Kudos for “Killer Coal” cover story
Re: “Killer Coal” (3/7/2019): Joe Tarr did a superb job researching and writing this story. I particularly liked his interviews with people negatively affected by coal all the way from the farmers and ranchers near the mines in Montana to Wisconsin residents subjected to pollution from the Columbia and Oak Creek coal plants.
He also pointed out the detrimental impact that coal-fired power plants have on the atmosphere by emitting hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide per year, thus contributing to the worldwide climate crisis.
The leadership of Madison Gas & Electric should be ashamed for relying on coal for over 70 percent of the company’s electricity generation, while pretending to be environmentally responsible.
As Madison-area citizens, we can make our voices heard urging MGE to divest its ownership stake in the Oak Creek and Columbia coal plants, and to rapidly shift its sources of energy to increased wind and solar power.
The local Sierra Club branch is part of a national Beyond Coal initiative. We can channel our anti-coal energy to support their efforts and similar efforts in the Madison area.
— Emile (EG) Nadeau, member Sierra Club-John Muir Chapter, via email
Perhaps a better title of the recent Isthmus article would be “Killer coal…and its accomplices.” Coal is destructive. It poisons drinking water and contaminates lakes and waterways. Its dust leads to respiratory illnesses and cancer. It contributes to global climate change.
Utilities, coal’s accomplices, refuse to divest from coal because they fear a loss in profit. As the cost of community and environmental destruction accumulates, it builds a debt far more valuable than money, one that cannot be repaid.
Because MGE refuses to even consider developing a plan for 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, our local utility is far from innocent. MGE’s investment in coal is an investment in harming communities.
From Wyoming to Wisconsin, MGE’s coal carves a destructive path and does not stop for innocents along the way. The article mentions the impacts to water supplies, air quality, and public health, but it doesn’t mention that we are paying the price for this dirty energy here in Madison — literally — with some of the highest electric rates in the Midwest, and it is funding dirty power.
MGE’s vague assurances of transitioning to clean energy are too little, too late. We refuse to accept anything less than 100 percent clean energy and 0 percent coal because it is what our communities and our Earth deserve.
— Brooke Bowser, Madison
Thank you for publishing this really insightful and powerful piece
— Cassie Steiner, via Facebook
