The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, October 19, 2012 - 7
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, October19, 2012 - 7
panel. Lyon estimated that for
the average household paying
$200 a month in energy costs,
Michigan Energy, Michigan Jobs
would produce an increase of.
about $12 a month, adding that
he disagrees with CARE's over-
all estimate that the amendment
would cost $12 billion.
Irwin said the amendment is
vital to Michigan's energy inde-
pendence and has vast advantag-
es for both the environment and
the economy.
"It has the potential to create
and improve economic growth in
Michigan," Irwin said. "There's
a jobs component of it - there
are literally billions (of dollars)
in opportunities that Michigan
could invest in wind, solar and
geothermal power and mak-
ing those opportunities a real-
ity would be very good for our
state."
Irwin also said environmen-
tal and health factors are crucial
when considering the adoption
of Proposal 3.
"Coal is one of the dirtiest
forms of (energy)," Irwin said.
"Right now we are dealing with
the consequences of our heavy
investment in coal and our heavy
reliance on coal in Michigan, and
we've seen that in terms of respi-
ratory problems, high childhood
asthma rates, and - the most
important - pollution in our
Great Lakes."
LSA senior Rachel Jankows-
ki, the chair of the University's
chapter of College Republicans,
said the amendment would dis-
courage companies from cre-
ating and sustaining jobs in
Michigan, a state already riddled
with economic troubles.
"I think any kind of restriction
like that on a business is going to
cost a ton of money," Jankowski
said. "I think the government
mandating that we need 25 per-
cent of renewable in the next
12 years is honestly completely
unrealistic."
LSA senior Lauren Coffman,
the communications director for
the University's chapter of Col-
lege Democrats, echoed Irwin's
assertion that the amendment
will improve Michigan's future.
"Proposition 3 will protect the
environment and increase our
state's energy independence,"
Coffman said. "It will improve
economic growth, bringing man-
ufacturingjobs back to Michigan
and ensuring a better future for
Michigan's residents."
In a poll conducted by Bay-
doun Consulting - a Michigan-
based political research group
- released on Oct. 5, about 40
percent of likely Michigan vot-
ers supported the Clean Energy
initiative amendment, about 45
percent opposed it and 15 per-
cent of those polled were unde-
cided.
The numbers indicate a sig-
nificant change in opinion
from Baydoun's September
poll, in which about 47 percent
of respondents supported the
initiative and about 36 percent
opposed the measure.
RIGHTS
From Page 1A
ica, Obama's grassroots cam-
paign effort. The event was one
of several the Obama campaign
has held on college campuses
around the country.
The panelists discussed
how the Affordable Care Act
specifically benefits women.
According to Richards, the leg-
islation is especially important
because women no longer have
to pay more for insurance than
men, given the variety of ser-
vices newly covered by the law
- including mammograms,
birth control, pap smears and
other preventative measures
- without-requiring a co-pay,
and it also forbids insurance
companies from denying cov-
erage due to pre-existing con-
ditions.
"For the -first time in our
lives, being a woman is no lon-
ger a pre-existing condition in
America," Richards said dur-
ing her speech.
Richards - who has taken a
leave of absence from Planned
Parenthood in order to cam-
paign for Obama - said she
is passionate about helping
the America's college-aged
women.
"I'm really focused on
women and women's health
and students," Richards said in
an interview afterthe event. "A
lot of the folks who depend on
Planned Parenthood are stu-
dents."
Richards said her main con-
cerns about the upcoming elec-
tion are claims by Republican
presidential nominee Mitt
Romney that he would defund
Planned Parenthood if he were
elected. Though the organiza-
tion is best-known for its role
as an abortion provider, Rich-
ards noted that the non-profit'
organization performed about
750,000 preventative breast
exams in 2011.
Stabenow said in an inter-
view after the event that pre-
ventative health care measures
are especially important fore
women of all ages.
"Whe+her nn'enne is wo--
ried about their mom or their
sister or their girlfriend or
their wife, it's very much about
whether or not women will
have access to the preventative
care they need - to discover
cancer or other diseases early,
to be able to stay healthy," Sta-
benow said.
She added that she strongly
supports the president and his
stance on social issues.
"What I appreciate about
the president is he consistently
supports access to health care
for women, nondiscrimina-
tion, (and) equal pay for equal
work," Stabenow said. "There
is no doubt where he stands
and there never has been."
Public Policy senior Michael
Jacobson said he thinks it's
important for more men to get
involved in the fight for wom-
en's rights.
"I grew up really interested
in abortion issues - really
pro-life. I realized eventually
that those policies don't work
for anyone in the long run,"
Jacobson said. "And I believe
in understanding Planned Par-
enthood's philosophy about
prevention."
LSA junior Stefanie Rubin-
stein, the campus team leader
for Organizing for America and
facilitator of the event, said she
hopes to be an advocate for
women's rights like the panel-
ists do.
"I really welcome any
chance I can to hear women
who have made a name for
themselves, especially advo-
cates of women's health and
pay equality," Rubinstein said.
"So, I definitely felt very ener-
gized by the event."
Richards said that an
increasing number of young
people, especially men, have
become interested in advo-
cating for women's health
rights.
"I think (for) this next gen-
eration, it's sort of unthinkable
to them that men and women
would lose rights, and I've been
very encouraged by the num-
ber of young men who have
become active with Planned
Parenthood over the last year,"
Rihardaid
From Page 1A
es by 2015.
Statewide television airwaves
have been cluttered with adver-
tisements opposing the ballot ini-
tiative. To date, the interest group
Clean Affordable Renewable
Energy for Michigan Coalition
has spent almost $5.7 million in
advertising in opposition to the
proposal.
Among CARE for Michigan
Coalition's primary donors is
DTE Energy. DTE spokesman
Alejandro Bodipo-Memba said
officials feel that energy policy
should be addressed in the state
Legislature, rather than in the
form of a constitutional amend-
ment. He also expressed concern
over how the proposal would
impact consumers' energy bills.
"We believe this is bad energy
policy," Bodipo-Memba said. " ...
We think this is bad for custom-
ers, we think this is certainly
going to increase costs. (The
1-percent cap) does not take into
account a host of other costs that
are associated with the produc-
tion of energy."
In contrast to DTE's position,
State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann
Arbor) said Proposal 3 is a policy
he is most excited about and in
support of this election season.
Irwin said many renewable
sources are actually more eco-
nomically efficient than building
new coal power plants.
"That argument that (power
companies are) going to increase
electricity rates, I believe, is sim-
ply their political effort to encour-
age you to vote no and to scare
people away from voting yes."
Irwin said.
In a panel discussion hosted
by the Ford School of Public
Policy Center for Local, State,
and Urban Policy, Sanya Carley,
an assistant professor at Indiana
University School of Public, and
Environmental Affairs, said that
to date, 33 states plus the Dis-
trict of Columbia have adopted
Renewable Portfolio Standards.
She noted that Michigan's
Clean, Renewable, and Efficient
Energy Act of 2008 makes the
state the most competitive in
terms of renewable energy stan-
dards.
Thomas Lyon, the Dow chair
of sustainable science, technol-
ogy and commerce at the Univer-
sity, also spoke at the Ford School
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