Coal-Fired Power Plants Targeted By Sierra Club In Washington, D.C. (PHOTOS)

Commuters probably weren't expecting this on their way to work in the morning. But beginning July 12th, the Sierra Club took over all of the ad space inside Washington, D.C.'s Farragut North Station to share their message that air pollution from coal-fired power plants poses health risks.

80 metro cars have carried similar ads since April.

According to the Sierra Club, the group aims to raise attention to the dangers of coal-fired power plants, such as the GenOn Potomac River power plant in Alexandria, VA. The organization reports that these plants "emit air pollutants like smog and soot, which exacerbate asthma and other health problems. Washington metro area residents are demanding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protect their health by enacting strong standards to reduce toxic air pollution."

In March, the American Lung Association (ALA) released a report stating, “Particle pollution from power plants is estimated to kill approximately 13,000 people a year.” Coal-fired power plants were targeted as one of the biggest culprits.

When the ALA released their State of the Air report in April, their representative said that they often see a backlash. Janice Nolen told The Huffington Post, "We get criticized for... making the public aware of the air pollution in their community. Sometimes the fact that there still is an air pollution problem is not a message that people want to hear." Some may have a similar reaction to the Sierra Club ads.

The EPA announced new rules on Thursday for coal-fired power plants, with new regulations set to go into effect in 2012.

Check out the Sierra Club's disturbing ads:

Comments

[politicalpinball]

01:27 PM on 07/18/2011

My child was born with an asthmatic condition caused by emissions from coal fired power plants in Knoxville, TN. Try holding down a 1 year old while the doctor administers an inhaler that looks like a fire truck. Give it a shot.

[herbertpop]

01:10 PM on 07/18/2011

It's about time. I thought we did something about pollution during the time of the crying Indian.

[Randi321]

06:35 AM on 07/18/2011

Yeah try and get rid of them and put thousands of Americans out of work including my husband.................... Plants have so many regulations these days there is no reason for people to be complaining, Natural gas costs twice as much. Coal plants are filtered so well it really doesn't matter. I live next to one and I do not have a single problem.
- Friends of Coal

[DCVotingNow]

07:55 AM on 07/18/2011

This is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. "Coal plants are filtered so well it really doesn't matter." This isn't about killing jobs, it's about saving lives. It's not your husband's fault he works where he can, but it his company's fault if they haven't upgraded their facilities. The new rules the EPA is putting out were supposed to have been released over a decade ago as court-ordered updates to the Clean Air Act. Should people downwind have to suffer cause of coal? Nope

[DCVotingNow]

08:06 AM on 07/18/2011

And by the way, I'm totally in favor of setting aside $$$ to retrain anyone who loses a job at a coal plant for a new job, possibly in clean energy. West Virginia has a lot of potential for wind and hydropower.

As to living next to a plant, I seriously hope you're children don't develop any problems, and if you're not aware of what mercury contamination can do to a developing fetus, google it. #1 source of mercury pollution in US- coal power plants

[Wes Baggett]

09:45 AM on 07/17/2011

My grandfather died from black lung disease he got in the 40's, a long time before the unions tried to clean it up. so unless you folks have my experience do a little research before you ridicule

[douttfire]

10:36 PM on 07/16/2011

Oh, f'n WAAAAHHHHH!! My son has asthma and we never lived near a coal plant!! How about the millions of kids in the U.S. with asthma who live in homes infested with roaches? Roach poop causes more asthma-related health problems than a coal-fired power plant. STOP, already. The Global Warming BS didn't work...now this. Really. Get a hobby. Do crossword puzzles. Feed homeless people. But, quit'cher BS, it's so 2 years ago. Call Al Gore and have a pity party. Freakin' Sierra Club. Them and Greenpeace...buncha Subaru-driving, Birkenstock-wearin' fanatics. Have the tea.

[teaksmama]

02:52 PM on 07/17/2011

how do you spell denial? DOUTTFIRE

[Randi321]

06:40 AM on 07/18/2011

How do you spell the TRUTH teaksmama!!! it is the truth!!! My mom didn't grow up anywhere near a coal plant and she has it awfully. I live next to one and have no problems whatsoever. Coal plants are clean now nothing bad can come out of them they are very well regulated in the entire U.S. You "green" people need to go get a dang hobby. America has ran off coal for YEARS if you people don't shut up all kinds of jobs are going to be lost and America will suffer. But of course the "green" people don't care about that

[alteredstory]

07:21 PM on 07/18/2011

I realize it's a tough concept, but bear with me...

Living near a coal plant greatly increases your risk of respiratory disease.

Not living near a coal plant doesn't mean you won't get respiratory disease. It's not THAT hard...

And no, the global climate is still warming, and we're still the cause.

[Philclock]

04:04 PM on 07/16/2011

Where are the autopsy reports for those 13,000 deaths claimed by the Sierra Club??

Anybody?

[AnthropologistAmongApes]

03:21 PM on 07/17/2011

You are no demographic or forensic statistician that's for sure.

[woeyzoe]

09:03 PM on 07/17/2011

Not the Sierra Club, the American Lung Association

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/14/power-plant-air-pollution-coal-kills_n_833385.html

[Atoms4Peace1]

02:49 PM on 07/16/2011

The antinuclear lobby is fueled by the coal lobby. However the anticoal lobby is not fueled by the nuclear lobby.

