Civil disobedience over coal heads to D.C.

Are you willing to go to jail to protest the burning of coal?  Next week, on March 2, the first major U.S. protest on global warming is scheduled to take place.  The protest is organized by Greenpeace and the Rainforest Action Network and is scheduled to target the Capitol Power Plant in downtown Washington D.C.

Endorsing the protest are the outspoken critics of fossil fuels, Al Gore and James Hansen, sure to stir up the ire of people who do not believe in AGW.  The basic belief of AGW skeptics is that planet warming is caused by cyclical cycles in the Earth’s orbital path and in the intensity of sun’s radiant heat; further, they believe that CO2 is not the cause of global warming, but rather, a side-effect of these cyclical changes.  In a nutshell, AGW skeptics believe that global warming is not human induced. 

While there are many esteemed scientists endorsing AGW, growing criticism of the human-induced theory seems to be taking root in the American public.  According to the Rasmussen report (Jan.’09), “forty-four percent (44%) of U.S. voters now say long-term planetary trends are the cause of global warming, compared to 41% who blame it on human activity”.  According to the Pew Research Center (Jan.’09), “the only policy that ranks lower than protecting the environment (20%) among Republicans is dealing with global warming (16%)”.

These figures that essentially represent a snapshot of America’s concern for global warming may indicate that the protest in D.C. could be a dud.  The protest, however, is highly organized, and participants have gone through training on how to participate in non-violent civil disobedience.  Apparently, there are acts of non-violent civil disobedience scheduled before the rally.

Participants are concerned about the quantity of coal and the emissions released from burning it worldwide.  Currently, there are 50,000 active coal plants in the world; energy demand is expected to rise 60% over the next 20 years.  Without alternatives being developed, activists believe that more health and environmental related risks will continue to rise.

The protest in D.C. is a part of a string of protests that has been going on globally for the past year.  Protests in Australia, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom have all been aimed at bringing attention to the process of burning coal for energy.  Coal is the cheapest and most abundant energy source on earth at the moment, but activists believe that renewable energy in the form of wind, solar, and geothermal power is on the verge of being able to displace coal, making the construction of new coal-fired power plants unnecessary.

The recent push in the U.S. to build more coal-fired power plants has...

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http://www.examiner.com/x-2903-Energy-Examiner
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