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.

Week In Review

For the week of June 20-26, 2009:

Monday/Tuesday: Invisible Children's How It Ends Lobby Days for northern Uganda. We heard from a lot of great people, including Luis Morena-Ocampo, several high-ranking officials from the Ugandan government, including their Minister of Defense, and Tom Shadyac. Of course, I also got the chance to catch up with my IC friends, including Justin and Dyanna.

But the best part came Tuesday. By far the best lobbying experience I've had (when a discussion of peak performances came up on Sunday, this was definitely it for me). I got to listen to Senator Mark Warner's head of homeland security and foreign affairs talk about what he knew, then tell him why I cared about Invisible Children, why he should support the bill and what it would do (the bill is the "LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act").

But even more interesting then that is what he said the senator was up to. Apparently, on Tuesday Senator Warner was convening with other Democratic senators to discuss the merits of the various climate change bills that had been introduced in Congress. It could be a sign that he'll be an ally for strengthening the Waxman-Markey bill in the Senate, but more likely my guess is that he doesn't want to see businesses impacted too harshly.

Wednesday: Basshound @ the 8x10 in Baltimore. Great show; much love to these guys, as always.

Thursday: (my day off) Historic Senate hearing on mountaintop removal. More about that here.

Friday: Big day. First off, went down to the EPA building to protest mountaintop removal.

But the big part came after that. I headed over to the Capitol building for a rally to support strengthening for the ACES Act, from which we split up into three groups to hit the steps of all three House office buildings with banners and big green hard hats. Once we were moved from there, we proceeded to flood the hallways of all three House buildings, talking to every representative we could about strengthening ACES. Finally we took a break and regrouped in the cafeteria of the Longsworth building around 4, then moved out back to the Capitol building to make our way to the House floor in time for Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-OH) hour-long rant. As he finally yielded and the vote began, we were shepherded out of our seats and downstairs only for us to come right back up, just in time to catch the end of the vote. 219 for versus 212 against and ACES passes! Barely. Now onto the Senate battle.

Saturday/Sunday: 1Sky leadership training. And just in time; passing ACES through the Senate will be tough. I have to credit this blog, and my new Twitter account, to this training. And so it begins.