Virginia Tech: Move Beyond Coal

This week, Apple joined a host of other companies, including Exelon, the nation's largest utility, in resigning from the US Chamber of Commerce because of the group's opposition to climate legislation. Other companies to resign include PNM Holdings and PG&E, two large utilities, and Nike decided to step down from the Board of Directors. The Chamber's calls for a new Scopes Monkey trial on climate change, as well as their intensive lobbying efforts against the climate bill now before the Senate, prompted the string of resignations.

What we're seeing here is a clash of paradigms between those who want the world to stay the way it was, and those who are accepting the new reality of the situation we face. As John Rowe, chairman and CEO of Exelon, put it, “The carbon-based free lunch is over”. Fossil fuel energy is on its way out, and it's up to Virginia Tech to decide whether they will keep up with the times or become completely irrelevant. And this has to start right here on campus, with our very own coal-fired power plant.

The good folks at Exelon aren't the only ones who realize this change is coming. China has recently announced plans to cap and reduce their carbon intensity (that is, tons of CO₂ per dollar GDP). Because of this and other recent efforts by the Chinese government, China is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing markets for renewable energy. Or, to look at it from another perspective, consider Applied Materials, a US-based microchip manufacturing company that also makes machines that manufacture solar panels. Currently they have 14 factories making these machines, and not a single one of them is in the US. The green energy economy is quickly expanding, but it seems the US is being left behind.

Coal is dirty business. From the mining and extraction to the burning and disposal of its waste, there is no aspect of using coal for energy that does not harm the environment. In addition, the impacts of climate change are becoming readily apparent, and with CO₂ levels soaring above scientists' worse-case scenarios, things are looking grim. The time for action is now.

Virginia Tech’s Beyond Coal student group is working hard to be a leader in the green energy movement through supporting the Obama Administration’s efforts to reduce climate change through legislation and by raising awareness of the irreversible damages of coal burning. On September 16th, a group of students marched from the coal plant to Burruss Hall to present a report on the dangers of using coal as a power source and the urgency of the need for change. As a university, we have the resources to be leaders in the research, development, and implementation of clean energy alternatives, so why not take that step, close down the coal plant and make a true commitment as a University to sustainability?

We have a choice, we have a voice, and we have the responsibility to preserve our planet. The time is now for us to come together and progress Beyond Coal.