ckaihatsu
20th April 2011, 16:46
Breaking: Community Activists Occupy Crawford Coal Plant Coal Pile, Unfurl Banner
For Immediate Release
Wednesday April 20, 2011
CONTACTS:
Selene Gonzalez, Urban Land Organizer, LVEJO: (630) 217-4431
MEDIA ADVISORY
Community Calls for Shutdown of Chicago’s Crawford Coal Plant
Six Local Activists Hang Banner Atop 20 Foot Coal Pile
WHEN: Wednesday, April 20 at 10:00am
WHERE: The Crawford Coal Plant at the corner of 34th Street and South Hamlin Ave
WHAT: At 10:00am today, six local activists with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Rising Tide North America, Rainforest Action Network and the Backbone Campaign climbed the fence to Midwest Generation’s controversial Crawford coal plant in Little Village. The activists unfurled a 7’ x 30’ banner atop a 20 foot tall sprawling coal pile that feeds the Crawford coal plant, which reads: “Close Chicago’s Toxic Coal Plants.”
The groups are demanding the closure of the plant just one day before the much-anticipated Clean Power Ordinance hearing, which could force the plant to undergo major modifications to upgrade their pollution controls. The activists intend to stand their ground until police arrest them.
Today’s protest is part of the national ‘Day of Action Against Extraction’ being organized by Rising Tide North America.
VISUALS: A giant 7’ x 30’ banner reading “Close Chicago’s Toxic Coal Plants” draped over a 20 foot tall mountain of coal.
WHY: Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), Rising Tide and RAN Chicago are calling for the closure of Chicago’s two toxic coal-fired power plants, the Crawford plant in Little Village and the Fisk plant in Pilsen, both owned by Midwest Generation. These two plants are Chicago’s largest sources of particulate air pollution. In the last three years alone, these plants combined have spewed over 45,000 tons of pollution into the air, compromising the health of all Chicagoans.
Pollution from these two coal-fired power plants costs neighboring communities $127 million a year in hidden health damages, according to a report released in October of 2010 by the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Particulate matter from the Fisk and Crawford coal-fired power plants impairs visibility and contributes to lung cancer, heart attacks, premature deaths, acute and chronic bronchitis, emergency room visits, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
Those who live closest to these plants bear the heaviest brunt of these diseases. According to a September 2010 study conducted by the Clean Air Task Force, air pollution from Fisk and Crawford causes more than 40 deaths, 720 asthma attacks and 66 heart attacks annually.
The Midwest Generation plants have avoided anti-pollution regulations for years. Fisk started generating electricity in 1903 and was rebuilt in 1959; Crawford's latest turbines were installed in 1958 and 1961. Tomorrow’s hearing on the Clean Power Ordinance is a significant step in determining the fate of these two relic plants. The ordinance, if passed, would force Midwest Generation to undergo major modifications to upgrade their pollution controls. Local groups, however, are calling for the plants to be shutdown immediately, finding the bill to be too little too late for plants that have already caused too much illness and death.
Fisk and Crawford are two of Chicago’s largest contributors to climate change. In 2007, combined they emitted nearly 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. This is equivalent to the emissions from 872,042 cars. Nationally, coal-fired power plants are the leading cause of global warming pollution in the United States.
For more information, visit www.extractionaction.net/chicago.
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For Immediate Release
Wednesday April 20, 2011
CONTACTS:
Selene Gonzalez, Urban Land Organizer, LVEJO: (630) 217-4431
MEDIA ADVISORY
Community Calls for Shutdown of Chicago’s Crawford Coal Plant
Six Local Activists Hang Banner Atop 20 Foot Coal Pile
WHEN: Wednesday, April 20 at 10:00am
WHERE: The Crawford Coal Plant at the corner of 34th Street and South Hamlin Ave
WHAT: At 10:00am today, six local activists with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Rising Tide North America, Rainforest Action Network and the Backbone Campaign climbed the fence to Midwest Generation’s controversial Crawford coal plant in Little Village. The activists unfurled a 7’ x 30’ banner atop a 20 foot tall sprawling coal pile that feeds the Crawford coal plant, which reads: “Close Chicago’s Toxic Coal Plants.”
The groups are demanding the closure of the plant just one day before the much-anticipated Clean Power Ordinance hearing, which could force the plant to undergo major modifications to upgrade their pollution controls. The activists intend to stand their ground until police arrest them.
Today’s protest is part of the national ‘Day of Action Against Extraction’ being organized by Rising Tide North America.
VISUALS: A giant 7’ x 30’ banner reading “Close Chicago’s Toxic Coal Plants” draped over a 20 foot tall mountain of coal.
WHY: Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), Rising Tide and RAN Chicago are calling for the closure of Chicago’s two toxic coal-fired power plants, the Crawford plant in Little Village and the Fisk plant in Pilsen, both owned by Midwest Generation. These two plants are Chicago’s largest sources of particulate air pollution. In the last three years alone, these plants combined have spewed over 45,000 tons of pollution into the air, compromising the health of all Chicagoans.
Pollution from these two coal-fired power plants costs neighboring communities $127 million a year in hidden health damages, according to a report released in October of 2010 by the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Particulate matter from the Fisk and Crawford coal-fired power plants impairs visibility and contributes to lung cancer, heart attacks, premature deaths, acute and chronic bronchitis, emergency room visits, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
Those who live closest to these plants bear the heaviest brunt of these diseases. According to a September 2010 study conducted by the Clean Air Task Force, air pollution from Fisk and Crawford causes more than 40 deaths, 720 asthma attacks and 66 heart attacks annually.
The Midwest Generation plants have avoided anti-pollution regulations for years. Fisk started generating electricity in 1903 and was rebuilt in 1959; Crawford's latest turbines were installed in 1958 and 1961. Tomorrow’s hearing on the Clean Power Ordinance is a significant step in determining the fate of these two relic plants. The ordinance, if passed, would force Midwest Generation to undergo major modifications to upgrade their pollution controls. Local groups, however, are calling for the plants to be shutdown immediately, finding the bill to be too little too late for plants that have already caused too much illness and death.
Fisk and Crawford are two of Chicago’s largest contributors to climate change. In 2007, combined they emitted nearly 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. This is equivalent to the emissions from 872,042 cars. Nationally, coal-fired power plants are the leading cause of global warming pollution in the United States.
For more information, visit www.extractionaction.net/chicago.
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