the ground it is beautiful. We are on the tip of the ice berg so to speak when it comes to renewable energies.



Big Stone II threatens our health, our environment, and our economy. Big Stone II will emit 4.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, this would raise the total carbon dioxide emissions by 33% in South Dakota. Carbon dioxide is also a main contributor to global warming. Sulfur dioxide forms sulfuric acid which can cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and is the main contributor to Acid Rain. Nitrogen Oxide forms smog and can cause asthma. Particulate matter or particle pollution can cause premature birth and SIDS. Mercury forms methyl mercury which contaminates fish and can cause poor performance in our fine motor functions, language skills, and verbal memory. Women of childbearing age are most vulnerable to this. Other health risks from coal fired plants include asthma attacks, chronic bronchitis, stunted growth, and increased risk of heart attack and lung cancer.



Big Stone II also intends to draw 3.2 billion gallons of water annually from Big Stone Lake and another 3.2 billion gallons from the ground. That is 6.4 billion gallons of water a year, which is twice the water used by all the Minnesota ethanol plants combined and is also equal to 512 billion 16 oz water bottles. If you pay $1 for a bottle of water that is $512 billion dollars of water they are getting for free. This is also water that they cannot put back into the environment because it will be contaminated. So what is going to happen to the farmers in north eastern South Dakota if Big Stone II uses all the water they need for farming or what will happen to the Minnesota River if Big Stone Lake (the Minnesota Rivers contributory) is sucked dry?



Two million Minnesota rate payers will pay for this coal plant in South Dakota if it is going to be built and they will also pay for Wyoming coal for the next 50 years if it is built. Minnesota energy dollars should be used to support Minnesota's economy. We should be supporting our wind farms and Minnesota community-based energy development.



What can you do about this? Contact your local energy utility representative and city council members and ask them to divest your community from buying energy from Big Stone II. And contact your utility company can tell them that you want to buy clean wind power. We can stop this coal plant all you need to do is use your voice.

[tinku_PREV (deleted)]

.Information like this irks me and is one of the reasons I am running for State Assembly. I agree that it will take the power of numbers (lots of people) to stop this. Let's do it!

[dixiepixiechef]

`It has been proven that solar and wind energy is just as viable if not more viable than coal plant energy, why can't some of these states put up some sort of system like that? It wouldn't harm the enviroment that way.

[pat6874]

.I agree completely with you - Just don't understand why the "powers that be" won't listen to a little common sense. Just think of all the small farmers who would suddenly prosper if we really got into corn fuel.

[mossytrail (deleted)]

`Because fossil fuels are such a big part of the current economy. As long as there is money to be made extracting coal, gas, oil, the companies who have invested so much into the technology for it, will want to continue. Think about it: would you change careers in midlife if circumstances did not require you to?