Beyond Coal Campaign Reaches Campuses Nationwide (PHOTOS/VIDEOS)

Last month, students from colleges and universities across the country became a part of the Sierra Club's ongoing Beyond Coal campaign.

Student activism and campus protests were part of "100% Clean: 100 Actions for Clean Energy," a month-long call to action to raise awareness for the health and environmental impacts of coal-fired power plants. Since launching their Campuses Beyond Coal campaign, 16 schools have "committed to retiring their coal-fired plants on campus," according to a Sierra Club press release.

Members of the Sierra Club's Sierra Student Coalition recently had the chance to meet with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Politico reports that she told the student leaders, "We're not going to use the current economic crisis to roll back the health and safety people have come to rely on for a decade. It would be tragic if we took one step forward, and we end up taking four or five steps back."

This past fall, a group of breakdancers performed around New York City to raise awareness for the Beyond Coal campaign.

Earlier this year, the American Lung Association released a report claiming "particle pollution from power plants" kills an estimated 13,000 people annually. The report stated that coal-fired plants "produce more hazardous air pollution in the U.S. than any other industrial pollution sources."

For more information about the Sierra Club's Campuses Beyond Coal campaign, visit their website.

View the slideshow below of students around the country joining together for the Beyond Coal campaign:

Comments

[glockman]

09:11 AM on 11/21/2011

That's great.

Now what do we do with the coal miner, who's already been abused, beaten, robbed and murdered throughout our history?

[pqwoieruyt]

11:35 AM on 11/22/2011

I believe that the coal miners you speak of are more resilient and adaptable than you give them credit for. Do you really want them to continue to work in such a bad environment? As pretty much everyone knows by now, there is no guarantee that you will have a job today or tomorrow, and this really does suck, however in a sector that is going to fade out soon with or without the move to more sustainable ways of acquiring energy, there are other options for coal miners. What have we done in the past when technology puts people out of a job, or they move jobs overseas? We adapt and continue. I am not saying that it is morally right for this to happen, but there are a lot of things that need to change.

These are some of the hardest working people who live and work here, their spirits are strong. I must say though that right now the job market is not anything to write home about, but I feel that the times will be a changin'. This is especially true if we invest in new technologies for obtaining sustainable energy.

[pqwoieruyt]

11:35 AM on 11/22/2011

I think we move toward better ways of doing things and with that, ideally, the industry that has abused and robbed them as you mentioned will go away and in its place, an industry that cares about more than just profit will emerge. I hope that this new type of energy and the mentality of caring (about the earth, about people of future generations, etc.) that we are trying to attain will better not just the environment but also the people who work so hard to support their families, who all need clean air and water to be healthy.

There are so many groups in this country that were abused, beaten, robbed, and murdered throughout history in this country, the point is I could complain about it or I could get active and use my energy in a more 'sustainable' way in order to come up with new ideas to change this and benefit future groups who might not have to go through that again. Come help us!