It’s Getting Hot In Here

This April Fools, groups in Boston, New Orleans, Berkeley, Kentucky – and even London – are celebrating Rising Tide North America‘s “Fossil Fool’s Day” by calling attention to the most foolish fuel there is: coal. Some will rally, some will march, and others will even juggle in the Boston “Coal Circus” or in the Middlebury, Vermont “Cirque du Coal-ay.”

Many of the day’s events are connected through Power Past Coal (www.powerpastcoal.org), a national project linking together an action or more a day for the first hundred days of Obama’s presidency. The project’s first seventy days have seen over 130 actions in all fifty states, each demanding that the President and new Congress lead a just and swift transition away from coal.

“We need to make our leaders realize that all coal is foolish, especially clean coal,” said Ted Glick, of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, whose work has focused on the promotion of clean, just energy alternatives to coal in places like Wise County, Virginia, where the Wise Energy Alliance is protesting Dominion Power Company’s proposed coal plant. Fossil Fools Day events in Denver similarly target the operating Cherokee Coal Plant, which releases toxic pollutants daily into local residents’ backyards.

In New Orleans, conservation groups, students, and concerned citizens are joining forces at Entergy’s headquarters to protest the company’s plans to expand their use of coal power in Louisiana. “Louisiana’s coast is ground zero for climate change impacts,” said rally organizer Jonathan Henderson. “Entergy should be a responsible neighbor and work to limit coast-destroying pollution and protect rate-payers from future carbon price increases.

In the spirit of the “Coal Circus,” students from Bowling Green, Kentucky are planning a Monster Mash and a critical mass bike ride. Berkeley, California residents will also hop on their bikes to “reclaim the streets” from car-driving fossil fools, as will students in Tempe, Arizona, who have declared themselves “too cool for fossil fools.”

Despite the lighthearted nature of the events, participants know that coal is not a joke. Many come from communities impacted daily by coal extraction, burning, and waste disposal. As President Obama’s 100^th day rapidly approaches, thousands of citizens across the country are taking action to draw urgent attention to the need for “power past coal.” Stay tuned this week as Power Past Coal launches into it’s final phase!