We're Moving to Wordpress!

Hey everyone! We're moving over to coalfreemizzou.wordpress.com! Come check us out there! We'll be blogging more regularly there, and this site will eventually go down. In the coming days, coalfreemizzou.com should be up and running, and directing to the Wordpress website instead of this one!

Thanks and please join us over on Wordpress!

Photos and Video Up!

We have both photos and video up from our Flash Mob and Asthma Awareness event!

Check out the photos from the Asthma Awareness event

Check out the photos from our Flash Mob!

And here is our video from the Flash Mob! Shot and produced by Harry Katz:

Homecoming Week Events!

Thursday, October 13, at Lowry Mall, at 12:21 PM, there will be a Flash Mob! It will last just two minutes, so make sure you get in on the action! If you'd like to participate, make sure you check out the facebook page for the event.


We'll also be participating in the Homecoming Parade on Saturday morning! This should be a fun event, walking through the parade and handing out stuff to the audience! If you're interested in walking with us in the parade, contact us at coalfreemu [at] gmail.com!

Some Documentaries You Might Wanna Watch!

Below are some online documentaries and hard copy documentaries that you should definitely try to watch/get your hands on!

Online features: 

Sierra Club Beyond Coal playlist: These 10 videos add up to about 12 min on one DVD. This is the best of Sierra Club's online coal videos from break-dancers for Beyond Coal to Ashley Judd speaking out against mountaintop removing mining to the Coal is Too Dirty for College video series.

Deep Down impact video: (6 min) shows how film is being used to connect communities and build solidarity.  

Dirty Business: (15 min) excerpt online.

I Live Near Coal: (6 min) short on health effects of coal.

Low Coal: (85 min) The story of the mountaintop removal activists featured in Coal Country, the year after.

Feature Documentaries: 
Coal Country: Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller's documentary reveals how Americans' hunger for cheap energy has fueled the destruction of the oldest mountains on the continent, and of a culture deeply rooted in the American soul.

Dirty Business:"Clean Coal" and the Battle for Our Energy Future: Produced by the Center for Investigative Reporting, the film investigates the true cost of our dependence on coal for electricity in the age of climate change.

Journey to Planet Earth: Plan B: Hosted by Matt Damon featuring Lester Brown, environmental visionary and author of Plan B, this documentary delivers a clear and unflinching message -- either confront the realities of climate change or suffer the consequences of lost civilizations and failed political states.

Carbon Nation: This film is a feature length documentary about climate change solutions. Carbon Nation is an optimistic discovery of what people are already doing, what we as a nation could be doing and what the world needs to do to prevent (or slow down) the impending climate crisis.

The Dirty Truth About Coal: This is a half-hour documentary film about the effects of emissions from coal-fired power plants on public health. Please note it will not be available until Oct. 1st.

On Coal River: This film takes viewers on a gripping emotional journey into the Coal River Valley of West Virginia -- a community surrounded by lush mountains and a looming toxic threat. The film follows a former coal miner and his neighbors in a David-and-Goliath struggle for the future of their valley, their children, and life as they know it. Click here for the screening guide.

Kilowatt Ours: Kilowatt Ours is a timely, solutions-oriented look at one of America's most pressing environmental challenges: energy. This often amusing and always inspiring story shows, "You can easily make a difference and here’s how!"

Energy Film Trailers: 

Sun Come Up Trailer: (2 min) Sun Come Up is an ACADEMY AWARD® nominated film that shows the human face of climate change. The film follows the relocation of the Carteret Islanders, a community living on a remote island chain in the South Pacific Ocean, and now, some of the world’s first environmental refugees.

Cape Spin Trailer: (4 min) Cape Spin is a feature documentary about the epic battle over the Cape Wind project, America's first offshore wind farm proposed for the storied waters of Nantucket Sound.

The Battle for Blair Mountain: (11 min) Blair Mountain is under threat of Mountaintop Removal mining. The focal point of the 1921 mine wars, this historic center of labor rights has not gotten the protection it deserves.

Review of Speaking Event Last Week

The Maneater did a write up on the Speaking event we had! 

Here's Part 1 of the presentation/speaker:


Patricia Schuba of LEO Speaking at Coal Free Mizzou About Detriments of Coal(Part 1/2) from Taylor Dankmyer on Vimeo.
And Part 2:

Coal to Clean Energy Tour Next Weekend!

See firsthand how Illinoisans (and Missourians) are having their air and water polluted by coal, and what you can do to help stop it! And see how renewable alternatives to coal are taking shape. Join us in visiting power plants, mines, coal ash dumps, and a wind turbine, and biofuel farm!
 
Saturday, Oct 1st: 9AM-9PM. Estimated cost: $15. We would leave Friday!

1st stop: Agricultural Watershed Institute, Decatur, IL: AWI is in the first season of a pilot project to produce biofuels from native prairie plants. 

2nd stop: City Water Light and Power Plant, Springfield, IL: Students will see an expansion to the plant, and learn about the plant’s water usage, and groundwater impacts from coal ash.

3rd stop: Crown I Mine, Famersville, IL: A shuttered underground mine with visibly leaking coal refuse and no pollution controls to prevent groundwater contamination. 

