Former Kansas Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby spoke today at Kansas City Kansas Community College about his controversial decision a few years ago to deny a permit to a coal-fired power plant in southwestern Kansas. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

   On a day when the wind chill started out as below zero, global warming would hardly seem the appropriate topic. But as former Kansas Health and Environment Secretary Roderick Bremby told students and the public at a speech on sustainability today at Kansas City Kansas Community College, the extremes of weather, including hot, cold and major weather events, have connections to human actions that have polluted the environment.

   While it’s colder in some places, overall the Earth is warming, he said, citing scientific findings. The extreme cold weather the nation is experiencing, along with weather events in Europe and the recent extreme floods in Australia, could all be part of the effects of global warming, he said.

   Bremby defended his actions today in denying a permit three years ago to Sunflower Electric Power Corp. for a controversial coal-fired power plant in southwestern Kansas. One by one, he answered critics’ claims against his actions in denying the permit. His decision was supported by then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.  After his exit, a permit for a coal-fired plant was later approved in 2010 by Bremby's replacement appointed by former Gov. Mark Parkinson. Bremby said he did not want to divulge today what he said to then-Gov. Parkinson, or his advice, when he was forced out as health and environmental secretary last November. 

   Bremby told the audience that it would be far more efficient, and would create more Kansas jobs, to retrofit existing homes, businesses and institutional buildings to become energy-efficient rather than to build new coal-fired plants.

During his presentation, Bremby showed this slide, along with other slides, from a study that challenged whether the coal-fired plant in Kansas would be the cleanest in the nation, a claim that was stated by its supporters. He said that there were more than 600 other plants in the nation that were cleaner. (Staff photo)

Community activist Richard Mabion, right, asked a question after the speech by Rod Bremby, left. (Staff photo)

    In answer to a question from community activist Richard Mabion, Bremby agreed that Kansas City, Kansas, could become part of the model for green cities by renovating more of its homes in the northeast area, rather than tearing them down. Russ Rudy also raised the question of how to save more homes in the northeast area from bulldozers.

   Bremby explained that his denial of the permit for the coal-fired plant a few years ago was the first step toward a public process to create a conversation about the state’s energy policy. However, he felt that the work toward creating an energy policy based on participation from the public has not been accomplished yet in the state. He said he favored participation from all segments in creating that policy.

   A few years ago, the influence of lobbying dollars in this permitting process was “staggering,” Bremby said.

   He urged those in attendance to not only follow the politics of the environmental issues in Topeka and Washington, but also to take action at home, where they live and work, in accomplishing environmental goals.