Stop the Cliffside Mine (think beyond coal)

Here is a video I just received from Greenpeace about a new mountain top removal coal mine that will be built in North Carolina. One of my favorite authors and environmental activists, Bill McKibben (a Vermonter), speaks about the environmental devastation caused by coal mining. If you live in North Carolina, there is an upcoming opportunity to protest the building of this plant. And protest we should.

According to Greenpeace, "The Cliffside Power Plant is located in Rutherford County, NC. If completed, the expanded facility would use conventional, pulverized coal technology. It would have no ability to capture or control carbon, and estimates project its emissions will be approximately 6 million tons of carbon dioxide annually or 312 million tons over its expected 50 year life span—the equivalent to adding one million cars to the road each year."

Now the government is finally paying attention to how much coal-fired plants contribute to global warming, and introducing legislation to require that these plants pay for their pollution. This is a time in our society where we need to look beyond coal, and this new mine is a step in the wrong direction.