This year, five campuses in the University of Wisconsin system will be phasing out the use of coal and making the switch to natural gas or heating oil as an energy source. This is a welcome change, as the Sierra Club has long fought the use of coal power plants in our state.
We have advocated for the use of alternative energy sources since before the days of Scott Walker. In 2008, we partnered with Clean Wisconsin and other environmental activism organizations to protest Alliant Energy’s proposed creation of new coal power plants around Wisconsin and Iowa.
Our message has remained as simple today as it was back then – no more coal! Coal power plants increase greenhouse gas emissions and decrease air quality because burning coal releases toxins into the environment such as mercury and lead. With several UW campuses taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint, Wisconsin’s Clean Energy future is finally becoming a reality.
UW-Platteville made the switch to alternative energy at the end of March. Their Sustainability Coordinator, Amy Seeboth-Wilson, says that the school’s heat-related greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by about twenty percent.
The phasing out of coal around the UW system will have positive impacts not only on the environment, but on the health of employees who had been working closely with coal on these campuses. The air pollution caused by the use of coal energy can cause asthma, breathing difficulties and even brain damage. These workers will no longer have to expose themselves to harmful ash and dust.
We must continue to support the use of alternatives to coal power not only in our state, but around the country.
To see where the use of coal impacts you and what you can do to make a difference, visit our website and support our Beyond Coal campaign.
Written by Mackenzie Christman, Organizing Project Aide for the Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter.