FLAGSTAFF BUSINESS NEWS
September 22, 2011
Group Supporting Uranium Mining Moratorium
“…Just days before the annual celebration of National Public Lands Day, 50 Arizona business associations and small businesses have sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, voicing support for a proposed 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining near Grand Canyon National Park…”
Read the story:
Business News article
National Parks Traveller
September 25, 2011
“…It’s not unusual to send postcards from national parks, but the card sent to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar not only encourages him to visit Grand Canyon National Park, but to protect it from hardrock mining…
“’The health of our economy depends on making smart policy decisions that support small business,’ said Ron Hubert, president of the Sustainable Economic Development Initiative that assisted in circulating postcards to business owners in Flagstaff. ‘Secretary Salazar is on track to make one of these smart decisions. Protecting the Grand Canyon protects Arizona’s economy, our future, and our way of life.’”
Read the article:
50 Arizona business associations and small businesses sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on September 22 voicing support for a proposed 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining near Grand Canyon National Park. The state’s national parks, monuments and other public lands, they say, are “powerful engines of Arizona’s economy.”
In a related effort, over 200 small businesses from across Arizona have signed and sent postcards to Secretary Salazar. The retro-style postcards depict the Grand Canyon and read, “Wish you were here…and not new uranium mining! Thank you, Secretary Salazar, for your efforts to protect the Grand Canyon, our heritage and our economy.”
“Just when the polarization and partisanship in Arizona are becoming as toxic as rattlesnake venom, a new coalition has come forward to find collaborative solutions to to maintain our quality of life…”
To read the editorial:
ARIZONA REPUBLIC editorial
The following letter by State Representative Anna Tovar appeared in the September 4 ARIZONA REPUBLIC and highlighted that a transition to clean energy is good for Arizona’s economy and Arizona’s environment.
To the Editor:
The recent coverage of the solar industry (“Solar boom,” Aug. 28) downplayed a key point: a transition to clean energy like solar is good for our economy, communities and our environment.
The concept of a “triple bottom line” of profits, people and the planet was reflected in a letter by several Arizona business leaders recently sent to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, encouraging him to publicly support a transition to clean energy on our public, private and tribal lands.
Doing so, they said, would be good for our economy and protect our environment.
I agree. Salazar is welcome to visit Arizona for a conversation with community and business leaders, utilities, tribes, environmental groups and other stakeholders about what a responsible transition to clean energy in Arizona might entail.
I am confident we can identify solutions that create jobs and protect the air we all breathe. – State Representative Anna Tovar, Phoenix.
Clean Technology Business Leaders and Education Community Work to Meet Clean Energy Transition Challenges
ASU’s School of Engineering has received $18.5 million in funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy to find economically viable and sustainable ways to speed up the commercialization of engineering advances in solar power. ASU researchers will work with the California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Delaware and the University of New Mexico on the project.
For More Information:
ASU Solar News
(Phoenix) – In the wake of recent news of nearly $1 billion in federal loan guarantees for an Arizona solar project, 12 Arizona clean energy business leaders have written to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, encouraging him to continue to be a leader in the transition to clean energy on public, private, and tribal lands to benefit Arizona’s economy, communities, and environment…
“Solar is the fastest growing industry in the U.S., employing some 100,000 people nationwide, and along with other renewable energy sources and green technologies has become a significant economic driver in Arizona,” said Diane Brossart of Arizona Forward, a newly-formed business coalition focused on a statewide sustainability agenda…
As an example of Arizona’s burgeoning clean energy economy, the Department of Energy announced this month that it has finalized a $967-million loan guarantee to support construction of a 290-megawatt solar power plant, called Agua Caliente Solar, in Yuma County, Arizona. The project will use thin-film solar panels manufactured by Tempe-based First Solar, Inc.
To read the Press Release: Clean Technology Release
To read the Letter: Letter to Salazar
We applaud the decision by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to continue the moratorium on new uranium mining claims near the Grand Canyon. This is an economic issue – the Grand Canyon attracts more than 4 million visitors a year. Hunting, fishing, tourism and outdoor recreation generate an estimated $3.5 billion in economic activity. This is an environmental issue – millions of Americans rely on the Colorado River for safe and clean drinking water. And, this is an issue of protecting our heritage. Thank you Secretary Salazar.
“Wisdom. Caution. Science. Interior Secretary Salazar set three guideposts for protecting the Grand Canyon. And they all point in the same direction: continuing the moratorium on uranium mining claims near the Canyon…We can’t put the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River in Jeopardy.”
ARIZONA REPUBLIC, June 21, 2011
Arizona Businesses, Outdoor Recreation Groups Say New Figures Show Why Lawmakers Should Protect Wilderness and Tourism Initiatives
PHOENIX (April 26, 2011) More than 87,000 Arizona jobs and $371 million in state tax revenues are supported by “human-powered recreation” such as hiking, mountain biking and camping, according to a new study commissioned by the Access Fund, a national climbing advocacy organization.
“Outdoor recreation is critical to Arizona’s hospitality and tourism economy,” said Diane Brossart, president of Valley Forward Association, a 42-year old environmental public interest organization that counts many of Arizona’s largest corporations, small businesses and government agencies as members. “Our elected leaders must understand that Arizona’s recreation areas do more than fuel healthy lifestyles – they fuel our economy. Cutting our investment in state and national lands puts the brakes on any economic recovery here in Arizona.”
For more information: Valley Forward Press Release (pdf)
By wide margins, Arizona voters believe that protecting and preserving the natural environment is important. Moore Information and Grove Insight, February, 2011.