In November 2008, a diverse group of community leaders, environmental activists, former coal miners, indigenous peoples, and determined citizens gathered in Charleston, WV to figure out how to tackle one of the biggest justice issues facing America today: coal. The result is an inspiring new collaboration between climate and coalfield organizers: the Power Past Coal project. Power Past Coal (www.powerpastcoal.org) is planning 100 Days of Action to coincide with the first 100 days of the new Obama. Each day from January 21st to April 30th, communities will take action, demanding solutions to a broad spectrum of coal-based problems.
We are standing up to let everyone know: Coal is dirty and deadly, from cradle to grave. From mountaintop removal in West Virginia to dirty coal emissions in cities to the recent toxic coal sludge spill in Tennessee, communities nationwide are impacted by coal every day. American citizens are tired of dirty energy sources and the economic, environmental, and health problems they create. Power Past Coal’s 100 Days of Action will show voters, politicians, and business leaders that coal is a problem we must address.
Power Past Coal will bring together hundreds of independent actions from all over the country to showing how coal impacts each and every one of us and to demand a transition to a more clean and just energy future. Communities in Appalachia will demand an end to the mountain top removal that’s ruining their homeland. Navajo leaders will protest the strip mines and coal plants polluting their drinking water. Thousands will descend on Washington and take direct action on the coal-fired power plant that powers Congress, calling for strong climate change legislation now. We will share our stories and make our demands heard.
Our movement is growing larger and larger every day. Just this week, David Freeman, former head of the Tennessee Valley Authority (which operates the coal plant that flooded over 300 acres with toxic waste last month) said “It’s time that we outlawed new coal-fired plants and start systematically by age, shutting down the old ones.” Urban and rural, Democrat and Republican, black and white: Americans demand a future that powers past coal.
To plan your own action, sign up at www.powerpastcoal.org. No matter how you are linked to coal, we want to hear from you and deliver your message to our new leaders.
Take action. Tell your story. Join the movement.
