Today for International Women’s Day I’m excited to highlight some of the women leaders who are moving the US beyond coal. As director of the Beyond Coal Campaign, I have the great privilege of working alongside some incredibly inspiring women. Whether they’re fighting for their families, their communities, or the future of the planet, we owe much of our clean energy progress to thousands of women across the country who are moving us beyond coal.
It’s thanks to their hard work that one-third of US coal plants are slated to be retired and replaced with clean, renewable energy. And it’s their dedication that will ensure we hit even bigger clean energy milestones in the months ahead, to ensure the US meets the climate commitment our nation signed in Paris last December.
I wrote my Master’s Thesis about the role of women in the early wilderness protection movement, dating all the way back to the years when the Sierra Club was founded in 1892. One thing that has not changed in those intervening 100-plus years is that, while men in leadership are often the ones remembered by history, women have made up much of the grassroots muscle that has delivered our movement’s iconic victories. From creating many of our national parks to securing the biggest energy transformation since the Industrial Revolution, we owe a debt of gratitude to the women who came before us, and to those who are on the front lines today.
Here are just a few of the incredible women who are moving this country beyond coal:
Verena Owen is the volunteer leader of the Beyond Coal Campaign, described by Politico as “indefatigable” in her quest for environmental justice. Verena co-founded the Beyond Coal Campaign back in 2002, when she and other Illinois Sierra Club volunteers began to see proposals for new coal plants pop up in their backyards. With few resources other than their sharp strategic sense and a willingness to wade through the minutiae of utility permits and proceedings, they began stopping those proposed coal plants, and built a game-changing grassroots rebellion in the process. You can learn more about Verena and her story in this lovely video.
Not too far from Verena, Chicago’s Kim Wasserman is a hero of the successful struggle to retire the city’s two ancient, polluting coal plants. Kim lives in the community of Little Village, a small, predominantly Latino community in the shadow of one of the coal plants. She and her organization, the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), led the charge, as part of a coalition 50 organizations strong, that won retirement of those coal plants in 2012. In 2013 she received the Goldman Prize, described as the Nobel Prize for grassroots environmental leaders, in recognition of her work to retire the Chicago coal plants and make sure the sites are remediated and revitalized. A video highlighting her work is here.
Turning to the Northeast, volunteer Kim Richards is one of the residents of the Seacoast region on the New Hampshire-Maine border who have struggled to clean up the pollution from the dirty Schiller coal-fired power plant on the Piscataqua River. Kim’s family has lived for generations in the town of Eliot, which is directly across from the power plant and has suffered more than most. She stepped up to organize her community to demand that Schiller clean up its act. Kim led the effort to get the town of Eliot to file a “Good Neighbor” Clean Air Act petition to the US EPA, asking the agency to force Schiller to meet current clean air standards. For this work, Kim was named Sierra Club Maine Chapter’s Volunteer of the Year and the Fabyan Drake Citizen of the Year, presented by American Legion Post No. 188. She is also a Coast Guard veteran and current chair of the Eliot Conservation Commission.
Finally, Nellis Kennedy-Howard has led our Beyond Coal work in several Southwest states for many years. A proud citizen of the Navajo Nation, Nellis is an attorney who has advocated for protection of tribal communities from toxic industries and exploitation, including spending four years as co-executive director of the national Native environmental organization Honor the Earth, working alongside Winona LaDuke. As part of the Beyond Coal team, she oversaw campaigns to tackle some of our nation’s most polluting coal plants endangering front-line Indigenous communities, and to replace that coal power with clean energy. This month, she will transition to a new role at Sierra Club, becoming our organization's first ever Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, working to help Sierra Club staff and volunteers realize our vision of becoming an inclusive multicultural organization - a place where people from all backgrounds and walks of life feel welcomed, valued, and respected to fully participate.
These four women are just a small sample of the many incredible leaders and heroes who are moving this nation beyond coal. I’m so excited to celebrate them on International Women’s Day. And if you’re a woman passionate about climate change, clean air and and water, renewable energy, and the future of our planet, I hope you’ll join us!
One more thing - for International Women’s Day, the Sierra Club’s Global Population and Environment Program and Sierra magazine have teamed up to host an eco-themed inspirational women social media contest. Now through the end of Women’s History Month (March 31), post a brief description (100 words or fewer) on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram of your favorite female climate activist, eco-innovator, or outdoor adventurer, along with an explanation of why you chose her,. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #EnviroSHEroes to be considered in the competition. Judged for thematic relevance and clarity, the winner will receive a $50 online credit to the Sierra Club store. To see rules for entry click here.