During a visit to Detroit this week, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous told the Michigan Advance that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s climate action bill, if passed, would mark a milestone in ensuring communities most affected by climate change can benefit from federal investments.
From Senate Democrats’ release of their “Clean Energy Future” plan in March to Governor Whitmer’s call for a 100% clean energy standard in her “What’s Next” address last week, Michigan Democrats have been pushing policies to transition the state’s energy grid to renewable sources in an effort to meet the Governor’s climate goals and improve the state’s energy reliability.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer outlines her fall legislative priorities during her “What’s Next” address in Lansing on Aug. 30, 2023. (Andrew Ross/Michigan Advance)
Jealous said that if legislation to achieve these goals passes, it will bring hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to the state and improve lives.
“especially, [Detroit’s] “We are seeing outages in the east and other areas lasting days or even weeks,” he said.
During his visit to Detroit on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jealous kayaked through the city’s Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood, which faces frequent flooding problems due to climate change and aging infrastructure, as well as the state’s most polluted ZIP code, 48217, which is home to dozens of polluting facilities and is home to a predominantly black and Hispanic population.
In an interview with The Advance on Tuesday, Jealous said he was happy to return to the environmental movement. He was a Democratic candidate for Maryland governor in 2018 and has also served as president and CEO of the NAACP, executive director of the National Association of Newspaper Publishers and in positions in advocacy, venture capital and education.
“One of the things you learn from the black civil rights movement is the importance of local campaigns and the importance of national leaders coming in and supporting the organizing efforts of local groups,” Jealous said.
At age 20, Jealous traveled the country as a speaker for the Student Environmental Action Coalition, in coalition with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, campaigning against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Environmental groups and labor unions remained critical of the deal, saying it would offshoring jobs, increase pollution, and foster dependency on fossil fuels. NAFTA was subsequently replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which took effect in July 2020.
“As a lifelong environmentalist who grew up in a family that was involved with both the NAACP and the Sierra Club, it’s especially rewarding to assume national leadership of the environmental movement at this very moment, when we’re all anti-NAFTA,” Jealous said.
“All the technologies we’ve been championing and heralding for decades are finally here. Solar and wind are now the cheapest, most durable ways of producing electricity. EVs are a reality and are much cheaper to power and operate. So the question is, where will they be manufactured?” Jealous said.
From an environmental and consumer perspective, Jealous said there are good reasons to manufacture this technology in the U.S. with union support.
“What [2022 federal] “The Inflation Control Act gives us the power to really do that, to get back to an economy that floats all boats, where America is not just the place to create game-changing technology, but the place to make, produce, manufacture and ship technology again,” Jealous said.
“To me, the most urgent thing in this fight is to ensure that the green economy is truly the economy that floats all boats,” he said.
Marathon Oil’s Detroit refinery is located in the state’s most polluted zip code | Sierra Club
The Advance asked Jealous what Michigan should do to ensure an equitable transition to clean energy technologies.
Jealous said that as the auto industry transitions from fossil fuels to electric vehicles, UAW members are right in demanding that electric cars be made in the same place, by the same workers represented by the same union and paid the same or better wages.
“It’s the rational thing to do, it’s the right thing to do, it’s the responsible thing to do. This is how we should operate as a state,” Jealous said.
In transitioning Michigan’s energy grid to renewable sources, Jealous said DTE Energy, one of the state’s largest energy companies, is the biggest obstacle.
“The last thing they want you to know is that solar and wind are the cheapest electricity and the most durable electricity,” Jealous said.
“Moving to a distributed grid, investing in major upgrades to the power grid in Detroit and across Michigan would be a game changer in every respect,” Jealous said, “but like many utilities, they’re foolishly clinging to the old ways and willing to pay almost any amount to keep Michigan locked in the energy Stone Age when a better future is right around the corner that they can embrace.”
Under the July settlement, the energy company agreed to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2032, boost renewable energy and expand limits on the number of customers who can generate their own electricity, but supporters have vowed to ensure the company follows through on the transition to clean energy sources.
The Advance also questioned Jealous about the inclusion of approved nuclear energy in the Senate Clean Energy Standards bill and the inclusion of $150 million in the state budget to restart the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Van Buren County.
“Nuclear is the only energy source that gets more and more expensive every year,” Jealous said.
“This is literally the only energy that has a reverse learning curve. You know, the learning curve is what makes technologies get cheaper over the years, including energy technologies,” Jealous said. “And that’s true for every form of energy other than nuclear.”
Michigan Democrats rally for ‘fair contract’ with UAW
The House’s proposed clean energy standard would not include nuclear power as a renewable resource in transitioning the state to 100% clean energy sources by 2035.
While in Michigan, Jealous told the Advance he plans to meet with lawmakers, local advocates and UAW President Sean Fain, noting that his involvement with the union dates back to the days of fighting against NAFTA.
Jealous said the Sierra Club is “very supportive” of the UAW’s demands to include workers in the auto industry’s transition to electric vehicle production.
“We are very concerned that Detroit workers are treated fairly during this transition and want to know how we as a club can help,” Jealous said.
