Hey folks, as a fun way to get to know eachother and form a united vision we are starting a collaborative story. We hope you'll feel comfortable adding some ideas to the beginning below, feel free to dream and get starry eyed! Just add a sentence or two, even just a word! The framing is as follows;

When I wake up and justice is ubiquitous...

With several public hearings behind us, the threat of more coal burning is still alive.

Union workers hope to see the facility constructed, by almost 2000 workers. Local Laborers hope to secure one of the 100 lasting jobs for the 30-40 year lifespan of the plant. Most of all, coal barons are pressing to increase the gap of wealth between themselves and the rest of the nation by manipulating facts, and exploiting the economic hardships of all through deceitful rhetoric.

Affected Community Members, Scientists, College Students, Elementary Students, Farmers, Fishermen, Education Professionals and more hope to see something different; Healthy children, healthful jobs, beautified city and rural landscapes, sustained economic wellness and justice; EQUAL EQUITY FOR ALL.

Given the forum, I need not harp on the savage injustices that further coal extraction poses on fellow Americans of Appalachia. I need not break down the science of CO2 reactions in the atmosphere and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish. What I need is to ask for help.

This is the first of 8 proposed coal plants in Michigan that will add to our already impressive 19 total plants in the state. This, as the first in a series usually does, will set the precedent of how we will continue to handle issues of dirty energy and jobs versus clean energy and MORE jobs.

A wind farm in that same county could provide twice the construction jobs and twice the long term jobs, thats right, about 200 jobs for the Bay City area. Michigan ranks 14th in the nation for onshore wind potential. The correct path is obvious and leaves nobody behind in the pursuit for healthy communities and secure employment.

The people must be heard, but first they must speak.

Michigan Needs Your Help!!

1. Go here and vote on whether the plant is a go: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://blog.mlive.com%2Fwatershedwatch%2...

Join the SEAC national council in support of the Fast for Famished during this Food Crisis. The fast is starting throughout the U.S. this Friday, the 23rd for three days. The fast will be broken Sunday the 25th at 6 P.M. Join comrades from Agricultural Missions, Inc (AMI), the Community Farm Alliance (CFA), Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), Grassroots International (GRI), the Kentucky Interfaith Taskforce on Latin America and the Caribbean (KITLAC), the Oakland Institute (OI), the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA), the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC), Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville (SAL), World Hunger Year (WHY) and other individuals for any duration, be it the entire or just a single meal!

For every faster there should be 5 supporters telling everybody whose path they cross about their comrade fighting the unprecedented rise in food prices that are causing mass hunger around the world. You and I may not be directly affected by the food shortage, but TODAY, 3 Billion people live on $2 per day and are starving. There are solutions, this is not unavoidable. Be a part of the solution. Educate yourself and others about the degredation of indigenous lands, corporate takeover and exploitation of minorities, and Free-trade agreements that put people out of work due to the affects of skewed subsidies.

"Others will continue a rolling fast the last week of May, and in Rome at the meeting of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, there will be a massive convergence, including fasters, to push for new policies to support the rebuilding of local food economies across the planet.

The CIW is launching a national petition drive to demand that Burger King and other food industry leaders work with the CIW to improve the wages and working conditions of the workers who pick their tomatoes, and join with the CIW in an industry-wide effort to eliminate modern-day slavery and human rights abuses from Florida’s fields. The petitions will serve as notice that those who sign are “prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now, and other food industry leaders in the future, should they fail to do so.” The campaign comes on the 200th anniversary of the US ban against the importation of slaves, and echoes key strategies of the early abolitionist movement that helped hasten the end of slavery in the 19th century.

To sign on, please take this link.
http://fairfoodnation.mayfirst.org/petition

If you'd like to offer additional support, take this link to get resources on sparking a petition drive in your community!
http://www.ciw-online.org/2008_Petitions/join.html

On top of the ongoing petition drive, the Student/Farmworker Alliance National Day of Action is almost here! There are over 20 actions being planned in cities across the U.S.... check out http://www.sfalliance.org/2008slwoa.html to find information about events going on in or near your community.

With our knowledge of Environmental Justice, we know that an equitable society and humane living conditions for all are essential to create the reality we want to live in. Join the BK boycott today!