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Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal
E-COnnections                                                              March 2010 - Volume 4, Issue 2
Greetings!
On March 19th and 20th, Eco-Justice Collaborative is hosting Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal, a multi-media presentation written by Jeff Biggers, cultural historian and journalist.  With a backdrop of film montages and historically-based satirical faux-mercials by filmmaker/actor Ben Evans, "Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal" is a rare journey into the lives of those on the coalfield frontlines, and an entertaining, informative and illuminating theatrical production on the true cost of mountaintop removal and coal mining to our land and citizenry. 

We hope you can attend!  Visit our website to learn more about the play.  Read on to learn about the history of coal in Illinois (which includes legalized slavery) and why the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Development calls Illinois the "Saudi Arabia of Coal".  Be sure to check out the other events that are happening in Chicago during Coal-Free Future Week, beginning March 15th (see below).

We CAN have a coal-free future if we choose it. Conservation and efficiency alone can reduce our nation's use of electricity from coal-fired power plants by 62%

Sincerely,


Pam and Lan Richart

Saudi Arabia of Coal Poster

Friday, March 19, 8:00 PM
Saturday, March 20, 2:00 PM

Conway Center, Columbia College
1104 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago


Tickets:  $15 General Admission and $10 Students

Sponsored by:
Eco-Justice Collaborative and Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

Co-Sponsored by:
 8th Day Center for Justice . Greenpeace . Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization
Rainforest Action Network Chicago . Sierra Club . Topless America . Wellington Avenue UCC


Did You Know....

Yesterday:
  • Coal was discovered in Illinois over 300 years ago. Black slaves arrived in the Illinois territory to dig coal for the French in 1722 - nearly 25 years before their counterparts first mined coal in the vicinity of Richmond, Virginia.  Black slaves continued to mine coal in Illinois for the next century.
  • The Illinois constitution in 1818 outlawed slavery with one exception: Legal slavery was allowed in the salt works that employed black slaves to dig out the coal that fueled the furnaces (more than one-third of Illinois' tax revenues came from these salt wells). Legalized slavery did not end in Illinois until 1848.

  • The practice of commercial strip mining dates back to Illinois, where the first horses and scrapers opened the first surface mines in the 1850s. Over the next 150 years, steam-engine shovels and modern draglines have stripped millions of acres of farmland and virgin forests, across 20 states in the nation, leaving behind devastated moonscapes and polluted waterways.
Today:
  • Coal underlies 37,000 square miles of Illinois - about 65% of the state.  The majority of this coal is bituminous, with high-energy values. In fact, Illinois' coal reserves contain more Btu's than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, making coal a highly valued resource despite the environmental, social and health costs associated with mining, processing and burning.
  • The proposed Deer Run mine in Illinois is poised to be the largest coal mining operation in the country.  The production of coal through longwall mining destroys some of the best prime farmland in the world, poisons streams and groundwater and displaces rural communities.
  • Each day, every American uses about 20 pounds of coal in the form of coal-based electricity.  Although the energy cost is inexpensive, the real costs are not:
    • Coal pollutants affect all major body organ systems and contribute to four of the five leading causes of mortality in the U.S.: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory diseases. Each step of the coal lifecycle (mining, transportation, washing, combustion, and disposing of post-combustion wastes) negatively impacts human health.
    • Nearly 40% of U.S. CO2 emissions come from coal-fired power plants - more than all forms of transportation, combined!  These emissions are a primary cause of catastrophic changes to our climate.
  • It's time for a coal-free future!

Coal-Free Future Week, Beginning March 15!
Organized by Eco-Justice Collaborative

March 16
Toxic tour for health professionals and alderman through Little Village led by LVEJO, Sierra Club and RAHMC.

March 17
Clergy breakfast at Fourth Presbyterian Church, focused on transitioning away from coal to a clean energy future.  Featuring Jeff Biggers and Pam and Lan Richart.

March 18
Coal-Free Future Roadshow.  Performed by EJC, Topless America, Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace and 8th Day Center for Justice.

March 19 and 20
Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal.  Performed by the Coal-Free Futures Project.

March 20
Noon forum on coal pollution in Chicago.  Sponsored by PERRO.  Featuring Alderman Joe Moore.

March 20
Candlelight vigil at the Fisk coal-fired power plant to call on Mayor Daley to stop the pollution!  Sponsored by PERRO.


Join a Delegation ....
It's not too late to sign up for one of our delegations!  Use our contact form to tell us you are interested and we'll be in touch.

longwall mining

April 10 and 11
(Friday and Saturday)

Longwall Mining
Macoupin and Montgomery Counties, South-Central Illinois


Longwall mining is Illinois' version of mountaintop removal mining. Massive longwall mining operations destroy the richest farmland in the world. Travel with EJC to what may be the largest mine in the nation!  Click here for more.



EJC Delegates


May 14, 15 and 16
(Friday through Sunday)

Mountaintop Removal Mining
Coal River Valley, West Virginia


Coal River Valley is the place where national concerns over climate change and coal extraction through mountaintop removal mining converge through local activism.  Click here for details.

 
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.

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