Stop New Coal in Nevada!
This petition seeks to halt the building of new coal power plants in the State of Nevada. There are many reasons to oppose these plants. This petition focuses on their contributions to human-caused climate change.
Today, coal provides about half of our nation's electricity — at great cost to our health, land, water, and climate. Coal power is currently America's single biggest source of global warming pollution. Utilities across the United States are now pushing to build more than 150 new coal-fired power plants in a race to beat legislation that would control greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these plants would use old "pulverized coal" technology—designed to last at least 40-50 years.
There should be a moratorium on new coal plants until technology is developed to render them relatively “climate safe”. On average, coal power plants emit as much global warming pollution in one year as 600,000 cars. Unlike a car, however, these plants will be polluting for 40 to 50 years into the future. Most of the CO2 that would spew out of these plants each year will remain in our upper atmosphere for hundreds of years. Short term power needs should not sacrifice the quality of life of future generations.
We now know that Global Warming is increasing desertification in a wide swath of Africa contributing to the death of humans, plants and animals in that region. We know climate change is increasing the severity of storms which cause further death and destruction worldwide. We know that people living in low-lying areas of the world are being displaced as the oceans rise. We know that the majority of the Earth’s glaciers are shrinking, and that global warming will lead to deepening water crises, and power shortages in regions where life is dependent on summertime snow melt.
While there is much we do not know about what the effects of human driven climate change will be, enough respected scientific bodies, United Nation’s panels, and national governments (and over 400 cities, and an increasing number of state governments in the US) are calling for greenhouse gas caps and reductions that we should take them seriously.
Many of us consider the building of more coal plants at this time, which do not sequester CO2, to be irresponsible, arrogant, and immoral. Instead of trying to rush ahead of the greenhouse gas emission controls which will eventually be legislated in the United States we call on our power industries to wait until truly clean coal technologies become available that do not by analogy throw gasoline onto the fire of the climate crisis we are facing.
Now is the time to work to stop any further coal plants from being built in Nevada. The United States has no hope of convincing other countries to adopt climate safe practices as long as we are building new coal powered electric generation plants, which fail to sequester greenhouse gas emissions, here at home.
Today, coal provides about half of our nation's electricity — at great cost to our health, land, water, and climate. Coal power is currently America's single biggest source of global warming pollution. Utilities across the United States are now pushing to build more than 150 new coal-fired power plants in a race to beat legislation that would control greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these plants would use old "pulverized coal" technology—designed to last at least 40-50 years.
There should be a moratorium on new coal plants until technology is developed to render them relatively “climate safe”. On average, coal power plants emit as much global warming pollution in one year as 600,000 cars. Unlike a car, however, these plants will be polluting for 40 to 50 years into the future. Most of the CO2 that would spew out of these plants each year will remain in our upper atmosphere for hundreds of years. Short term power needs should not sacrifice the quality of life of future generations.
We now know that Global Warming is increasing desertification in a wide swath of Africa contributing to the death of humans, plants and animals in that region. We know climate change is increasing the severity of storms which cause further death and destruction worldwide. We know that people living in low-lying areas of the world are being displaced as the oceans rise. We know that the majority of the Earth’s glaciers are shrinking, and that global warming will lead to deepening water crises, and power shortages in regions where life is dependent on summertime snow melt.
While there is much we do not know about what the effects of human driven climate change will be, enough respected scientific bodies, United Nation’s panels, and national governments (and over 400 cities, and an increasing number of state governments in the US) are calling for greenhouse gas caps and reductions that we should take them seriously.
Many of us consider the building of more coal plants at this time, which do not sequester CO2, to be irresponsible, arrogant, and immoral. Instead of trying to rush ahead of the greenhouse gas emission controls which will eventually be legislated in the United States we call on our power industries to wait until truly clean coal technologies become available that do not by analogy throw gasoline onto the fire of the climate crisis we are facing.
Now is the time to work to stop any further coal plants from being built in Nevada. The United States has no hope of convincing other countries to adopt climate safe practices as long as we are building new coal powered electric generation plants, which fail to sequester greenhouse gas emissions, here at home.
Please sign this petition, calling for a moratorium on the building of coal powered electric plants in Nevada. Sign whether you reside in Nevada, or not. The damages that our greenhouse gas emissions cause are worldwide, not just regional!
We call for a Nevada-wide moratorium on the building of new coal-fired or integrated coal gasification power plants until technologies are developed that would sequester their greenhouse gas emissions to render them relatively climate safe. Scientific near-consensus holds that Humankind must begin to make serious reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions, or face a worldwide climate crisis.
Building new coal plants, with life-spans of 40 years or more, will take us in the absolute wrong direction, moving our Earth ever closer to the brink of an unstoppable climate crisis. The United States has no hope of helping to lead the world away from this brink as long greenhouse gas spewing coal powered electric plants are still being built here at home. Life on Earth as we know it depends on our response to this deepening crisis.
No new coal power in Nevada!
Sign PetitionSign PetitionBuilding new coal plants, with life-spans of 40 years or more, will take us in the absolute wrong direction, moving our Earth ever closer to the brink of an unstoppable climate crisis. The United States has no hope of helping to lead the world away from this brink as long greenhouse gas spewing coal powered electric plants are still being built here at home. Life on Earth as we know it depends on our response to this deepening crisis.
No new coal power in Nevada!
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