|
Say Goodbye to Coal! E-COnnections February 23, 2009 - Vol 4, Issue 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
|
|
Despite a
multi-million dollar media campaign by the coal industry, Americans are catching on to the fact that there is no
such thing as clean coal and that our use of coal as a major industrial
fuel must be phased out soon if we are to respond effectively to the
crisis of global climate change.
|
The End of the Coal Age
|
Coal emits more carbon dioxide per unit of energy produced than any other fuel currently in use. Yet, coal-fired power plants continue to generate approximately 50% of the electricity in the United States. In 2007, they produced over 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide or 36% of total U.S. emissions.
The Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (recently renamed the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity) is hoping to re-brand our country's dirtiest fuel. They would like us to believe that a whole new generation of clean-coal power plants are waiting to be constructed. The truth is that the most promising technology for reducing carbon emissions, a process called carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), remains years away from widespread implementation. But a 2007 study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology called "The Future of Coal" says that "the first commercial CCS plant won't be on stream until 2030 at the earliest." Also in 2007, the Edison Electric Institute, which represents most U.S. power generators, admitted to a House Select Committee in Washington, D.C. that commercial deployment will require 25 years with research costing at least $20 billion.
To have any hope of effectively moderating the effects of global climate change, we must put a moratorium on the construction of new coal-fired power plants and immediately begin to phase out existing facilities. Fortunately, momentum is growing, as people across the nation are calling for an end to the use of coal and a commitment to energy conservation and clean energy alternatives.
|
Capitol Climate Action
Largest Climate Demonstration in U.S. History!
|
 On Monday, March 2, 2009, thousands of people from all walks of life will join in a multi-generational demonstration at the Capitol Power Plant in Washington, D.C. This plant provides power to Congress and is symbolic of our nation's need to change its energy policy and make a new commitment to clean, renewable energy sources.
Eco-Justice Collaborative has joined over 80 environmental organizations endorsing this monumental event, a gathering that will be the largest mass demonstration for the climate in U.S. history. Author and educator, Bill McKibben; author and poet, Wendell Berry; and NASA climatologist, James Hanson will lead a rally near our nation's Capitol and a march to the power plant, where many are expected to participate in non-violent civil disobedience. Click here to read more about this historic action and to learn how you can support this effort.
|
|
|
|
Support Wind and Save a Mountain!
|
 Coal's negative impacts are not limited to its role as the single biggest contributor of carbon emissions. Its devastating environmental effects are felt along the way from extraction to combustion. From toxic waste spills, acid mine drainage and the polluting of local surface and groundwater sources, mining despoils the landscapes and natural resources in those regions where it is extracted.
In recent years, Appalachia has been ravaged by a new method of coal mining called "mountaintop removal". Using dynamite and heavy equipment, vast areas of wooded mountains are literally blown up to provide access to underlying seams of coal. According to one source, nearly one million acres of hardwood forests, a thousand miles of waterways and more than 470 mountains and their surrounding communities have been erased from the southeastern mountain range in the last 20 years.
Despite environmental regulations and improved technologies, the burning of coal continues to release fine particulates and harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. Coal combustion remains the largest single source of atmospheric mercury emissions. Communities near the sites of coal-fired power plants and other locations of industrial coal combustion have been shown to experience high levels of asthma, lung disease and other health and respiratory problems. These plants are often sited near working class neighborhoods and communities of color. In the end, the true cost of providing energy from coal is much higher than that reflected in the consumer price. It's time to replace coal with alternatives that are less costly to society.
|
Delegation to Coal River Mountain, WV
May 1-3, 2009
|
 Join Eco-Justice Collaborative in a three-day weekend trip to Whitesville, West Virginia, to bear witness to the impacts of mountaintop removal mining. We will visit the Kayford mine with Larry Gibson, a resident and nationally-known activist featured in the documentary "Kilowatt Ours". While with Larry, we will get a first hand view of the process of mountaintop removal and how it has affected his family. Later, we will with meet with members of the Coal River Mountain Watch, listen to stories from local residents, and learn about the local campaign to curtail the expansion of mining in the area and replace it with wind farms.
Although a 6,600-acre mountaintop removal site is slated for Coal River Mountain, local residents have developed plans for a wind farm there instead. The wind farm would provide over a million dollars more in tax revenue per year than the mountaintop removal proposal, and would provide jobs and clean energy forever. Click here for a flier and here for an itinerary, application and to learn more.
|
January 2009 Hyde Park Public Forum
Stop Climate Change
|
 This past January, EJC held a public forum as part of CAMP HOPE, a 19-day vigil held near President Obama's Hyde Park home. The purpose of CAMP HOPE was to encourage the support of progressive actions that Barack Obama promoted on his campaign trail.
One of the eight requests made of Barack Obama was to join the international community in taking aggressive action to reverse anthropogenic CO2 emission that are causing our climate to change. The purpose of the pubic forum was to highlight potential climate and energy initiatives that can immediately reduce harmful emissions and, in so doing, help our economy and put people back to work.
Participants filled out comment cards for proposals developed by eight organizations.. More than 250 cards were collected and delivered to President Obama's leadership team. Click here to read and comment on the 10-point proposal on climate change sent to President Obama. Click here to view photos and a slide show of this family-friendly event!
|
|
Eco-Justice Collaborative links our lifestyles to our unconstrained use of resources, pollution, global climate change and global poverty and resource wars. This information
is not intended to make us all feel guilty, but rather to raise consciousness
and provide incentives to find ways to live that are more sustainable, giving
back life to our precious earth and all who inhabit it.
Visit our website for recommended actions for
change that both individually and collectively will reduce our impact - or
ecological footprint - on our world, and move our country toward just, sustainable
living for all.
Sincerely,
|
|
Pam and Lan Richart
Eco-Justice Collaborative
|
|
|
|
|
