It’s Getting Hot In Here

Local Citizens ‘Die-in’ at Department of Public Health and Environment in Protest over Coal

Group calls on the Air Quality Control Commission to deny the Cherokee coal plant’s ‘permit to pollute’

Denver, CO – This morning, approximately fifteen local citizens,
representing a diverse coalition of groups, demonstrated at the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment (DPHE) to demand the denial of the Cherokee coal plant’s permit to pollute.  The early morning protest
greeted DPHE employees as they arrived for work and called on the
department to close down Cherokee.  Protestors did a ‘die-in’ in front of
the building’s main entrance to highlight the grim consequences that coal
has on our lives and those of future generations.  At the same time, other
activists in hazmat suits roped off the area with “Global Warming Crime
Scene’ tape and chanted against coal plants.

“The Department of Public Health and Environment needs to stand up for
public health and the environment.  They can do this by beginning to phase
out coal-fired power plants,” said Kate Clark, a graduate student in
Environmental Studies at CU-Boulder.

The DPHE’s Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) recently held a public
hearing on the Cherokee coal plant, in which citizens overwhelming called
for denial of the plant’s air pollution permit.  In addition, over 200
citizens turned out to express their opposition to the Valmont coal plant
in Boulder this past July and over 300 participated in a protest of the
plant on October 24th.  Beyond that, activists, dressed in Gov. Ritter
masks and clown suits, demonstrated in Denver calling on the governor to
not be a ‘climate clown.’ Today’s action was meant to amplify public
opposition to the Cherokee coal plant as the AQCC prepares to make a
decision on the future of Cherokee in the coming weeks or months.

“The Air Quality Control Commission has an opportunity to put Colorado on
the path for a clean energy future.   We hope they have the courage to do
the right thing,” said Amy Guinan, a student in the CU-INVST program.

Today’s protest is part of a national day of action called for by the
Mobilization for Climate Justice, a coalition of some 50 environmental and
human rights groups.  The day of action – called N30, referring to Nov. 30
– hopes to build grassroots momentum for climate justice in the lead-up to
the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen this December.  Climate justice
refers to the effort to repower our world in ways that fairly distribute
the burdens and benefits of energy production by promoting local
solutions, sustainable technologies and democratic communities.

“For our health, our plant and our future, it is clear that we need to
begin the process of decarbonizing Colorado.  To do that we have to start
closing down coal plants and Cherokee is the right place to start,” said
Brian Bernhardt, a graduate student in Political Science at CU-Boulder.

Climate justice advocates points out that our current system of energy
production places a disproportionate impact on poor people of color.
Globally, those nations who have done the least to contribute to climate
change bear the greatest risks from rising sea levels and droughts.
Locally, the Cherokee coal plant pumps mercury and other pollutants into
neighborhoods in North Denver that are 90 percent people of color.

The coalition of groups organizing N30, along with those who are
organizing historic protests in Copenhagen to coincide with the
conference, are demanding real action on climate change that address the
root causes of the crisis and promote solutions that are far-reaching,
effective and fair.

November 30th is also significant because it is the 10th anniversary of
the shutdown of the World Trade Organization’s meeting in Seattle in 1999.

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