State regulators should push Georgia Power to mothball coal, methane energy sources
The Public Service Commission's mission statement says that it is supposed to ensure that Georgians have safe, reliable, and reasonably priced electricity. To be honest, natural (methane) gas and coal and any combustion fuel are neither safe nor reasonable cost. Methane gas is not actually natural, it is a fossil fuel just as coal and oil are fossil fuels. There is an entire scientific article in the prestigious medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, titled 'The False Promise of Natural Gas.' This scientific article describes many of the health harms caused by natural methane gas, from production to pipelines to end use in power plants or homes. These health harms include exposure to carcinogens, air and water pollution, earthquakes, pipeline and other facility explosions, and climate change.
We know that both coal and methane gas power plants produce many kinds of air pollution, including fine particles (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and volatile organic compounds or VOCs. Some of these pollutants are precursors for ozone, which is created every day from a chemical reaction in the air between air pollution and sunlight. In addition, there are contaminants in both coal and natural gas that affect our health. Coal contaminants include many heavy metals, including lead, mercury, and arsenic, among others. Natural (methane) gas has benzene and other cyclic aromatics. All of these kinds of pollution and contaminants harm our health and damage our economy.
In the U.S., PM2.5 from fossil fuels causes 13% of all deaths, and NO2 from burning fossil fuels causes 1.6% of all deaths. Ozone causes even more deaths, and is known to cause as much progression of emphysema as smoking a pack of cigarettes every day. Ozone also triggers asthma and COPD exacerbations. In the Southeast, all of the kinds of air pollution made by coal and gas power plants put people in the hospital.
Recently, we have learned that PM2.5 damages children's IQ, from exposure during the prenatal period through the childhood years. We know that children exposed to air pollution are more likely to have mental health problems too, either within a few days of a PM2.5 spike or even eight years after exposure to NO2 or PM2.5. We know that the kinds of air pollution that coal and methane gas power plants produce will trigger asthma attacks and can cause children to develop asthma. And we have learned that giving air filters to pregnant women who live in polluted cities improves their children's IQ 4 years AFTER the children are born.
In California, when coal plants closed, the rate of preterm births for those who lived near the coal plants went down by over 25%.
Here in Georgia, more than two-thirds of our rivers and large lakes are contaminated with mercury to the point that the Department of Natural Resources has to publish guidelines every year about which fish need to have limited consumption, because the fish are contaminated with mercury. The vast majority of that mercury came from coal-fired power plants.
These are some of the reasons that it is clear that both coal and natural gas are not safe sources of fuel. The PSC needs to be true to its mission, and encourage safer sources of electricity production.
In addition, even though Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy (an energy cost analysis) shows that methane combined cycle and utility scale solar with storage appear to be in the same price range, this ignores the economic harms of reduced crop yields, work absences, and lower work productivity caused by fossil fuels, and also the enormous health costs of all the health damage from both coal and methane. Therefore it is also clear that both methane and coal are not reasonably priced, the stated costs are artificially low because they don't include the enormous economic and health damages. It is massive cost-shifting, and Georgia residents are paying with increased taxes, increased health insurance premiums, and with our own lives.
However, it's not all doom and gloom. There is a good solution: we can have abundant affordable electricity without all the health and economic damages. It sounds like pie-in-the-sky, but it's true. Solar with storage is in the same price range as methane gas combined cycle, and wind with storage is less expensive. And both are quicker to build than a new gas turbine power plant. The PSC should require Georgia Power to have much more solar with storage and much less health-damaging methane and coal.
And just this week, news came out that Georgia Power will be asking to recover costs from Hurricane Helene next year. Many scientists have shown that Hurricane Helene was more damaging and carried more moisture because of climate change. Yet, while Georgia Power is asking to recover costs of damages from a climate change enhanced hurricane, they are at the same time asking to build new natural gas power plants that will make climate change worse. It doesn't make sense, especially when we know that for about the same cost they could build solar with storage and stop making climate change worse.
Georgia has abundant sunshine that is more direct than in much of the United States. It is an abundant natural resource we can easily use without hurting people's health or hurting our crop yields. Georgia power has abundant opportunity for utility scale solar with storage, which is the safest and most reasonable cost form of electricity that there is.
The bottom line is this: air pollution is so bad for our health and economy, that you don't have to care about climate to want clean energy. Solar is one of Georgia's most abundant natural resources. The PSC should be true to its mission and require Georgia Power to use more solar and wind energy with storage so that we have safe, affordable, and reliable energy.
If you want to comment on Georgia Power's energy plan, you can use this link, or go to the PSC comment form and use Docket Number 56002, Agenda Item 'Georgia Power Company's 2025 Integrated Resource Plan', and the hearing date May 27, 2025. Please make your comment before the hearing.
