Tom Adelman, Pennington
For a long time I’ve assumed that America’s transition from oil dependency to clean energy would be cushioned by our huge coal reserves, but it’s clear the coal companies have no clue yet how to make “clean coal” (see “Mounting Costs Slow the Push for Clean Coal,” Matthew L. Wald, May 30, 2008, New York Times).
Instead of aggressively clearing a path to safe, effective carbon sequestration, acting with conscience and imagination to save both their imperiled businesses and our ailing atmosphere, coal companies have lately wasted time creating an expensive “green-washing” campaign that spouts the same sort of empty environmental platitudes we heard for years from Detroit’s eco-challenged automakers. “Clean coal” itself remains elusive. And we can wait no longer.
This predicament is both a regional and national issue. New Jersey has five coal-fired power plants and draws around 14 percent of its electricity from coal. Nationwide about half of our electricity comes from coal. As Congress and states seek routes to “energy independence,” we must not replace oil with coal.
Bill McKibben and Wendell Berry are calling for civil disobedience on March 2 at the coal-fired plant that powers the Capitol building. They intend to draw attention to several inarguable points: that coal power drives climate change and pollutes our air; that our method of mining coal irreparably harms the hills of West Virginia and Kentucky; and that our present consumption of resources cannot be sustained.
If you agree, but have other plans for March 2, you can still demonstrate opposition to coal power and support for sustainable alternatives. Donate $10 to the Hopewell Valley Green Market and, on your behalf, we will mail a bar of peppermint soap to Sen. Mitch McConnell, encouraging him to wash his hands of coal and its lobby.
Or — if you prefer mailing something more positive—contribute $15 and we’ll send a packet of bird seed to Rep. Rush Holt, who co-sponsored a bill during the last session of Congress to amend the Clean Water Act (H.R. 2169) and restrict mountaintop removal mining. Both packages will arrive March 2, each addressed in calligraphy. The soap is hand-made, the bird seed is home-made, each is enclosed in a package made of recycled paper bags. (It’s all quite lovely!) Proceeds will be used to underwrite the cost of the next Green Market, April 18 at the Hopewell Railroad Station, Hopewell Borough.
Please participate in this community action. It’s both a meaningful message of support for front-line environmentalists and a fundraiser for sustainability education here in our community.
For more information, contact us at [email protected].
