December 22, 2014
By James Turner, Missouri Chapter Chair
I was among forty-three Missourians who traveled by bus and vans to New York City for the People’s Climate March, with thirty-some Kansans, Nebraskans and Oklahomans. We slept overnight on the moving vehicles and slept overnight near Allentown PA. Our diverse 300,000-plus throng expressed the importance of phasing out of fossil fuels.
Due to the vigorous policy engagement of our Beyond Coal Campaign team, I’m among fifty-five members of a Steering Committee that Governor Nixon has appointed to form a Comprehensive Energy Plan for Missouri. In seven public meetings at various cities in October, we heard and discussed a broad range of feasible technology and the regulatory challenges. Now Working Groups will dig into details, for reports that Missouri’s Energy Department will consolidate for announcement in early summer 2015. World-wide progress toward smart energy, while delayed by coal’s and oil’s greed and disinformation, is inevitable – if we persist in organizing!