Few political leaders are doing as much as Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to advance a modern energy policy in the Great Lakes region. Earlier this week, Gov. Blagojevich, a Democrat in puruit of a second term this November, made two important announcements prompted by rising fuel costs, U.S. dependence on foreign oil, as well as a legitimate concern for public health, the profitability of American farms, and the cleanliness of the Great Lakes.
On Monday, the Governor struck a deal with a major Illinois utility to slash mercury pollution and reduce smokestack exhaust, a key source of smog and soot. The deal is the second such agreement the Blagojevich administration has brokered in recent weeks with a major power provider and it comes as business lobbyists across the region contend such tight-fisted standards will sink the economy.
Then, on Tuesday, the Governor announced a $1.2 billion plan to wean Illinois off foreign petro products and reshape the state energy portfolio with homegrown alternative fuels, such as ethanol generated from corn husks and wood pulp.
Meanwhile, across the region, developers plan to erect eight giant wind turbines on the abandoned site of Bethlehem Steel in Buffalo, NY.
