May 1, 2013 – Check out the latest article from ThomasNet’s IMT Green & Clean Journal, “Cutting Pollution, One Diesel Engine at a Time” about SDEV’s Clean Diesel program. Thank you, Christian Bonawandt and ThomasNet, for promoting our program and highlighting the success we’ve had over the past few years!
http://news.thomasnet.com/green_clean/2013/04/30/cutting-pollution-one-diesel-engine-at-a-time/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, March 15, 2013
Contact: Kathy Stott, Executive Director
Kathy.sdev@gmail.com (313) 842-1961
SDEV TO MONITOR AND ADVOCATE FOR REMOVAL OF PET COKE PILES ON RIVER IN SOUTHWEST DETROIT
Petroleum coke piles pose potential health and safety threats to neighborhood
DETROIT, MI - The Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision (SDEV) will monitor and investigate the petroleum (pet) coke piles dumped at sites on the Detroit River, on Jefferson and Clark Streets in Southwest Detroit. “We are concerned about the health and safety of this entire neighborhood, especially the children playing in Clark Park, located only a few blocks from these potentially dangerous pet coke piles”, said Kathy Stott, Executive Director for SDEV, a nonprofit group in the community.
SDEV is advocating for the immediate covering of these pet coke piles until they are removed. Covering the piles with tarps could reduce safety hazards and eliminate the dust that is generated from piles – dust that has been blowing into the community and across the river to our neighbors in Canada.
“On behalf of all members and supporters of SDEV, we will continue to investigate the potential threats to our health and safety, including fugitive dust concerns and fire hazards from these uncovered coke piles. We all have the right to breath clean air, drink clean water, and feel safe in our communities”, said Stott.
SDEV recognizes that petroleum coking is a recycling process that oil refineries use to reduce the amount of waste produced from the refining process. However there are health and safety hazards present when moving and storing pet coke, and measures should be taken to reduce the risk of these hazards. Piles should be kept covered and away from residential and commercial neighborhoods. Pet coke is a combustible dust that could pose a fire hazard if not handled properly.
SDEV will continue to monitor the situation and advocate for the immediate covering and removal of the piles.
###
Download PDF of press release: SDEV-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE_coke piles in sw_3-15-13
###
If you are already signed up for Kroger Community Rewards, remember you must RE-ENROLL every April. If you AREN’T already enrolled, this is a great time to sign up!
It’s easy to enroll or re-enroll in Kroger Community Rewards! Just visit krogercommunityrewards.com, click on “Michigan” and then click on “Enroll”. All participants must have a valid online account at Kroger.com. Also be sure to have your Kroger Plus Card handy because that’s what you link to SDEV to automatically earn funds for us every time you shop!
SDEV’s Community Rewards Code: 82554
For more information, visit our Kroger Community Rewards page!
SDEV and the Ideal Group hosted a very successful clean up event of Merritt Street this past Saturday! More than 30 people came out to help fill two dumpsters (60 cubic yards worth of garbage!). Congratulations to all of the residents and groups that helped make this day successful, including SW Pride, BuildOn (Western International High School students), our Young Professionals Yesi, Matt, Madelyn and Ryan, Honeybee Market for providing lunch, Café con Leche for the wonderful hot chocolate stations, and the residents of this neighborhood! Special thanks to Sarah Clark of SDEV, and Jesse Venegas, Christopher Lara, Osmara Zarate, Sylvia Gucken, and all the folks at Ideal for helping to plan and execute this event!
See more clean-up event photos on Facebook!
SDEV partnered with a company at the Detroit-Fort Street Produce Terminal and received funding from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to complete an electrification project. This project replaced 7 old diesel refrigeration units with new electric units. The project also included upgrading the electrical infrastructure to allow the building to handle the amount of electricity needed to power the new units. Switching from diesel to electric refrigeration significantly reduces noise pollution and reduces fuel consumption by about 80%. This project is removing over 145 tons of toxic emissions from the air EVERY YEAR!
A special thank you to Thermo King Michigan for their hard work and dedication to making sure this project ran smoothly. The Thermo King Electric Reefer Units are the perfect fit for stationary refrigeration needs and are working even better than we anticipated!
Check out more photos of the project on our Facebook page!
We welcome all families, organizations, and groups to participate in the Merritt Street clean-up.
Please hold tight until we get this site fully up and running.
For up-to-date information on SDEV programs, events, and successes, be sure to “like” our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter!