Countdown to public power
 	 		 		
Countdown to public power | October 3, 2001 | SFBG News
 		 		 		 		
Reason no. 6 to vote for Prop. F and Measure I                                          

TWO PUBLIC POWER initiatives are on the Nov. 6 ballot: Measure I 
(the municipal utility district) and Proposition F (the city-run 
water and power agency). Here's the sixth of the top 10 reasons 
to vote yes on public power this fall.
 						
Local accountability You've heard the horror stories: A town 
suffers from cancer in Hinkley after a corporation poisons the 
groundwater with toxic chemicals. Homes in Nevada County burn 
down after overgrown trees catch fire on power lines because the 
corporation responsible for tree trimming has cut back on staff. 
Even after the Harvard School of Public Health ties pollution 
from coal-fired power plants to severe illnesses and death in 
Salem, Mass., coal smoke continues to belch from Salem's power 
plant.
 						
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (or its parent corporation) is 
responsible for it all.
 						
With a locally managed public power agency, there's no promise of 
perfection, and there's likely to be tough battles over 
environmental issues. But elected officials can be held 
accountable to the public. If the elected board won't deal with 
the dirty effects of generating electricity (or any other problem 
identified by the community), the ratepayers can vote board 
members out or petition to have them recalled. (Rachel Brahinsky)
 						
Learn more about PG's criminal ways in Hinkley in the 2000 film 
Erin Brockovitch.
 						
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