America’s dependence on oil threatens our environment, our economy, and our national security. Whether it is the scars left by the oil spills in the Yellowstone and Kalamazoo rivers and the Gulf of Mexico, the $1 billion that American families and businesses send overseas every day for oil, or the nearly 2 billion metric tons of global warming pollution emitted annually which fuels more and more extreme weather, these problems demand that we break our dependence on oil.
XCEL Energy’s Sherburne County power plant (Sherco) in Becker emits the most mercury pollution of any power plant in Minnesota and the 40th most in the country, according to brand new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data outlined in Environment Minnesota’s latest report, Minnesota’s Biggest Mercury Polluters. The report found that in total, power plants in Minnesota emitted 876 pounds of mercury pollution in 2010. Environment Minnesota’s report comes as EPA is set to finalize a standard to limit mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants this month.
As Minnesotans brace themselves for skyrocketing gas prices; a new Environment Minnesota report finds that more fuel efficient cars would save every Minnesota family an average of $538 at the gas pump this summer alone. The report was released as the Obama administration is developing new fuel efficiency and global warming pollution standards for cars and light trucks.
On Earth Day, Environment Minnesota released a new guide to help Minnesotans improve the energy performance of their homes and workplaces. The renewable energy and energy-saving measures proposed by Environment Minnesota’s Plug into Clean Energy Guide promise to lower energy bills and reduce pollution from power plants across the state.