Help Close a Coal Plant: the Most Effective Way to Prevent Climate Change

Nothing contributes more to climate change than burning coal. Though natural gas and oil also release greenhouse emissions when burned, coal releases more carbon into the air on a pound-for-pound basis than almost any other energy source. In the US, coal supplies about fifty percent of the nation's electricity, but is responsible for eighty percent of the greenhouse emissions from the electricity sector. The single most effective step the US could take to reduce the causes of climate change is to move away from reliance on coal.

In recent years, coal's health and climate change impacts have come under more and more scrutiny. The federal government has taken some steps to address the effects of coal mining and other coal-related activities. Yet the fact remains that around 600 coal plants now exist in the United States, each one pumping carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Eliminating these existing plants is one of the most essential pieces in the fight against climate change; but so far no comprehensive federal plan exists to do so. Fortunately opportunities abound to get involved in shutting down your local coal plant, largely through state level initiatives. If you care about stopping climate change, there's no better way to take action. Here are some basic guidelines for getting involved:

Find out if there are coal plants near you. There are over 600 coal plants in the United States, and almost every state has at least one plant within its boundaries. These range from two relatively quite small coal plants in Idaho owned by Amalgamated Sugar Company, to the massive 2,272 megawatt Colstrip Power Plant in Montana. While most US coal plants are devoted to electricity generation, others are used for industry. You can find locations and basic information for most of the coal plants in the US here.

Also look at energy imports. Even if your state has few coal plants within its boundaries, chances are it imports coal-generated electricity from out-of-state. California, for instance, has ten relatively small coal plants within state lines, which produce less than one percent of the state's electricity. Yet that doesn't mean California has a clean grid; it also imports power from some of the largest and dirtiest coal plants in the country, located in Southwestern states like Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. To really get an idea of how reliant your region is on coal power, it's necessary to look at electricity imports as well as power produced within state lines.

Next, find out what efforts are already underway. Many states already have active campaigns to shut down existing coal plants, prevent new coal plants from being built, and end electricity imports from out-of-state coal. The Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign is the best organized and most comprehensive effort of any major environmental organization to end coal dependence across the country. Visit the Beyond Coal web site to find out about efforts to shut down coal that may already be underway in your area.

Join the charge against coal power. Once you know what existing efforts are already moving forward in your state, it's time to get involved. Local chapter of the Sierra Club, and regionally based organizations that may also be fighting coal plants are always looking for volunteers, and rely heavily on volunteer efforts for their success. Contact one of these groups, and they may invite you to a meeting or other event to learn more about coal plants in the area. Then it's a matter of emailing elected officials, writing letters to local papers, turning out to public hearings, or otherwise exercising your political power to ask decision makers for a coal free future.

Some states have already made great strides toward winnowing down their reliance on coal. Colorado, for example, has plans to retire 900 megawatts of coal power over the next several years. In other states, citizen activism is producing momentum against coal that may soon translate into tangible results. On Wednesday close to three hundred supporters of the Oregon Sierra Club and other environmental, health, and faith organizations turned out to an Oregon Public Utilities Commission hearing to call for closure of the state's Boardman Coal Plant by 2014. In Oregon, as in states across the country, citizen activism is getting the attention of policymakers and addressing one of the worst causes of climate change.

It's easy to be a part of this movement—and there are few better ways to fight catastrophic climate change before it's too late. So consider finding out more about coal in your region, and lending your efforts to this transition to a cleaner energy future in the US.

Photo credit: Coal Free California web site