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18-07-2025
Georgia shows rough road ahead for states as Medicaid work requirements loom
This is a KFF Health News story. Every time Ashton Alexander sees an ad for Georgia Pathways to Coverage, it feels like a "kick in the face." Alexander tried signing up for Pathways, the state's limited Medicaid expansion, multiple times and got denied each time, he said, even though he met the qualifying terms because he's a full-time student. Georgia is one of 10 states that haven't expanded Medicaid health coverage to a broader pool of low-income adults. Instead, it offers coverage to those who can prove they're working or completing 80 hours a month of other qualifying activities, like going to school or volunteering. And it is the only state currently doing so. "Why is this marketing out here?" said the 20-year-old, who lives in Conyers, east of Atlanta. "It's truly not accessible." Each denial used the same boilerplate language, Alexander said, and his calls to caseworkers were not returned. State offices couldn't connect him with caseworkers assigned to him from the same state agency. And when he requested contact information for a supervisor to appeal his denial, he said, the number rang to a fax machine. "It's impenetrable," Alexander said. "I've literally tried everything, and there's no way." Millions of Americans trying to access Medicaid benefits could soon find themselves navigating similar byzantine state systems and work rules. Legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4 allocates $200 million to help states that expanded Medicaid create systems by the end of next year to verify whether some enrollees are meeting the requirements. Conservative lawmakers have long argued that public benefits should go only to those actively working to get off of government assistance. But the nation's only Medicaid work requirement program shows they can be costly for states to run, frustrating for enrollees to navigate, and disruptive to other public benefit systems. Georgia's budget for marketing is nearly as much as it has spent on health benefits. Meanwhile, most enrollees under age 65 are already working or have a barrier that prevents them from doing so. What Georgia shows is "just how costly setting up these administrative systems of red tape can be," said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families. Over the past two years, KFF Health News has documented the issues riddling Georgia's Pathways program, launched in July 2023. More than 100,000 Georgians have applied to the program through March. Just over 8,000 were enrolled at the end of June, though about 300,000 would be eligible if the state fully expanded Medicaid under the terms of the Affordable Care Act. The program has cost more than $100 million, with only $26 million spent on health benefits and more than $20 million allocated to marketing contracts, according to a KFF Health News analysis of state reports. "That was truly a pretty shocking waste of taxpayer dollars," Alker said. The Government Accountability Office is investigating the costs of the program after a group of Democratic senators -- including both members of the Georgia delegation -- asked the government watchdog to look into the program. Findings are expected this fall. A state report to the federal government from March said Georgia couldn't effectively determine if applicants meet the qualifying activities criteria. The report also said the state hadn't suspended anyone for failing to work, a key philosophical pillar of the program. Meanwhile, as of March, more than 5,000 people were waiting to have their eligibility verified for Pathways. 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With no response from customer service," she wrote in February. "So now I am without coverage." Victoria Helmly of Marietta wrote in a January comment that she and her family members take care of their dad, but the state law doesn't exempt caregivers of older adults. "Georgia should recognize their sacrifices by supporting them with health insurance," she wrote. "Let's simplify this system and in the end, save money and lives."
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Attorneys: New test results over 'forever chemicals' in North Georgia water systems 'alarming'
The Brief Activist Erin Brockovich is heading to two town halls in Chatsworth and Calhoun this week to discuss the possible dangers of "forever chemicals." Studies of lab animals have found potential links between PFAS chemicals and some cancers, including kidney and testicular, plus issues such as high blood pressure and low birth weight. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency said that it plans to weaken limits on some "forever chemicals" in drinking water put in place during the Biden administration. CALHOUN, Ga. - The activist whose fight against a power company played out on the big screen is lending her star power in a battle over possible chemical contamination in Georgia. Erin Brockovich is heading to two town halls in Chatsworth and Calhoun this week to discuss the possible dangers of "forever chemicals." The backstory The synthetic compounds known collectively as polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, have contaminated drinking water to varying extents in many large cities and small towns as well as private wells and public systems. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that more than 1 million Georgians may have been exposed to the chemicals. The compounds are widespread, don't degrade in the environment and have been around for decades. They've been used in nonstick pans, food packaging and firefighting foam. Their use is now mostly phased out in the U.S., but some remain. Studies of lab animals have found potential links between PFAS chemicals and some cancers, including kidney and testicular, plus issues such as high blood pressure and low birth weight. In 2024, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the city of Calhoun and another defendant on behalf of the Coosa River Basin Initiative (CRBI) over reported PFAS pollution. That lawsuit has since been settled, with the city agreeing to overhaul its wastewater "pretreatment program" to make sure it regulates PFAS and to investigate its residential drinking water wells. By the numbers According to a map from USA Today using data from the