Coal Fire Plant Phase Out
In Ontario, coal power plants supply approximately 10% of the energy used to power factories, homes and businesses. However, the negative environmental effects of burning coal are well known: increasing CO2 and methane concentrations in the atmosphere and release of toxic heavy metals.
There are also the costs of removing coal from the earth. The mining of coal causes a list of environmental and health concerns: CO2 released from mining trucks and cranes, heavy metal contaminants (uranium and selenium) leading to increased cancer rates, impact on water flow which can lead to flooding, and destruction of wildlife habitats. Mountain Top Removal is a huge issue which the Sierra club in West Virginia is working on right now. Read more about MTR here.
The Ontario government has committed to shutting these polluters down but the date for accomplishing this has been moved out to 2014. Dan McDermott, our Chapter Director, is striving to ensure that this becomes a reality.To be of assistance with this important campaign a prospective volunteer must be highly informed about coal fire plant regulation and policy and have some relevant practical experience.
Contact: Dan McDermott at (dmcd<at>sierraclub.ca)
Sierra Club's Safe Sushi smartphone app
Submitted by Kristina Jackson on Sat, 2011-12-17 08:57
Beyond Coal campaign cool new tool
Love sushi? Make sure you choose safe fish. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin and can damage your brain and nervous system. Next time you order, choose fish that is low in mercury.
Download the app to make smart choices on the go, and find out more at sierraclub.org/mercury.
Who's behind the EthicalOil campaign?
Submitted by Kristina Jackson on Fri, 2011-12-16 17:01
At the recent Toronto Enviro Alliance comedy fundraiser, the annual EcoBunk Awards, I uncomfortably chuckled at the ludicrous Ethical Oil advertisements. Maybe you've seen them. It is an exceptionally well-funded ad campaign about why Canada NEEDS to keep producing Tar Sands oil for the world. In one they pose the elegantly flying maple leaf flag next to a woman in the process of being stoned.
Another Coal Ash Spill - This Time in Lake Michigan
Submitted by Kristina Jackson on Wed, 2011-11-09 10:32From Sierra Club Compass - newsletter of the Beyond Coal Campaign
How many more coal ash spills need to happen before Americans are protected by coal ash safeguards? The latest happened Monday in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, at the We Energies Oak Creek Power Plant.... Read more »
A $50 Million Message to Coal
Submitted by Andrew Holownych on Fri, 2011-09-02 11:49Michael Bloomberg braved the sweltering temperatures on a hot July morning, mounted a platform in front of the coal-fired GenOn power station in Alexandria, Virginia, and announced to those gathered that his charity, Bloomberg Philanthropies, was giving $50 million to the US Sierra Club to aid its Beyond Coal Campaign.
Mr.Bloomberg is just one of many people who now grasp the disastrous implications of mining and burning coal. In his speech to the people who had gathered on that hot July morning in Alexandria, Virginia, he said we must "fight climate change and bring about our clean energy future." By offering $50 million to this cause, he said, "I am doing my part to move our country Beyond Coal. Are you with me?"... Read more »
Book to read - Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future
Submitted by Andrew Holownych on Mon, 2011-07-25 11:55Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future is a book by Jeff Goodell which claims that coalmining is one of America's largest and most influential industries. Goodell suggests that coal mining is deadly and environmentally destructive.
Read a review of the book here.
You can also read the book on Google books here.
Four more Ontario coal fired plants shut down
Submitted by Kristina Jackson on Mon, 2011-07-25 11:48Under attack for soaring hydro bills, the Ontario government struck back Friday by announcing the shutdown of four more coal-fired energy generating units.
Speaking from the Ontario Lung Association headquarters in Toronto, Energy Minister Brad Duguid said two of eight coal-fired units at the Nanticoke station and two of four at the Lambton plant have closed. Shutting them down is the pollution-clearing equivalent of removing up to 2 million cars from the road.
Sanctuary newsletter - summer 2006
2006-08-30
Promoting urban forests, ‘how to’s’ of natural clay and cattail building materials, McGuinty goes nuclear, the coal phase-out now a psyche-out, and more