[alteredstory]

07:16 PM on 07/18/2011

And very often I get the impression that the pro-nuke crowd is pushing nukes as a way to edge out renewables, because they know that the country won't replace coal with nuclear.

The problem with nuclear is it only takes one slip-up, and you've got a couple hundred square miles that aren't usable.

[lambdin1]

09:07 AM on 07/16/2011

Good for them! The world, especially the US, need to change!; Coal is dirty. Period. The apologist for coal need to get out of the way! People need to see the stark realities of what coal does. Yes it is cheap when compared to many other energy sources. But one thing always lingers in my mind: Got clean coal, yet?

[CodyL]

06:57 PM on 07/15/2011

Dig it.

[MOMSROCK]

06:45 PM on 07/15/2011

Ad Of Small boy misleading

Not here to debate coal industry - but children that young cannot receive correct amounts through regular inhalers - nebulizers are used until child at older age

The age of the child also makes a difference in how an inhaler is used. Metered dose inhalers (MDI) are the most widely used, but they require coordination. The child must be able to activate the device and breathe in at the same time. This can be a bit tough and can generally only be mastered by older kids. That's why many doctors recommend attaching the metered dose inhaler to a spacer.

Almost anyone (from infants to the elderly) can use a metered dose inhaler when it's attached to a spacer. Some experts say that everyone with asthma, even adults, would benefit by using a spacer with their metered dose inhaler.

Kids health.org

[Eric4969]

07:28 PM on 07/15/2011

O OK Take the Kid out and Put in EVERYONE ELSE lolololololool Missed the Point didnt ya

[MOMSROCK]

07:35 PM on 07/15/2011

Nope not at all - misleading that child so young with inhaler in mouth - point that he needs one at all - I know more parents with asthmatic children than ADHD - so I guess that's positive ...right

[douttfire]

10:38 PM on 07/16/2011

You got that right. Without a spacer, the medicine just sprays in your mouth, very little gets to lungs.

[disporting]

05:51 PM on 07/15/2011

What's not shown: All the jobs they create! And isn't that worth the health of millions and government subsidies?

[Eric4969]

07:29 PM on 07/15/2011

People used to Make Horse Buggies to lol Im sure we will be Fine with out BLACK TAR LUNGS just saying

[gDogMan]

07:42 PM on 07/15/2011

Clean energy ceates jobs too. Innovation is what we do best, or used to. Whoever makes the next big breakthrough in clean, renewable energy is going to have a big advantage over the rest of the world.

[kburgoyne]

05:51 PM on 07/15/2011

Touche, Sierra Club. Just watch the slandering backlash. Industry hates it when you speak the truth. Industry will launch some kind of "socialist anti-capitalist job killing commie" campaign to slander the Sierra Club now.

[kareemachan]

04:55 PM on 07/15/2011

Well, they are a lot better and more factual than the coal industry's idiotic singing Christmas coals.

[disporting]

05:50 PM on 07/15/2011

hahaha

[hillaryj]

04:49 PM on 07/15/2011

I grew up in the coal fields of SW VA, and yes, I have asthma! Keep showing ads like this...........they speak the truth!

[Living ECO]

04:39 PM on 07/15/2011

This gets to the point perfectly. Fossil and Nuclear fuels are an assault on YOUR health, YOUR freedom and YOUR democracy. Solar and renewable energies represent freedom and democracy (the democratization of energy) as well as clean air and a healthy environment. It's as simple as that. Freedom to breath clean air. Freedom from oil wars, from the gas pump, from the Pro-pollution for Profit Lobby (Big Oil, Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear).

Don't let the Pro-Pollution for Profit Lobby fool you. If someone handed me $200k or $20 million and told me to invest it in energy, I would build a solar power plant. There's a lot of this kind of thing happening in the U.S. right now. Solar power is about the same price per Watt as coal already and getting better every day.

This is going on right now, and any smart investor who is thinking about putting their money into energy would be VERY SMART investing in solar. There are grants, tax incentives, carbon credits; every year it gets better as the cost of fossil fuels goes up and the cost of renewable energy goes down. The returns from solar improve over time. Fossil fuels eventually must fail as resources run out. The renewable energy industry is at the very early stages of a major boom.

Given the ongoing and high operating and human health costs of fossil and nuclear power, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING compares with the price of solar, wind, wave, geothermal...

[CodyL]

06:57 PM on 07/15/2011

You are right on.

[Dh Barr]

10:38 PM on 07/15/2011

A nice solar energy plant is a terrific idea - just not in the Washington DC area. If you want to make money on that investment, I suggest you put that plant someplace where there is a bit more Sun and a lot fewer severe thunderstorms.

[Living ECO]

12:10 AM on 07/16/2011

The difference in solar radiation hitting the earth in Washington DC compared to Southern California is about 10%.

The difference in solar cell efficiency increased at least 10% in the last 5 years, and is likely to increase another 15 to 20% in the next five years.

By 2015 if not sooner, 'Grid Parity' will have been reached, (the point at which photovoltaic electricity is equal to or cheaper than anything else on the electric grid, anywhere else on the electric grid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_parity).

Why do you think there's such a huge run on natural gas, oil, coal... it will be obsolete the world over in a matter of a few years. It makes absolutely no sense to be investing in fossil or nuclear energy right now.