You Are My Perfect Muse

by Lindy Li, Huffington Post, 8/4/2016

One evening you send me a picture of gorgeous serenity, a vignette of America’s heartland, a scene of unadulterated beauty. My sense of awe is tinged by unease, as I wonder how much longer our country could remain this perfect, peaceful, and pristine, given the reckless behavior of industry and individual alike… Just as I wonder how long you and I will last — forever or for a mere season?

***

After The Sierra Club told me about a legal loophole that allows Brunner Island Power Station to pollute with impunity, I decided to drive there to see for myself. This massive facility near Harrisburg is the only coal-fired power plant in our state without the pollution controls that would protect vulnerable Southeastern Pennsylvanians from large quantities of nitrogen oxide (NOx). Americans in Philadelphia, Berks, Chester, Lebanon, and Montgomery Counties have suffered for years from the smog. Because of this loophole, sickly looking yellow smoke disgorges into the atmosphere, with no buffer between the contaminants and your lungs….

continue reading at Huffington Post

People’s Climate March: There’s no going back now

Sierra Club, Sept. 22, 2014

We just made history!

Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of people came together at the People’s Climate March in New York City. It was beyond massive and it was almost beyond belief. Standing in the middle of the march route along Central Park, I could see people in every direction, with signs, banners, flags, musical instruments, children in strollers — and incredible optimism and energy. There were so many people that the march lineup was over four miles long.

Take action now to send that energy to the White House — tell President Obama and the EPA that you want climate action and climate justice!

It took four hours for the march to make its way through New York, past Times Square, the Radio City Music Hall, and even the headquarters of Fox News.

And even before it ended, I knew that no one could deny that the conversation had changed. Never before had so many people joined together to demand a just transition to a world free of the dirty, dangerous fossil fuels that have been wrecking our planet for too long — a demand for a clean and safe world powered by clean and safe energy.

That’s why the EPA’s new Clean Power Plan is such a big deal. It’s a new climate safeguard that will make coal and gas power plants reduce their climate pollution. By cracking down on dangerous carbon emissions, it’s signaling that the era of unlimited climate pollution is coming to an end. It’s something that our country can do right now to begin realizing the vision of the People’s Climate March.

Make sure President Obama and the EPA can’t ignore this call for clean energy and climate justice. Speak out for a strong and just Clean Power Plan.

The People’s Climate March showcased the energy and determination of the climate movement. It was a turning point in our national conversation, and there’s no going back now. Keep up the momentum by taking action now!

Thank you for all you do,

Michael Brune
Sierra Club Executive Director

P.S. Six messages are more powerful than one! After you take action, forward this message to five of your friends and family or share it on Facebook and Twitter.

Santa and coal

from Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection newsletter, January 2013