Coal Moratorium Now
A strong, grassroots effort, powered by concerned citizens, is sweeping the country calling for a coal moratorium.
From the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia to the Navajo Peoples Land of Desert Rock, Arizona, young and old are calling for a halt to building coal fired power plants. Almost half of U.S. electricity comes from coal - the most plentiful, dirtiest fossil fuel in the country.
In Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, the tops of the Appalachian Mountains are bulldozed and dumped into the valleys, filling in rivers and streams. Flooding, as a result of the mountaintop removal, has taken away land homes and lives. Water contamination from the coal mining is causing serious illness in communities there.
At Desert Rock in Arizona, miles of land and homes are covered with ash from unregulated coal burning plants. Precious ground water needed for drinking and farming, is being taken for coal processing near Big Mountain in Arizona.
The fish, in at least 20 Texas lakes tested for toxins, are unfit to eat because of mercury contamination from coal burning plants. These power plants are a major cause of respiratory illness and are responsible for more than 40 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, the leading cause of global warming.
Studies show that energy efficiency could eliminate the need for new coal fired power plants. Do what you can to conserve energy, and urge your national and state representatives to create a responsible energy policy that moves the country toward clean renewable energy and away from coal.