Do Florida governments look to cancer as a model for urban planning?

Cancer has many similarities to Florida's local and state governments failed attempts to manage growth:

Aggressive
Cancer - cells grow without respect to normal limits
Florida's governments - developments are approved without regard for the affect they will have on roads, schools, water quality and supply, sewer systems, police and fire protection, libraries, wildlife, open and recreational space, and quality of life

Invasive
Cancer - invades and destroys adjacent tissue
Florida's governments - Florida has lost at least 84,000 acres of wetlands in the past 15 years

Metastatic
Cancer - spreads to other locations in the body
Florida's governments - Central Florida wants to siphon off 262 million gallons of water a day from the St. Johns River and its tributaries

What this means for Jacksonville
In addition to the above ills, cancerous growth in Jacksonville means JEA has to provide much MORE electricity from its coal-fired plants (and is even thinking of building a new one) which means more dangerous mercury emissions.

The solution: Take power from the government and give it to the people
Let the people decide want kind of growth they want in Florida, instead of the politicians. Visit floridahometowndemocracy.com to download, sign, and send in a petition to put the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment on the ballot, giving voters a chance to decide if they want a say in Florida's future.

Is JEA gambling with our financial future?

The medical risks of JEA's current and proposed coal-fired power plants have already been heavily discussed on Mercury Falling. But what about the financial risks? As your read the below clip from today's issue of The Wall Street Journal, keep in mind that since JEA is city-owned, every resident of Jacksonville is, in essence, an "investor."

Cuomo Subpoenas Five Energy Firms
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating five energy companies to determine whether plans to create coal-fired power plants present an undisclosed financial risk to investors. Mr. Cuomo sent subpoenas seeking internal documents to AES Corp., Dominion Resources Inc., Dynegy Inc., Peabody Energy Corp., and Xcel Energy Inc. The attorney general's office suggested the companies could take a hit if federal lawmakers tighten controls on coal-fired plants, which emit carbon dioxide, among pollutants scientists have linked to global warming.

Does JEA have money to burn?

Well, it might be healthier for Jacksonville than all the coal it burns. But seriously, according to the September 4th issue of Folioweekly, in an article entitled "Bill of Goods," JEA has collected $208 million more than it needed from customers. This, in spite of the fact that JEA promised it would lower rates if fuel prices dropped. The math was done by Bruce Strauss, current retiree and former investigator for the IRS.

What could JEA do with all this filthy lucre? Well, for one, how about clean up its filthy coal plants? Or invest more in renewable energy, from solar, wind, or tidal sources? That way, the cost of "fuel" will never go up, and JEA will no longer have to raise our rates so much, as it does every time coal prices skyrocket.

But wait mystery lovers, there's more. Is there a nefarious plot behind all this extra loot? Folioweekly suggests the city may be looking to sell JEA, and the extra money could help the sale price. That, according to Art Shad, chairman of the City Council's Finance Committee would be a bad idea. According to Folioweekly..."Shad's concern is that profits from the company would go to shareholders outside the area. Shareholders would also want to see a profit and would increase utility rates in order to increase dividends." Bottom line is, if JEA is city-owned, its number one priority is to us, the residents of Jacksonville (although you couldn't tell that from its action, specifically emitting so much toxic mercury).

The high, hidden costs of low-down, dirty coal

Is your JEA bill getting higher and higher every month? Well, that big number followed by a dollar sign is only telling part of the story of the true cost of Jacksonville's coal-fired power plants. Here is a key excerpt from a recent article in The Washington Post:

"According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a scientific advocacy group, annual emissions from a typical coal plant include 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, the major cause of acid rain; 10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide, a major contributor to smog; 500 tons of small particles, which cause lung damage and other respiratory problems; 225 pounds of arsenic; 114 pounds of lead; and many other toxic heavy metals, including 170 pounds of mercury, which can cause birth defects, brain damage and other ailments."

And that's just the local coasts of coal. From coalminers' lives to destroyed streams and forests in Appalachia, coal is expensive indeed. Click here to read Jeff Goodell's full article about measuring the true coast of coal, "King Coal: What It Costs Us."

From Charles McBurney, candidate for Florida House of Representatives, District 16

We all know mercury is a dangerous chemical and needs the concentrated attention of JEA. Like you, I am concerned about the alledged violations of the Clean Water Act and note that recent lawsuits have been brought to get some of these matters resolved.

As I am sure you are aware, many problems plague our river. Neil Armingeon, our St. Johns Riverkeeper, seems to be aware of the wastewater being discharged into the river and we applaud his "zero discharge" goal.

I plan to work for funds for the continual clean up of the St. Johns
River when I am elected to the State House of Representatives. I would take an active position of monitoring the efforts of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to ensure everything possible is done to give Jacksonville safe, clean water.

Thanks again for your inquiry. I commend groups such as yours who are concerned and work hard for the health and well being of all our citizens.

Yours truly,
Charles McBurney

JEA: Now Delivering Toxic Mercury Right to your Front Door?

By now, you probably know of JEA's abundant emissions of toxic mercury from its coal-fired power plants on the Northside. Just in case that wasn't heinous enough for you, JEA might now be sprinkling this toxic substance on the road in front of your house. According to a recent Folioweekly article (7/31/07, "Burning Questions: A JEA road project raises concerns about impacts to environment and health"), JEA is using a material derived from a coal ash byproduct in local road projects (basically some of the stuff left over after it burns the coal in its plants).

Folioweekly goes on to say, "Though the use of ash in concrete, gypsum board and road construction is permitted by the federal and state governments, and promoted as a green way to reuse waste, the ash does contain toxins, including mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium." And in one project in Mandarin, it seems like JEA basically sprinkled this toxic fairy dust on to the road and let it blow around for a few weeks in a residential neighborhood.

Of course, this isn't all a bad idea. Reusing waste saves money, time, and resources. But apparently JEA is selling this product, called EZBase, based on one test it conducted itself. There have been no independent tests, which for a product with this much potential toxic downside seems irresponsible. And it doesn't seem like the product is always applied responsibly, if its true that JEA as been letting this potentially toxic dust blow around a residential neighborhood in Mandarin.

Perhaps environmental advocate and mechanical engineer Nelson Helmuth said it best, "The greatest story never told is how we're polluting ourselves to death in this country. In the industrial world, the asthma rate is going up, the cancer rate is going up, the rate of children with attention deficit disorder is going up. We are poisoning ourselves."

The Wind: His Potential Is Ours

How about some wind power in Jacksonville? With the ocean and the river, we seem to have enough. And best of all, no expensive coal to buy and zero mercury emissions.