As a part of our 2020 Clean Energy Week of Action, volunteers and members of our Madison Beyond Coal team put together an entire week of action to call for clean energy throughout the state and call out Alliant Energy, Madison Gas and Electric and Wisconsin Public Service demanding that the Columbia Coal Plant be closed - for our health, for our climate and for our pocketbooks. Below you will find a recap of some of the activities we took part in!
Monday: Virtual Petition Delivery
We hosted a virtual petition delivery calling on Alliant Energy, MGE, and WPS to close the Columbia Coal Plant. As a part of the petition, Sierra Club Beyond Coal staff, volunteers, and Dr. Claire Gervais discussed the dangers of coal not only in normal circumstances, but also in the face of a pandemic. The Columbia Coal Plant must be closed, so we virtually delivered almost 1000 petition signatures calling for just that.
Watch the full petition delivery here.
Tuesday: Chalktivism
Volunteers and supporters created chalk messages in support of clean energy and the closure of the Columbia Coal Plantharmful coal plants. Pictures of some submissions can be seen below!
Wednesday: Compounding Crises: Climate, Coal, Pandemics, and Public Health Webinar
Featuring expert speakers Dr. Claire Gervais - who has spent many years understanding the health risks of coal and pollution exposure, and discusses the health effects of coal and how it impacts public health, especially that of children; Dr. Jonathan Patz - an international expert on health and climate, speaks about the dangers of coal, its relation to pandemics, and how it drives climate change; and Dr. Al Armendariz - Senior Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign.
This webinar will provide information on the hazards of coal to people and the planet, and the status of alternatives we have, and will feature three excellent speakers with expertise on coal's impacts and how we can replace it with clean energy.
Watch the ‘Compounding Crises’ webinar here.
Thursday: Yard Signs
Individuals displayed yard signs that advocated for the closure of the Columbia Coal Plant and the use of clean energy as opposed to fossil fuels.
Friday: Social Media Storm, and a coal plant closure announcement!
On Friday, supporters messaged their utilities company via social media calling for the closure of non-renewable energy plants in favor of cleaner, more environmentally conscious ones, with a specific emphasis on the Columbia Coal Plant.
On top of that, we also received the extraordinary news that Alliant Energy will be close the Edgewater Coal Plant in Sheboygan by the end of 2022!
Link to our blog post about the closure of the Edgewater Coal Plant.
Thank you to all that participated in the events of the week and helped make it a huge success!
- Written by Garrett Prem, Organizing Project Aide for the Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter