NAACP Report Reveals Disparate Impact of Coal-Fired Power Plants

[limpyhobbler]

Low income and minority communities suffer the ill effects of coal-fired power plants to a greater degree than other groups, according to an NAACP report released Nov. 15.

The report, “Coal Blooded: Putting Profits before People,” documents the health, economic and environmental impacts of coal pollution and ranks 378 coal-fired power plants in the nation based on their Environmental Justice Performance.

The score is based on both toxic emissions and demographic factors – including race, income, and population density. The six million Americans living near coal plants have an average income of $18,400, compared with $21,857 nationwide, and 39 percent are people of color.

“Coal pollution is literally killing low-income communities and communities of color,” NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said in a statement. “There is no disputing the urgency of this issue. Environmental justice is a civil and human rights issue when our children are getting sick, our grandparents are dying early, and mothers and fathers are missing work.”
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more: http://www.afro.com/sections/news/afro_briefs/story.htm?storyid=76719

Coal Blooded: Putting Profits Before People studies 378 coal-fired plants and how these plants affect low-income communities and communities of color. More often than not, coal-fired plants are placed in these communities and have a negative impact on health.

Coal Blooded is for grassroots community activists to make them aware of how people of color are affected by coal-fired plants as well as environmental activists and organization to create dialogues about the anti-coal movement and what can be done about plants that affect low-income communities and people of color at alarming rates. The report is also for philanthropists who want to invest in relationships that will support local communities who want to better their living conditions.

Coal Blooded calls for the 75 “failing plants” to be closed, which would reduce US power production by only 8 percent. If the plants are closed, it could be substituted by increased energy conservation and renewable energy production. Closing these plants would be a step in the right direction toward healthier communities and an increased use of renewable energy. We hope that the release of this report will lead to more engagement at the grassroots level around environmental justice.

link: http://www.naacp.org/blog/entry/naacp-creates-a-dialogue-about-environmental-justice-with-coal-blooded

[cprise]

1. I didn't read the whole thing, but the call for 'philanthropic investment'

...is odd. Isn't that like calling for charity?

They also fail to mention cleaner sources of energy and brooch the idea of an 8% drop in generation.

Van Jones must be shaking his head at this one.

[limpyhobbler]

2. Coal Plants Smother Communities of Color

Coal plants place a disproportionate burden on poor and largely minority communities, exposing residents to high levels of pollutants that affect public health, according to a new report led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The report ranks all 378 coal-fired power plants in the United States according to a plant's impact on the health, economics and environment of nearby communities. People living near coal plants are disproportionately poor and minorities, the report found; the six million people living within three miles of those 378 plants have an average per capita income of $18,400 per year; 39 percent are people of color. "The message arising from this report is simple: These polluting, life-compromising coal plants must be closed," the NAACP concluded in its report, Coal Blooded: Putting Profits Before People.

Coal plants are large emitters of mercury, lead, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon dioxide – a potent greenhouse gas. Along with contributing to climate change, pollution from coal plants is linked to asthma attacks, heart problems, and other diseases.

Failing grades
The report also found that not all coal plants are equal. The impacts of some plants on the public health of nearby communities are measurably worse than others, the authors said. And more often than not, the most offending plants are located in poor and largely minority communities.
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http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-plants-smother-communities-of-color