BREAKING: No new coal plants! HUGE victory for the climate movement

Just a few hours ago, the EPA released a decision that will put an immediate halt to the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the US. This is an enormous coup for the climate movement.

Thirty-percent of our annual emissions come from coal, and more plants would have disastrous effects on our climate, economy, and health. NASA Climatologist James Hansen has called coal the "enemy of the human race." Even Senate Majority Harry Reid (D, NV) has come out against new plants:

Credit for this specific victory belongs to our friends on the Sierra Club's legal team. An EPA appeals court ruling will essentially require "Best Available Control Technology" for CO2 as part of the permitting process for new coal plants. Because all the proposed plants that are realistically slated for construction at the moment are dirty, the ruling will essentially give us a moratorium on potential coal-fired power plants.

This is by no means the end for big coal: they will fight this, and we will respond in kind. But in the meantime, we can move forward knowing that our efforts to cut carbon in our own lives and at the federal level will not be canceled out by foolish investments in more dirty coal plants. WELL DONE!

For more details, consult the Sierra Club's press release. And for some good-natured coal humor, click here.