350.org is proud to partner with grassroots activists around the world who are doing the essential work of resisting the expansion of dirty energy and advocating for clean, green solutions. Here’s an update from our friends in North Carolina, USA who are working on stopping the construction of a new, coal fired power plant:
It’s time to come and help North Carolinians do their part to reach 350.
The Stop Cliffside Coalition is asking for your aid in amping up the pressure on Duke Energy, Jim Rogers, Gov. Bev Perdue, and the Legislature in North Carolina by participating in Call to Conscience: Cliffside Climate Action.
On Monday April 20, hundreds of North Carolinians and others from across the Southeast and the USA will converge on Duke Energy’s headquarters in Charlotte,
North Carolina to stop their climate change time bomb, the obscenely expensive $2.5 B Cliffside coal plant. If built, Cliffside would emit 6 million tons of CO2 each year, and would be fueled by coal extracted through mountaintop removal.
Bill McKibben says “This plant is a relic before it’s even built, a leftover from the days before we realized that coal is filthy in every way. It’s hard to imagine that the technologically savvy Tarheel State really wants to get stuck with yesterday’s technology.”
We invite you to come and bear witness as responsible citizens. We can no longer remain silent as Duke poisons our air, destroys the Appalachian Mountains, and fans the flames of climate change for the sake of profit.
In recent months more than 90 coal plants have been cancelled or put on hold by electric utility companies. Governors across the nation are taking a stand against coal. Majority Leader Reid and Speaker Pelosi recently called for the Capitol Power Plant to stop using coal as its fuel.
A few weeks ago Lisa Jackson, Director of the EPA indicated that the EPA would consider regulating CO2 as a pollutant and began a review on new permits for mountaintop removal coal mining. She even rejected the Corps of Engineers permits for allowing coal companies to fill in streams with mining wastes.
We are on the cusp of a sea change in public perception and opinion about the use of coal to produce electricity. The public understands that coal is dirty. Its mining destroys communities and habitat. Its burning pollutes near and far with hazardous air pollutants and toxins such as mercury, lead, arsenic and dioxins. Its ash wastes are a hazard to local communities and groundwater. And finally, the public is beginning to understand that we must stop burning coal in order to prevent the worst consequences of climate change from occurring.
In short, coal is a public health hazard. NASA’s Dr. James Hansen, America’s preeminent climatologist, has publicly urged Duke Energy CEO Rogers to cancel Cliffside because “Coal plants are factories of death. It is no wonder that young people (and some not so young) are beginning to block new construction.”
Call To Conscience: Cliffside Climate Action will involve peaceful direct action by those wishing to participate. Trainings and celebrations will take place on April 19th. Please RSVP if you plan to participate.
— The Stop Cliffside Coalition