dirty energy

Couldn’t get enough of National Powershift? Want to reconnect with the environmental movement from Virginia? Don’t worry, Virginia Powershift is here!

Virginia Powershift aims to unite students across the Commonwealth to form a state environmental coalition and to celebrate our progress so far.

St. Louis, Mo. – Yesterday afternoon, a crowd of local students and community members gathered in front of Peabody Energy’s world headquarters to protest the harmful effects the coal industry is having on the health of local communities.

The event was planned in recognition of National Asthma Awareness Month; however enthusiasm for the event quickly grew early Tuesday morning when news spread regarding cyber-hoax Coalcares.org. What later turned out to be the work of techno-pranksters Coal Kills Kids, Coal Cares seemed to be a shockingly-uncharacteristic public health initiative from Peabody, offering free asthma inhalers to children living within a 200 mile radius of a coal plant.

Last week I learned about a meeting in Claire McCaskill’s Kansas City office and knew immediately that I had to be there. I found out that CREDO was organizing but couldn’t find any details other than there were 15 spots for the meeting and according to the website there was one spot open, not knowing who to contact I was just going to show up. So, this morning I got up finished a final and drove down to the office, got there early and talked to some individuals from the community most were above the age of 50 but there were 4 Students/Young Activists. Alyssa Housh, a fellow Power Shift’er was there and I was glad to see her.

We had filled the meeting room in D.C and hoped to do the same here. We quickly asked each other if we had talking points, everyone seemed to want to know the same thing.

WHY THE HELL DID MCCASKILL VOTE FOR THE ROCKEFELLER AMENDMENT, WHICH WOULD DEFUND THE EPA FOR 2 YEARS?!

Washington, D.C., for better or worse, always feels like a losing battle.  I am educated enough to know that our politics are polluted by corporate money.  I have lobbied enough to know that even congressional allies will say the political climate “isn’t right” for climate legislation.  I have even been arrested enough to know that 100 people committing civil disobedience in front of the White House isn’t enough to move leaders on a moral issue. So what gives?