Interview with the Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Governor Granholm sat down with the Livingston Daily Press & Argus yesterday to talk about the goals that she has for this state this year. First and foremost on the agenda is the need for a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in our state so we can attract the jobs that are now being created in this growing field.
From the interview-
Chief among them is the lack of a what’s known as a “renewable portfolio standard,” often referred to as RPS, which is the goal states set for the amount of energy that is to come from renewable sources.
Granholm said her goal is to have 10 percent of Michigan’s energy come from renewable resources by 2015. Once that standard is set, industry jobs will flood into Michigan, she said.
She hopes the Legislature will soon take action on an RPS and to approve an amendment to Public Act 141, which addresses energy deregulation; and review energy- efficiency measures.
Granholm said she hopes to see action on all three items in March.
Along with the call to move the energy bills, the governor spoke to the ways that Michigan is uniquely qualified to move forward in the field of alternative energy.
Michigan is the second-best state in the country to generate wind power, Granholm said, in part due to the state’s 2,000 tool-and-die shops that can manufacture wind turbines.
She said biomass, namely waste from trees, can be collected from wood-related businesses and transformed into energy to fuel vehicles.
The state can reduce carbon emissions by capturing carbon releases from coal plants and storing them underground, a process known as “carbon sequestration,” Granholm said. It is believed the process will help to reduce global warming, since carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas said to be most responsible for climate change.
“Michigan is in a unique position to get jobs in this area because of our geology, our geography,” she said.
A test on carbon sequestration is taking place right now in Gaylord, one of 20 such projects taking place across the country. Core Energy of Traverse City, along with DTE and the US Department of Energy, are working with a process that turns carbon dioxide into a “dense, almost liquefied gas”
and they pump it deep underground into the rock formations that are prevalent in Michigan. Read more about the project here, and the governor describes Michigan’s possible role in this technology in this video here.
The governor also talked about education issues, namely the drop-out rate in Detroit, and the plan to use the 21st Century Schools Fund to create smaller high schools that can provide individualized help for kids.
She said a major obstacle in the state’s economy is its high school dropout rate, and advocated raising the legal dropout age to 18.
She hopes to create 100 small high schools where all students would be linked with a staff member to monitor their progress. She wants to establish those high schools in districts with high dropout rates specifically to address that problem.
“This is all about the kids. What works for these kids?” she asked.
In another video, the governor describes a trip to Chicago where she and Michigan legislators saw this plan in action.
The governor also addresses school funding and worker training in this interview. You can read the whole Press & Argus story here.
