MICHIGAN ENERGY SITING LAW: CONTROVERSIAL

Let's discuss the new Michigan renewable siting law.

The background: new Michigan legislation gives the state power to override local authorities in zoning renewable projects. A group called Citizens for Local Choice want to repeal Public Act 233, and put this power back in the hands of local zoning boards.

We lose credibility when we argue in bad faith. This conversation deserves respect, so I want to say Michigan right-wingers deserve a bone for this gripe; I understand the frustration.

As environmentalists, we love this new legislation and we know it is crucial to keeping the planet from spinning out of control. But I can understand why folks think this is not a respectful way to do it.

As Anne Lamott says in Bird by Bird, “Life is not like formula fiction. The villain has a heart, and the hero has great flaws.”

Of course I'd prefer a dialogue with a different solution, rather than wholesale rejection of PA 233... if they really mean that they're not confused about climate change, that is. I also cannot easily see where this group has received its funding, so that would be helpful.

It seems like initiatives that restrict liberty are on thin ice from the get-go. On the surface, PA 233 is just another example of government overreach, so it falls in that category. One of the initiative leaders is quoted as saying "If Ann Arbor wants to ban plastic shopping bags and gas leaf blowers, we believe they have the right to do that." Well that's absolutely correct... so stop the proposed bans on bans! But I digress.

Here's where the rubber meets the road with "local choice" initiatives: a broader understanding of liberty complicates their argument. If we all have the right to clean air, clean water, and a stable climate, then the tyranny of the minority (in this case called "local choice") has the potential to make every one of us less free.

Get electric or stay electric my friends. Be well.