“Mr. McDiarmid said his group was disappointed in Mr. Dingell for recently opposing yet another bill to raise fuel economy standards. ‘Words, good intentions and political games no longer count,’ Mr. McDiarmid said. The crowd erupted.”

—A New York Times account of remarks given by MEC’s Hugh McDiarmid, Jr. on behalf of an environmental coalition at an Aug. 7 Ann Arbor town hall meeting on global warming organized by Congressman John Dingell

“He has survived 50 years substantially because he does listen to his constituencies.”

—MEC President Lana Pollack in the same New York Times article, which went on to paraphrase her thusly:

“He has changed his stance on global warming, she figures, because he sees that voters are worried about it and because he wants to make sure the auto industry doesn’t bear the brunt of a new policy.”

“‘Development patterns that put housing further from workplaces contribute to climate change, and changes in those patterns are crucial in slowing global warming. Smart state and local planning is needed,’ said Brad Garmon of the Michigan Environmental Council.”

—A Sept. 20 Detroit Free Press story on a new national report
on the benefits of Smart Growth urban planning

“Gard believes the issue goes deeper than comparing two processes that use coal. If Michigan wants to move into the 21st Century with a modern energy system, the state needs to put its money where its mouth is and do more than lip service to (energy efficiency and renewable power). ‘We are not rich on conventional fossil fuel,’ he said. ‘We pay about $20 billion a year to import energy. A lot of that is coal.’”

—MEC’s Energy Program Director David Gard, in The Midland Daily News’ Sept. 23 story on a proposed coal plant in Midland

“The impact falls only on people in certain neighborhoods. So people who fill up their Lexuses and Escalades in the northern suburbs have the benefit of the oil, but the people next to the refineries have increased asthma and other problems.”

—MEC President Lana Pollack in an Aug. 28 Detroit Free Press story on a proposed expansion of Marathon’s oil refinery
in southwest Detroit

“This is a classic example of where we should be able to protect the environment and create jobs.”

—MEC Policy Director James Clift, interviewed by Jack Lessenberry on Michigan Radio Oct. 8. Clift said he hopes that Marathon will agree to measures to create “no net increase” in pollutants for the southwest Detroit neighborhoods that surround the refinery