EPA and SimpleLab, a water testing company, Georgia's highest numbers were found in the Augusta area at 1175% over the EPA's minimum reporting levels, Calhoun at around 625%, and Morrow at 112.5%. Big picture view Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency said that it plans to weaken limits on some "forever chemicals" in drinking water put in place during the Biden administration. Limits on three types of PFAS, including what are known as GenX substances found in North Carolina, will be scrapped and reconsidered by the agency, as will a limit on a mixture of several types of PFAS. The Biden administration's rule also set standards for the two common types of PFAS, referred to as PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion, effectively the lowest level at which they can be reliably detected. The EPA will keep those standards, but give utilities two extra years — until 2031 — to comply. What they're saying The PFAS Georgia team, Brockovitch and water expert Bob Bowcock say they will announce new findings from water, soil, and dust tests in Chatsworth and Calhoun. Georgia on Thursday and Friday. In a press release announcing the town halls, the group described the results of their testing as "alarming." They will also announce updates on pending lawsuits connected to PFAS contamination. The meetings will be Thursday at 6 p.m. at The Cloer Bar on 3rd Avenue in Chatsworth and Friday at 6 p.m. at The Spot 365, on South Industrial Boulevard in Calhoun. The Source Information for this report came from a release by PFAS Georgia, previous FOX 5 reporting, a map from USA Today and SimpleLab, and the Associated Press.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
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Bookman: There's no way to cut $800 billion from Medicaid without hitting bone
Opinion writer Jay Bookman argues that Trump administration officials are being dishonest when they say cuts to Medicaid won't lead to people losing benefits. the_burtons/Getty Images After repeatedly promising on the campaign trail that he would never cut Medicaid benefits, Donald Trump is pushing a 'big, beautiful' spending bill that would slash Medicaid and other health care spending by $800 billion over the next decade. And if you still believe the administration, they're going to make those cuts without anyone losing benefits. As White House official Russell Vought put in last week, 'This bill will preserve and protect the programs, the social safety net, but it will make it much more common sense. No one will lose coverage as a result.' If your BS detector isn't ringing by now, you need to take it in for repair. Confronted with the absurdity of claiming that you can cut $800 billion without canceling health care coverage, Trump officials retreat to their fallback position. Yes, they admit, they'll be cutting benefits, but only for those who don't deserve it. 'Medicaid does not belong to people who are here illegally, and it does not belong to capable and able-bodied men who refuse to work,' another White House official told Politico. 'So no one is getting cut.' Once again, though, your BS detector ought to be blaring. Under existing federal law, undocumented immigrants are already barred from getting Medicaid. They're promising to cut benefits to people who are already not getting those benefits. So no savings there. And the truth is, most of the able-bodied men who are too lazy to work are also too lazy to worry about jumping through the hoops needed to get Medicaid health-care coverage. Such men do exist, no doubt, but in numbers far too small to generate $800 billion in savings. To get savings on that scale, you have to look elsewhere. And the truth is that millions of lower-income Americans, many of them working people, would be stripped of their health insurance if the bill becomes law. In Georgia alone, the projections are that as many as 200,000 people would lose coverage. And because Medicaid plays a larger health care role in rural communities, where the population is older and private sector jobs less likely to offer health insurance, the impact would be greater in those areas, putting additional financial strain on rural hospitals and health-care providers already struggling to stay open. (If Congress also refuses to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act later this year, as seems likely, the total number of Georgians who lose health insurance could top 700,000.) And no, the money saved by such measures would not be used to reduce the nation's deficit. It would instead be used to finance tax cuts, the overwhelming majority of which would benefit the wealthy. A big chunk of the projected savings, an estimated $280 billion, would come from instituting work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The model for that nationwide requirement is supposedly the Pathways program instituted here in Georgia in 2020 by Gov. Brian Kemp. By most measures, however, that program has proved a massive disappointment. According to the original projections by the Kemp administration, some 25,000 low-wage Georgians should have been enrolled in Medicaid through the program in its first year of operation. The actual number was 4,300. By the end of its second year of operation, which comes next month, total enrollment was projected to be almost 50,000. As of April 25, it was 7,400, according to reporting by ProPublica and The Current. The monthly reporting requirements, record-keeping and bureaucratic red tape proved so discouraging that many Georgia applicants gave up in frustration, choosing instead to take the risk that they would not need coverage. If it seems odd that such a program would be embraced as a model by the GOP, it might be a matter of perspective. It might be that your idea of a failure is somebody else's idea of a success, because the two of you have different goals in mind. In this case, if your goal is to provide at least a bare-bones health insurance plan to lower-income Americans, then Georgia's Pathways program has failed. However, if your goal is to discourage and obstruct as many Americans as possible from participating in that coverage, because you want to generate $800 billion in savings so the rich can get more tax cuts, then it starts to look a whole lot better. Those yachts aren't going to buy themselves. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
