From: "Mary Anne Hitt, Sierra Club". Date: January 31, 2020
Subject: Sierra Weekly Dispatch: A cascade of wins on coal and clean energy
For Beyond Coal Regional Campaign Director Holly Bender, the fight for a clean energy future is a family affair. Dear Concerned Citizens.....
This has been an incredible month for our Beyond Coal Campaign. First, the independent economic research group Rhodium issued a study showing that greenhouse gas emissions actually declined in the U.S. in 2019, almost entirely due to plummeting use of coal. When we started our campaign ten years ago, taking on the coal industry felt daunting. This month, we got the news that we’d won our 300th coal plant retirement...and then our 301st, 302nd, 303rd, and 304th.
Let’s add that up. The five coal plants announced just this month churned out 25 million tons of climate-destroying CO2 in 2018 alone; closing them is like permanently taking 5.3 million cars off the road. On top of that, one of the last two proposed plants of the Bush-era coal rush—the Holcomb plant in Kansas—was finally abandoned this month, after a fourteen-year fight by our coal team.
As Beyond Coal Regional Campaign Director Holly Bender explained:
“Some of these coal fights live deep in our bones. Holcomb was one of mine. I started working on it as an intern with the Environmental Law Program in 2007. On January 15, we got the news that the proposal was finally abandoned for good. My family celebrated with homemade pizza, and we got the good Trader Joe’s wine (you know, the ‘Diamond Reserve’ label). I got to tell my two daughters that it was a really good day, and that all the pollution from the plant that could harm people, animals, and our environment would never happen.”
These wins are the result of the tenacity, creativity, and commitment of thousands of volunteers and staff like Holly. Here’s a recap of what they’ve been able to accomplish just since we rang in the new year:
January 2: Largest coal ash clean up in history announced through a settlement with the Sierra Club and allies. January 6: Study in prestigious journal finds reduced US coal use saved 26,000 lives over the past decade January 8: Coal plant #300 (Dolet Hills in Louisiana) announced to retire through a settlement with Sierra Club. January 9: Tri-State announces coal retirements #301 and 302: Craig in Colorado and Escalante in New Mexico. January 13: Reuters projects that 2019 will be the second biggest year ever for coal retirements. January 15: Tri-State commits to 100 percent clean energy for Colorado by 2040, 50 percent renewable energy by 2024 for their electric cooperatives, and no new fracked gas plants as it phases out coal. January 15: The proposed Holcomb coal plant in Kansas is finally abandoned. January 21: Coal plant retirement #303 is announced: Merom Generating Station in Indiana. January 22: Arizona utility announces a major new climate plan that will retire the Four Corners Power Plant—one of the biggest emitters carbon in the US, and commits to 100 percent clean power by 2050. January 24: Coal plant retirement #304 is announced: Dairyland’s Genoa plant in Wisconsin.
What a way to kick off this pivotal decade for our climate. We’re not finished yet—we’re only about halfway to our goal of retiring every coal plant in the US. As we do that work, we're also supporting an economic transition for coal workers and communities. And we’re already deep into tackling another big challenge: stopping the rush to fracked gas, which poses an enormous threat to our climate . But we have the wind at our backs. And I want to pause long enough to appreciate these victories and everyone who made them possible—including our generous donors.
Your support is truly helping move the needle on a scale that matters for our climate and our future. As a mom with a big stake in that future, I can’t thank you enough.
Warmly, Mary Anne Hitt, Director of Beyond Coal Campaign
*501(c)3 contributions to the Sierra Club Foundation do not go toward our legislative lobbying efforts. Any lobbying activities are conducted by Sierra Club using 501(c)4 non-tax-deductible funds.