Did Somebody Mention Coal?

[1]I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. Well, I had a feeling last Friday, when the Democratic Governor of the Sunflower state, Kathleen Sibelius, vetoed a bill [2] that would have paved the way for two dirty coal plants to be built. Kansas, a typically conservative state with two Republican Senators, isn’t a place where you’d expect to hear anti-coal victories, but when Sibelius vetoed the bill, she sided with coal opponents, which include most national and local environmental, public health and citizens’ groups. Noting the plethora of issues related to mining, transporting and burning coal, she said the following at a press conference [3] in the state capitol, Topeka:

“This decision not only preserves Kansans’ health and upholds our moral obligation to be good stewards of this beautiful land, but will also enhance our prospects for strong and sustainable economic growth throughout our state. Instead of building two new coal plants, which would produce 11 million new tons of carbon dioxide each year, I support pursuing other, more promising energy and economic development alternatives."

She went on to talk about the effects that climate change could have on the state’s economy, agriculture and public health. Sibelius is leading the charge against polluting, dirty coal plants from a very unlikely place — a state where electricity rate hikes, or even the threat of them, have won and lost elections [4] over the past decade.

This puts her squarely on the side of climate change activists and community groups around the country that have defied expectations, galvanized public support, built political power and fought against a $35 million "astroturf" campaign [5] by industry lobbying groups CEED and ABEC. The two stalled Holcomb, Kansas plants, planned by CEED member Sunflower Energy bumps the number of hard-won anti-coal victories [6] up to 63, though there are more than 100 proposed coal plants still in the works throughout the US.

States and communities aren’t the only ones taking action against coal — a newly submitted bill [7] currently in the House of Representatives calls for a moratorium on building any dirty coal plants, directly addressing one of 1Sky’s major policy goals: No New Coal [8].