It’s Getting Hot In Here

“I said, ooo…”

Yeah, you know the anthem.  

Tonight, it’s being sung by an assortment of some 60-70 anti-coal/clean energy grassroots organizers from across the United States, in a charming little church in downtown Houston.  Here for the first time, effected young people, religious leaders, indigenous leaders, and community members from Georgia and Michigan, Nevada, Texas, and Illinois, have converged to address their common threat to health and future: Dynegy Corporation, and its six risky coal plant proposals.

The crowd is meeting in preparation for Dynegy’s annual shareholder meeting (tomorrow 5/14/08), and have already steeped into sharing intimate stories of both suffering and triumph around this heartfelt work to end Dynegy’s risky business plans. “Stories of farmers and ranchers who, without any doubts, tell of the drastic climate effects they’ve experienced in their lifetime” of “Georgia fisherman who’ve only desired to live and fish in plenty”, “of mayors and school boards who’ve said ‘not in my back-yard,” and “of young people who at the thanksgiving table have told their elders about the threats to their very futures caused by generations of inaction”.

Stories that sound much like those told almost a year ago, in this very state, as mayors and community members stood-up to Texas based TXU as it attempted to pursue 11 coal plant proposals.  That deal ended, after massive public pressure from Texas based citizens organizing groups, with TXU ending 8 of its eleven proposals and being sold to a private equity firm.  Today Dynegy seems to have put itself in a vulnerable position, as it attempts to become the nations largest Global Warming pollutant emitter, as the price of coal soars, and as customers and citizens increasingly become vocal opposers of coal, that echoes TXU’s devistating mistakes.

With the price of coal rising faster then oil, destabalizing one of America’s “Cheap” “Home-Grown” energy sources, investors around the country are realizing that unhealth coal-fired power plants are ever-more becoming risky, and lets say ‘less then intelligent’, investments.

Citizens have traveled tens of thousands of miles to educate shareholders and customers, engage the media, and influence board members about the serious financial, health, and environmental risk of building new coal fired power plant facilities of ANY kind. (coal prices increasing faster then oil and upcoming carbon legislation). And to continue the national movement, of individuals expressing, neighbor by neighbor, one after the other, information, sentiments, and ambitions about moving a society beyond financially risky and unhealthy Coal proposals like that of the Dynegy Corporation.

Stay tuned for a low-down on tomorrow’s events.