Current Coal Campaigns
Sierra Club volunteers have been tirelessly challenging new coal fired power plants from being built in Illinois. Thanks to the years of hard work by our volunteers, many traditional coal fired power plant proposals have been stopped or stalled in Illinois, including Indeck, Enviropower, Steelhead, Southern Illinois University, and Rentech. You can help in the new phase of Illinois' Beyond Coal Campaign.
Phase two of the Illinois Beyond Coal Campaign includes three main campaigns:
Stop new Gasification Plants (aka. "Clean Coal") - By the way, there is no such thing as Clean Coal - just ask someone living next to a mine or power plant. Illinois currently has four gasification power plants being proposed - Taylorville, Power Holdings, Secure Energy and FutureGen. The Taylorville power plant is the most active campaign at this point in time. To learn more about gasification and the specific proposals, see the resources section below.
Stop destructive longwall mining - This amazing campaign challenging new mines in Illinois is primarily run by volunteers. The campaign has recently focused on the rush of longwall mining permits being requested in prime flat farmland, threatening the breadbasket of the Midwest. See our resources below to learn more.
Clean up/close down the Chicago power plants - Two old coal fired power plants located on the southwest side of Chicago causes 40 pre-mature deaths, 500 emergency room visits and 2800 asthma attacks every year. Sierra Club, along with other health and environmental groups, are taking legal action against Midwest Generation, the owners of these power plants, for repeated violations of their emissions standards. See below for how you can get more involved.
BREAKING NEWS!
Over 200 southside Chicago residents attend an Environemental Town Hall Meeting about the proposed Leucadia Coal Gasification Plant!!
Leucadia is proposing to build a gasification plant that would produce Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) on the southeast side of Chicago. The plant would gasify coal and petroleum coke, a toxic waste created by refining tar sands. This plant will gasify coal to produce 43.5 billion cubic feet of synthetic natural gas per year.
Attendees of the meeting heard from the local environemental group, Southeast Environmental Task Force about the existing pollution sources in the community, and questioning the addition of more pollution. Other speakers included Brian Urbaszewski of the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago and Becki Clayborn of the Sierra Club.
Attendees were asked to send a postcard to Gov. Quinn asking him to VETO the bill that would give this gasification plant 30 year contracts with every gas utility in Illinois to purchase their dirty and expensive Synthetic Natural Gas.
For more info - see resources section below.
GET INVOLVED! JOIN the Energy Transition Committee Today!
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Activist Resources
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