4th stop: Crown III Mine: Farmersville, IL: Underground, room and pillar, with coal slurry and ash disposal. Residents complain of dust problems, no pollution controls to prevent groundwater contamination.

5th stop: Shay 1 Mine, Carlinville, IL: Existing underground mine with longwall and room and pillar. Can see subsided ground, along with massive refuse disposal areas leaking into stream & groundwater
 

6th stop: Deer Run Mine, Hillsboro, IL: New longwall mine --longwall mining is a particularly invasive mining technique that is becoming more common in the midwest.

Midwest Powershift!

Last spring, we brought together 10,000 young people in Washington DC to stand up for clean energy, stop dirty energy projects, and get corporate money out of our democracy. Powershift 2011 was pretty awesome, but this fall we're going deeper, and focusing on the issues that we're facing locally and regionally in order to really build our movement and launch the campaigns that our generation has the power to win. I'm hoping you'll join me October 21st- 23rd in Cleveland, Ohio for Midwest Powershift: the epic and unprecedented youth climate movement convergence that is bringing together over ten states, and promises to be an epic turning point in the fight for climate justice where it matters most- in a region that has been overshadowed by dirty energy projects, corporate politics, and 'dying' cities for too long. At Midwest Powershift, we'll be focusing on four critical issues: coal, fracking, political engagement and building the green economy, as well as offering tons of awesome trainings and sessions to empower the next generation (us!) of community organizers.

That being said, registration is now open! Go to http://midwest.wearepowershift.org and register for only $20 before October 2nd! If you're as excited as I am and seriously can't wait to bring all of your friends to Midwest Powershift, you should totally sign up to be a campus coordinator at http://midwest.wearepowershift.org/organize too!. And if you need a good, convincing, reason to come to Cleveland, check out this funny little video, and stay tuned for lots of blogs covering updates and all the coolest action here.

Midwest Power Shift is going to be awesome, can't wait to see ya there!

Coal Free Mizzou

A BIG Week Ahead! Documentaries, Speakers, and Fun!

This week, we have multiple events you can attend!

Tuesday (9/20): 

7PM Documentary Screening "Coal Country", Tucker Hall, Room 18: An informative documentary that helps outline the negative effects of coal on communities.

Thursday (9/22):  

9 AM-12PM Clean Energy Jobs Tour: Meet outside Memorial Union at 9AM to take a FREE tour of Jeff City's ABB Power Plant that manufactures parts for wind turbines (aka windmills). YOU MUST RSVP FOR THIS. SEND AN E-MAIL TO COALFREEMU@GMAIL.COM IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND!

7PM Speaker, Patricia Schuba (Labadie Environmental Organization): Labadie, MO is a small town near Washington, MO that has struggled against the construction of another coal ash dump that would contaminate their drinking water and farm lands.

Friday (9/23):

9PM Galactic Fun Zone: Come get to know more people in Coal Free.  There's Laser Tag, Bowling and Arcade games. Bring about $20 (5 for one game of laser tag, 5 for one game of bowling, 2 for shoes).  If you need a ride from campus, meet on top of the Virginia Ave. Garage at 8:30pm.

It's a New Year!

We’re excited to have you join us in our fight to get our campus off of dirty coal energy. Come join us at our meeting next Tuesday, September 13 at 7pm in Memorial Union South room 203 (2nd Floor, above Wrench Auditorium).

We’ll be discussing our fun upcoming activities (a documentary, a speaker, a Clean Energy Jobs Tour and GALACTIC FUN ZONE!). We'll also be discussing all the volunteering and tabling we will be doing next week!

The coal plant (located on the western part of campus near Mark Twain and McDavid residence halls) is polluting our air and water, and causing health concerns for students and the community at large. Pollution from coal plants has been linked to 4 of the top 5 leading causes of death in the United States—heart disease, cancer, stroke, and respiratory disease.

Our ultimate goal is for Chancellor Brady Deaton to set a specific date for when Mizzou will get off coal. So far, the university has not set a date.

So if you’re looking to grow as an individual and become a leader of an up and coming organization on this campus, all while making Mizzou a cleaner, healthier, and safer place to live and go to school, please join us at our meeting on Tuesday!

WHAT: Coal Free Mizzou Meeting!
WHEN: Tuesday, September 13, 7 PM
WHERE: Memorial Union South 203 (2nd Floor, above Wrench Auditorium)

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/CoalFreeMizzou
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: http://twitter.com/#!/CoalFreeMizzou

Thanks to those that came yesterday!

We had a decent turnout for the pinwheel day of action yesterday. Lots of curious students looking at the pinwheels on the quad, they were very colorful and attracted some attention. Pictures will be coming soon!

Here's a special thanks to our speakers, Dr. Larry Brown and Dr. Rebecca Scott. They know their stuff when it comes to coal mining and how to make positive change happen. We loved having them speak, and hope they continue to be so supportive.

We'll be sending those pinwheels to Lisa Jackson very soon. Keep being tough on coal, EPA! It is the best hope for federal efforts to move beyond coal right now.

