green | rising

A Cleaner, Greener Missouri

September 23rd, 2008 by Vihar Sheth | Posted in Activism, Climate Change, Environment, Government, Technology

I (still) work for a bank. Needless to say, the past few weeks have been tumultuous. Onward and upward. 

With only 47 days left until this country elects its first black president or two people who will further marginalize America on a global scale, we must not forget the other candidates up for election and the issues that will be on the ballot. One issue in particular is the focus of this piece, and that is bringing a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) to Missouri.

I won’t say too much besides that if passed, the standard would require Missouri utilities to gradually increase their use of renewable energy over the next 12 years, ramping up to 15% of Missouri’s electricity by the year 2020. And, if passed, would make Missouri the 27th state to implement some type of RES.

Three organizations are involved in the effort to see this standard implemented:

• Missouri Coalition for the Environment, a group that works to preserve, protect, and enhance an environment that is livable, healthful, and sustainable through a comprehensive program of education, citizen action, and legal defense;
• Renew Missouri, a nonprofit corporation with the overarching goal of creating highly effective renewable energy policy in Missouri; and
• Clean Energy Works for Missouri, a 501c(3) education campaign sponsored by the Missouri Coalition for the Environment and Renew Missouri to help bring clean, renewable energy to Missouri.

There’s the team, and a darn good one at that. Remember that this will NOT COST CONSUMERS MORE MONEY. A summary of the Consumer Cost Savings Analysis can be found here (.pdf), and the full report can be found here(.pdf).

Vote or die!