Written by Annie Sartor and reposted from The Understory, Rainforest Action Network's blog
Here's a sign that the energy from Power Shift last weekend is not just about that one event. It's about people organizing and taking action to turn off dirty energy and run our world clean. Read the post below to hear about an awesome example of that today, when six activists proclaimed the call for clean energy from the top of a mountain of the same coal burning up the atmosphere. The climate movement will require all kinds of nonviolent action to win the war big polluters have waged on us for centuries. After reading Annie's post, see Bill McKibben echo this call in his speech last weekend. – Alex
This morning six local activists from Chicago climbed over a fence at the Crawford coal plant, scaled a mountain of coal, and unfurled a huge 7' x 30' banner reading "Close Chicago's Toxic Coal Plants." The toxic Crawford plant operates in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago and is surrounded on all sides by homes, shops, restaurants and schools.
Activists representing Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), Rising Tide North America, Rainforest Action Network, and the Backbone Campaign are demanding that the City of Chicago close both the Crawford plant as well as the nearby Fisk Street plant in Pilsen. Both plants are owned by Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of Edison International.
The action today is part of an ongoing campaign led by LVEJO and other local organizations demanding that Chicago replace their dirty, polluting coal plants with green energy alternatives. As a part of this campaign, LVEJO is also hosting an extraction fair in the afternoon as a part of the Day of Action Against Extraction, educating community members about the destructive impacts that extractive industries have on people living in Little Village and beyond.
Update
The six activists, all local Chicagoans, were arrested by Chicago Police after two hours atop the massive coal pile. Activists included Jeff Lucas, Peter Hoy, Ellen Magin, Mike Durschmid, Gloria Fallon and Carlyn Crispell.
The groups are demanding the closure of the plant just one day before the much-anticipated Clean Power Ordinance hearing, which could force the plant to undergo major modifications to upgrade its pollution controls.
