FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 2011
Contact:
Claire Orphan, 312-251-1680 x 146
Sierra Student Coalition Applauds Clemson University Plan to Phase Out Coal
Another Campus Transitions to Clean Energy
Clemson, SC: In the unveiling of their long-term strategic plan yesterday, Clemson University announced that they will be replacing the university’s outdated utility system and eliminating the use of dirty coal. The Sierra Student Coalition has been working with Students for Environmental Action at Clemson to encourage the Clemson University administration to stop burning dangerous coal in the campus steam plant. Ending their use of coal is the first of several planned utility upgrades over the next five years and a significant step towards meeting the university's commitment to reduce their overall carbon emissions to zero by 2030.
"This decision to move beyond coal shows that the university is really listening to the concerns of their students and faculty who want a cleaner, healthier campus and demonstrates our dedication to environmental, economic and social leadership,” said Rose Kinane, Clemson Beyond Coal student leader. “I'm very proud to go a university that is committing to building a clean energy future."
Thanks to the efforts of the Sierra Student Coalition and other volunteer organizations, nearly a dozen other schools have committed to ending their dependence on campus coal plants by switching to cleaner sources of energy.
This announcement comes on the heels of the Sierra Club’s new health-focused campaign, which calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health by enforcing strong safeguards against pollution from burning oil and coal. Pollution from burning coal spurs a host of serious, life-threatening health problems, including asthma, respiratory disease, heart disease and even early death.
"Clemson is making strides to become more sustainable by taking concrete steps to reduce its carbon emissions. Nowhere is this more evident than in President Barkers' announcement to begin Phase 1 of taking the campus coal plant offline,“ said Holly Garrett, graduate student leader with Students for Environmental Action. “This will catapult Clemson toward our goal of becoming a carbon neutral campus by the year 2030 and we were very excited to hear the announcement!"
For more, visit www.sierraclub.org/coal.
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