The group of Virginia residents and Mountain Justice Summer participants says that despite the company’s pledge to use the latest technology to reduce emissions, the plant will still be destructive. “Clean coal? From its birth to its burning, there is no such thing as clean coal,” said Kathy Selvage of Wise County. “They are taking the tops off of our mountains to get the coal, and the plant will still be pumping out carbon dioxide, the gas most responsible for global warming, not to mention other pollutants such as arsenic and mercury.” Mrs. Selvage referred to mountaintop removal mining, which community groups such as SAMS, say is driving out local communities.
“We used to live in a thriving community,” said retired mine inspector Larry Bush, chairman of SAMS. “But as the strip mines started moving in it all started drying up. Whole towns have been consumed by the strip mines.” The protesters say that the new plant will use locally strip mined coal which will increase this destructive practice. Despite the need for local employment, the plant itself will only employ an estimated 75 specially-trained professionals and is unlikely to employ local workers.

To make the connection between strip mining and coal-fired plants, MJS and SAMS began their march at the headquarters of Massey Energy, a particularly destructive strip mining company. A “baby shower” for coal was held where the parents of the newly strip-mined coal, “King Coal” and “Mother Massey,” gave gifts such as blackened drinking water, flooding, and asthma from coal dust to community members. After their skit the group placed “baby coal” in a coffin and marched a little over half a mile to Dominion’s headquarters, where they held a funeral before coal was “put to rest” in a Dominion power plant.

The eulogy at the funeral was a discussion of airborne pollution, water that the plant would draw from the Clinch River, and possibilities for change. The last speaker at the funeral was a giant wind turbine, who lamented Virginia’s resistance to sustainable sources of energy. “Wise County shouldn’t be a sacrifice zone for cheap energy,” Mountain Justice Summer volunteer Joe Overton said, “Dominion should be spending their money to create jobs in sustainable energy. Wise County doesn’t have to choose between their children’s health and a few jobs.”

Hear Appalshop audio coverage of this story at: http://www.appalshop.org/ccc/index.php?paged=2

Beyond the support voiced through the vote, the UofM Environmental Action Club (www.VoteYesForGreenPower.com) has also collected over 2,500 signatures specifying that the fee be set at $20/student/semester. Students support half of the fee being allocated towards on-campus sustainability projects, such as recycling and energy efficiency, while the other half be used to purchase clean, in-state, renewable energy from TVA’s Green Power Switch.

Now the Student Government Association will consider these 2,500 signatures as they write legislation this week to determine the final amount of the fee. The fee increase request will then be submitted for approval by the Tennessee Board of Regents, who will also be reviewing a Green Fee referendum from Austin Peay State University, which passed by an 83% majority earlier this semester.

To raise awareness on campus, UofM students camped-out in front of the administration building for four days (and even stuck it out through a tornado watch). The Environmental Action Club also gave over 80 presentations to classes and student organizations about the need for efficient, renewable energy.

For more pictures of the week, go here.

“The mandate is clear: Austin Peay students want to be a force for change. We want to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels,” says Gail Gillis of Students Organized to Advance Renewable Energy (SOARE). “We hope students on other campuses will campaign for similar fees. Our leaders are beginning to listen, and together we can present a united voice and positively impact our entire country’s energy future.”

Now the APSU student government and administration will forward the fee increase request to the Tennessee Board of Regents for approval this summer. If the Regents approve the fee, implementation could begin fall 2007.

For just a moment, imagine this… Tennessee’s lawmakers convene in 2007 and enact comprehensive legislation that 1) mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (i.e. agrees to the Kyoto Protocol), 2) requires all new and renovated state facilities to consider green building guidelines, 3) increases energy efficiency in state facilities by 15% by 2025, and 4) ends coal surface mining in TN (i.e. stops mountaintop mining!!). Amazingly, bills specifying exactly these things were passed in the House and Senate last week! The catch is… Jessica Gibbons from the University of Memphis and I presented them in this year’s Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL) – the mock State Congress that convenes annually to give student leaders first-hand experience in politics.

