Mayor Rybak apparently still supports the burner

Our Mayor, R.T. Rybak, says he still supports the Midtown Eco Energy burner, in part because he has not heard enough public "outrage" to convince him that the burner is a problem.

You can email the Mayor at rt@minneapolis.org.

He apparently needs to hear from you if you are "outraged" by any of the following (even short emails are helpful):

• This burner would be located in one of the most densely-populated and poorest neighborhoods in our State,
• It would emit up to one million pounds per year of regulated toxins into the air we breathe, including mercury, dioxin, sulfur dioxide, arsenic and formaldehyde,
• This would cause generations of people who live, work or play near the Midtown Greenway or 28th and Hiawatha to experience increased levels of cancer, reproductive deficiencies, neurological diseases and a host of respiratory problems such as asthma. Asthma is reaching epidemic levels in our State and even if you don't care about the kids who will suffer most remember that we all pay for these illnesses through higher medical insurance premiums and government support for medical treatments.
• The burner WOULD INCREASE WORLDWIDE CO2 LEVELS by an increase in the fossil fuels used by the semi-trucks (25 per day, by the developers' estimates) that would haul in waste and haul out ash. It would also NOT result in a net reduction in worldwide CO2 levels because the plant itself would emit CO2s. The developers like to argue that their plant is good for the environment becuase it would emit fewer CO2s per megawatt of energy than a coal plant. That argument only makes sense if coal plants are taken offline.
• If we're truly concerned about protecting the environment we should avoid building incinerators anywhere. Incinerators actually create MORE waste because they rely on it to survive. Waste that could be recycled or conserved is instead burned. See U.S.: Waste Incinerators Making a Comeback for a more thorough explanation.

Contact Mayor Rybak today! Why is this important? Because the burner is not a dead issue. Even though the current land deal has stalled out the developers have invested substantial time and effort into their project and they will do anything they can to push the project through. The Mayor needs to hear from you.