Stadium upgrades ignore climate
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At a time when climate scientists are sounding alarm bells around the world, as glaciers melt, severe weather events disrupt cities and farms and earth’s living things face extinction because of global climate change, the MSU Administration and Board of Trustees have shirked their responsibilities.
Last week the MSU Board of Trustees failed to discuss transitioning the largest coal-fired power plant on any American college campus, removing such discussion from their agenda. Yet the trustees did vote on spending $10 million for a new high definition video screen, replete with enhanced audio, for Spartan Stadium. Is there something distorted with that picture?
Generating energy by burning coal is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gases. MSU burns 250,000 tons of coal each year. The T.B. Simon plant also emits heavy metals such as mercury, and small particulate matter, which cause significant health problems not only for the MSU community but for Michigan residents far removed from campus. In Ingham County alone, 37 residents die premature deaths each year due to the emissions of the T.B. Simon plant.
Burning coal is an 18th century technology that must be replaced as soon as possible if the world as we know it is to survive. How can MSU hope to lead the development of green technologies, the engine of the future economy, while still operating the T.B. Simon plant for decades to come?
As a MSU alumni, class of 1972, I will never forget then-MSU President Walter Adams leading a protest march against the Vietnam War all the way down Grand River Avenue to the State Capitol. President Adams’ principled leadership still is a source of pride for me. And as horrible as the Vietnam war was, its misery pales in comparison to the calamities that global climate change has already wrought.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu predicts that global climate change will cause the deaths of 185 million Africans in the coming century. It is time for current MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon and the Board of Trustees to regard climate change as the emergency it is and to commit to moving the university to renewable energy sources.
A new $10 million video screen at Spartan Stadium would be nice. Assuming the vision and leadership to bring MSU to the forefront of energy technologies is urgent, existential and should be delayed no longer. GO GREEN!
Mark Muhich, chairman of the Sierra Club Michigan group and MSU alumnus
Commentary
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37 Dead
(02/08/12 8:40pm)Report
Not sure if it’s the editorial staff that needs to think about what they publish or the writers. I would love to see the evidence that supports the following claim, “In Ingham County alone, 37 residents die premature deaths each year due to the emissions of the T.B. Simon plant.”
Sierra Club (and Beyond Coal) need to not only present evidence-based claims but also provide viable alternatives. Please show me a more efficient and cost effective was to provide the same amount of energy as coal. Perhaps we should try a nuclear power plant but I suspect the same people will take issue with that. I doubt building a damn on the Red Cedar will please them either if it blocks the ducks from swimming upstream.
It comes down to economics. It’s simply too expensive to generate the same amount of energy. If the university were to raise tuition to pay for alternative energy, I can only imagine how much the cost would go up and how quickly the student population would dwindle. Also, all the grant money the university receives to fund cutting edge research would be in jeopardy if the campus moves to alternative energy and there were a power outage disrupting years of ongoing work.
To be clear, I am all for making changes to protect our environment. I do what I can to reduce my own energy consumption both on campus when drawing from T.B. Simon and at home. Perhaps these organizations should lend their energy toward encouraging more members of the MSU community to reduce their energy use. I see countless number of rooms with lights left on through the night when passing through campus. Computers are left on in labs, video projectors in classrooms, and so on. Why not educate the campus on how to help reduce the amount of coal being burned? I agree that carbon emissions are a legitimate concern and cause of climate change. But spreading propaganda and misinformation do not help to advance the cause.
Finally, I’m not sure the headline makes sense. How are stadium upgrades directly linked to the power plant other than through the lines that provide electricity? They are separate issues. And, the cost of the scoreboard will be offset by sponsors. So, to answer the writers question, “Is there something distorted with that picture?”, I would say no. In fact, it will be in high definition so the picture should be brilliant. GO GREEN!
MSUAlum2001
(02/09/12 7:42am)Report
@37 Dead, the 37 number bantered about is from a bunch of “studies” conducted by the Sierra Club. They’re basically pulling it out of their ass with a lot of assumptions.
And you’re right about the scoreboards. The initial funding is coming from the athletic budget (a wholly separate budget from the University) and they’ll offset some expenditure with advertising. You’d think an MSU graduate would at least be aware of how funding works at the University before writing a letter.
Jacob
(02/10/12 2:11pm)Report
Some real good citations in this article