What impressed me about TISL was the enthusiasm with which student Senators and Representatives supported the bills mentioned above. Vigorous debate accompanied most of the bills presented at the conference, but for some reason (maybe common sense?), people from all walks of life and every imaginable position on the political spectrum found common ground on issues impacting the environment. In some cases, there wasn’t even a debate – student Senators and Reps simply agreed that environmental problems (including global warming) are self-evidently detrimental to the economy and people of our state. Beyond that, they agreed that lawmakers have a responsibility to address these issues. Even during TISL’s gubernatorial debate, all four candidates, when asked if students at TISL have a responsibility to address global warming, responded “yes, it is the challenge of our generation” and “TISL has always been at the forefront of controversial issues.” Wow – imagine if Governor Bredesen responded like that – what a difference that kind of leadership could make.

TISL illustrates how out-of-step the real state legislature is with the people (especially the young people) of Tennessee. TISL’s Senators voted unanimously in favor of every one of the bills mentioned above, yet many of Tennessee’s elected Senators continue to deny that global warming is real, much less vote to do something about it. It’s time for those Senators and Reps in State government who acknowledge that climate change is real, to show some courage and take some leadership on the issue. After all, global warming is not some pie in the sky philosophical question; it is a phenomenon that has the potential to dramatically alter the viability of live on Earth.

Finally, TISL shows that when presented with an opportunity, we must take advantage of it. Various members of Tennessee Alumni & Students for Sustainable Campuses (TASSC) spent a lot of time drafting legislation and preparing for the weekend at TISL. We knew that presenting real bills at TISL was an important way to continue our push in State government for a clean, renewable energy future in Tennessee. We knew that all the bills passed at TISL would go before Governor Bredesen and that he would then have the opportunity to pursue them in the real legislative assembly. So, knowing this, we took the opportunity with which life presented us. We continued our push for a better future, and by the end of the weekend, all I could think was “WE came, WE saw, WE conquered” – in solidarity – and that, my friends, is a good feeling!

For just a moment, imagine this… Tennessee’s lawmakers convene in 2007 and enact comprehensive legislation that 1) mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (i.e. agrees to the Kyoto Protocol), 2) requires all new and renovated state facilities to consider green building guidelines, 3) increases energy efficiency in state facilities by 15% by 2025, and 4) ends coal surface mining in TN (i.e. stops mountaintop mining!!). Amazingly, bills specifying exactly these things were passed in the House and Senate last week! The catch is… Jessica Gibbons from the University of Memphis and I presented them in this year’s Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL) – the mock State Congress that convenes annually to give student leaders first-hand experience in politics.

What impressed me about TISL was the enthusiasm with which student Senators and Representatives supported the bills mentioned above. Vigorous debate accompanied most of the bills presented at the conference, but for some reason (maybe common sense?), people from all walks of life and every imaginable position on the political spectrum found common ground on issues impacting the environment. In some cases, there wasn’t even a debate – student Senators and Reps simply agreed that environmental problems (including global warming) are self-evidently detrimental to the economy and people of our state. Beyond that, they agreed that lawmakers have a responsibility to address these issues. Even during TISL’s gubernatorial debate, all four candidates, when asked if students at TISL have a responsibility to address global warming, responded “yes, it is the challenge of our generation” and “TISL has always been at the forefront of controversial issues.” Wow – imagine if Governor Bredesen responded like that – what a difference that kind of leadership could make.

TISL illustrates how out-of-step the real state legislature is with the people (especially the young people) of Tennessee. TISL’s Senators voted unanimously in favor of every one of the bills mentioned above, yet many of Tennessee’s elected Senators continue to deny that global warming is real, much less vote to do something about it. It’s time for those Senators and Reps in State government who acknowledge that climate change is real, to show some courage and take some leadership on the issue. After all, global warming is not some pie in the sky philosophical question; it is a phenomenon that has the potential to dramatically alter the viability of live on Earth.

Finally, TISL shows that when presented with an opportunity, we must take advantage of it. Various members of Tennessee Alumni & Students for Sustainable Campuses (TASSC) spent a lot of time drafting legislation and preparing for the weekend at TISL. We knew that presenting real bills at TISL was an important way to continue our push in State government for a clean, renewable energy future in Tennessee. We knew that all the bills passed at TISL would go before Governor Bredesen and that he would then have the opportunity to pursue them in the real legislative assembly. So, knowing this, we took the opportunity with which life presented us. We continued our push for a better future, and by the end of the weekend, all I could think was “WE came, WE saw, WE conquered” – in solidarity – and that, my friends, is a good feeling!