Are you as tired of the ridiculous “clean coal” oxymoronic propaganda masquerading as advertising on the corporate media as I am? Well, evidently, so is Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City. Bloomberg is donating $50 million to the Sierra Club to further their campaign to eliminate coal-fired power plants as quickly as is feasible.
The Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, which has helped block the construction of more than 100 proposed coal-fired plants will greatly benefit from the donation. Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said the money will allow them “to identify the oldest, dirtiest coal-fired power plants, retire them and replace them with clean energy.” One of those plants is the GenOn plant in Alexandria.
“We’re putting our faith in local communities to protect public heath and promote clean energy,” Brune said. “Congress has failed to do the job on that. We’re confident local communities can do the job where Congress hasn’t.”
Bloomberg’s gift will permit the Sierra Club to expand its “Beyond Coal” staff from about 100 people to nearly 200 full-time employees, who will be working in 46 states. Many of the new staff will engage in grass-roots organizing, while some will work on lawsuits or social networking.
I don’t know about you, but I want to give a big “thank you” to Michael Bloomberg for being one of the rich guys who uses his money for the right reasons. Folks living in northern Virginia just might see billboards in the Metro system with pictures of young children and describing them as “filters” for coal plant pollution. Perhaps that will get the attention of people lulled into believing that coal is somehow “clean.”
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