Capitol Power Plant Protesters Claim "Victory" (SLIDESHOW)

Coal protesters outside the Capitol Power Plant yesterday claimed victory and nobody was arrested. The day was heavily photographed and twittered.

Grist's Kate Sheppard reported from the scene:

"I think any time you have 2,500 people willing to take action and risk going to jail to stop a coal plant, it's a good thing," Michael Brune of the Rainforest Action Network told Grist as the protest wrapped up. "And I think what's quite clear is that we have more momentum than ever to start shutting down coal plants around the country."

Morale was also boosted by the dismal showing for the "Celebrate Coal!" counter-protest organized by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Total turnout for the pro-coal rally was less than 20, including CEI interns carrying standard-issue signs with slogans like "Our economy runs on coal." A duo of Irish filmmakers working on a documentary about "global warming hysteria" were also out, holding signs that declared Al Gore "not evil, just wrong." (See photos from the protests.)

The AP captured these moments of the protest:

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Comments

[AngieMom57]

This is an excellent short video about the feedback loops in climate
change that very few people understand or are talking about, but may
well do us in if we don't do something NOW. Please take a moment, actually eleven minutes and the music at the end is worth the watch, and zing this link around to all your friends, especially international students.

http://vimeo.com/1709110?pg=embed&sec=1709110

[plantguy]

These young adults were probably sent to college by their parents that worked in the coal industry! Lets not worry about our future economy, wow better get priorities in line people.

[danielsadicario]

“It is DIFFICULT to get a man to understand something when his SALARY depends upon his NOT UNDERSTANDING IT.”
- Upton Sinclair

[SPQR1775]

Not to worry a nation of 300 million+ will turn out millions in the summer. Economy and Jobs matter and we are gearing up to unleash on the GOP. We want Green Energy, Green Jobs, and a CHANGE of GREEN attitude in this nation. It is time to ensure that the era of nature of psuh forard, CHANGE will n ot be easy, but it will be accomplish by any means necessary but category rule out violence, yes our GREEN REVOLUTION will not be televised!

[zola77]

The event was held over 2 days and drew 12 000 people in total. This particular part of the protest was 2.5thousand...

The whole 2 days was the protest, not JUST the rally...

Why do people never get the fact that protesting doesn't just come in rally form anymore. Must be the older generation who dont get it...

[theoldmole]

I support the intent of the Capitol power plant demo 100%. The faster the world moves towards shutting down coal plants, the easier it will be to limit the damages of global warming.

But I am very confused about why this demonstration was billed as a civil disobedience demo. Where was the disobedience? This story says there were no arrests, and I haven't seen any other stories talking about arrests. Yet I saw a video with someone on the stage at the demo repeatedly claiming that "We shut this plant down." There were demonstrators in front of the plant's 5 gates, but I saw no evidence that anything was shut down. There was smoke or steam coming out of the smokestacks the entire time during the demo.

If someone who knows what was going on could explain why there was no CD, I would appreciate it.

[KillTheMessenger]

Yawn. Protest against polluters were so "in" in Europe in around 1980. The US is 30 years behind the times. And a country of 300 million can not turn out more than a couple thousand? Give me a break. That's just pathetic. The United States of Sheeple is born.

[ConservativeHippie]

The United Sheeple of America were born years ago. These are their descendants, protesting in a snow storm.

[TimmySlagle]

"I think any time you have 2,500 people willing to take action and risk going to jail to stop a coal plant, it's a good thing"

And when that 2500 is far shy of the projections, because of the winter storm, you have an exercise in Irony that turns the protesters into laughingstocks.