Charlie Wilson:Citizen Action Against Coal Ramp Up.

[irishbobcat]

Charlie Wilson:Citizen Action Against Coal Ramp Up.
By Dennis Spisak - Nov 23rd, 2008 at 8:24 pm EST 

Comments |  Mail to a Friend
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Categories: Environment and Conservation, Energy Policy
Citizen Action Against Coal Ramp Up. By Ben Block, WorldWatch, November 19, 2008. "Climate activists worldwide are raising the stakes, with many turning to civil disobedience to make their voices heard. Actions in recent months have ranged from chaining themselves to coal conveyor belts in Sydney, to forming port blockades in the Netherlands, to scaling smokestacks in the United Kingdom. The rise in activism reflects growing frustration against the continued, and expanding, use of coal as a source of energy... In Europe, where some 50 new coal plants are being planned, Greenpeace is leading a continent-wide campaign [PDF] to halt eight upcoming projects in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In the United Kingdom, plans are under way to build the country's first coal plant in 34 years. Activists have escalated their opposition to the proposed construction this year. In the United States, a nationwide fight against 150 proposed new coal-fired power plants that began four years ago has put a serious dent in the coal industry's plans. Through the courts, government lobbying, and acts of civil disobedience, activists have helped cut in half the number of new coal power stations. The movement achieved a major victory last week. In response to a Sierra Club lawsuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that a proposed coal plant in Utah would need a plan for controlling its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions before being granted a federal operating permit. The ruling essentially delays all such permits for the time being. 'In the immediate future, no new coal plant will be moving forward,' said Virginia Crame, a Sierra Club associate press secretary. Meanwhile, the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has staged campaigns targeting two of the largest funders of such coal projects: Bank of America and Citibank. Last weekend, RAN and Greenpeace organized more than 50 events across the country to protest the banks' financial support of the fossil fuel industry."