VDT Elevates Biomass and Renewable Energy as Political Issues

The Valdosta Daily Times (VDT) has apparently decided biomass and real clean energy instead are political issues. As part of the VDT's sudden turn against the VLCIA and its biomass plant, which was provoked by citizen and student activism, the VDT started a week of articles with the headline "Proposed plant said to be 'medical atrocity'", about Dr. William Sammons' Monday talk about health problems of biomass and how solar is better.

The VDT then featured biomass in its reporting on the AAUW Candidate Forum:

All four candidates for the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners were present for the forum — District 2 seat, Republican Richard Raines and Democrat Debra Franklin and District 3 seat, Republican Crawford Powell and Democrat Bill Eger.

Raines and Franklin were asked about issues relating to the Biomass project and plans for increasing jobs in the are.

In regard to the proposed Biomass project, Raines thinks the focus should be on return for investment and that other sectors of the economy should be looked into. Franklin also supports green energy but feels that since schools are located near the proposed site it could be hazardous to them.

“I don’t think one child’s life is worth 25 jobs,” she said.

In terms of jobs, Raines wants to focus on businesses that are the “most recession proof” and Franklin wants to focus on “building businesses we already have.”

Hm, I was there, and it seems to me Raines never actually said he was opposed to the biomass incinerator or for real clean energy such as solar.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to ask some of your already elected or appointed officials some of the same questions the VDT has been trying to get answered, here's how to reach them.

-jsq