Pinwheel Day of Action is TOMORROW!

Join us this Thursday on the South Quad by the tiger statue as we place over 500 student-made pinwheel in the ground. At 12:40pm you can hear from our main speakers Larry Brown, Professor of Geography, and Rebecca Scott, Professor of Sociology who wrote a book on coal mining. The pinwheels will go in the ground starting at 11am.

This demonstration is part of a national Day of Action on Thursday, when students across the country will display over 6000 pinwheels in support of clean energy on college campuses. Following the Day of Action, we are sending all 6000+ pinwheels to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, our generation’s hero, as a thank you for holding the coal industry’s feet to the fire.

Students and young people have been at the forefront of every major social justice movement in recent history—and now we are leading the fight for clean energy. So come support us, and come support clean energy.

RSVP on Facebook and see more event details!

Thursday, November 18
11am-1pm, Speakers starting at 12:40pm
Carnahan Quad (South Quad)
University of Missouri - Columbia

Pin Wheels + Yellow Letters = Thursday and Friday

That equation means we'll be getting pin wheels made and yellow letters signed at Lowry Mall on Thursday from 11am to 1pm. And the same thing Friday at the Student Center from 12-2pm.

What are these pin wheels?

They are a show of support for EPA administrator Lisa Jackson. She has been a climate hawk, getting things done for curbing green house gases and coal mining. As part of a national campaign we are getting people to make as many pin wheels as possible, hopefully over 200 from us. Then after our day of action (TBA) we'll be sending these to Lisa Jackson in D.C. where volunteers there will put them in the lawn of the EPA.

And see below for our Yellow Letter campaign description.

Some come see us Thursday or Friday!

The Yellow Letter Campaign Continues

Today Coal Free Mizzou members hit the streets (or at least the sidewalk in front of the Student Center) getting our yellow letter total to almost 400.

What is the Yellow Letter Campaign you ask?

We have written a short letter to our dear Chancellor Brady Deaton thanking him for his continued support of removing coal from our campus and his follow through with the President's Climate Commitment. And we ask him to set a date to move beyond coal. Other schools have set a date with confidence and a plan to make it happen. We can too.

We printed these letters off on some yellow paper, just to make it pop a little more, and we're going to get as many signed as possible before we meet with him later this semester. If you want to sign one, shoot us an e-mail at coalfreemu@gmail.com or wait till we come out and get more signed. We'll tweet and facebook where and when you can find us!

Here is the letter we're getting people to sign, take a look!

Kick Off Meeting Tuesday at 8pm

Coal Free Mizzou presents the 2010 Fall Kick Off Meeting!

Tuesday, September 14th at 8:00PM

Chamber Auditorium in the new Student Union (Room 2501)

Join us as we start our second year of working to get coal off of Mizzou’s campus! We will be sharing our semester goals and brainstorming fun, creative ways to accomplish them all - and we need everyone’s ideas!

Come see how you can make a difference for Mizzou while enjoying free food, free t-shirts and free fun!

If you are unable to make it to Tuesday’s awesome event, feel free to join us for our regular meetings each Sunday at 4:00PM in Memorial Union South Rm 204 or email us at CoalFreeMU@gmail.com for more information.

Hope to see you Tuesday!

Clean Energy Jobs are topic for Laborvision

Labor, environmental, and low-income people's groups have come together to support a program of "clean energy jobs". Investing in clean energy technologies generates jobs in manufacturing, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and provides jobs for the long-term unemployed.

Guest Gerald Nickelson is the president of the IUE-CWA local at CG Power Systems in Franklin County that makes transformers for wind turbines. Gerald reports that the factory is hiring over one hundred new workers, and that the clean energy business is booming. Melissa Hope of the Sierra Club points out that environmentalists and labor can unite to promote public investment in clean energy technology. Finally, Vamadu Sheriff of Better Family Life discusses a new program to train the long-term unemployed for new clean energy jobs.

St. Louis City viewers can watch this program on Charter Channel 21 (St Louis City) at:
8 p.m. Monday, May 3 & 10
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 5 & 12
7 p.m. Thursday, May 6 & 13
3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 8 & 15

Laborvision is a public-affairs television program on which local guests discuss important public policy issues. To contact producer John Hickey with questions or show ideas, email him at laborvision@gmail.com .

Earth (Urf) Day

Thursday is Earth Day and we'll be out there showing off the mural at 3:15 p.m.. You don't want to miss it. Plan on meeting us on Francis Quad, listen to a speaker and hang out. We'll play some Frisbee, kick around a ball, have a good time.

All done

The mural is done, so no painting today. I have not seen the finished product, but I can guarantee it is awesome.

When we figure out where we are displaying it next week, I'll tell you. But you can definitely expect to see it at out Earth Day booth next Sunday in Peace Park.

Who knew painting was so fun?

All week Coal Free Mizzou has been on Lowry Mall painting a 4 ft. by 18 ft. canvas. We ask passers by to jump in and with their help we are practically finished. It's a conglomeration of student work depicting the desire for a better tomorrow. And we are willing to work to get there. Check out the pictures.

Dropping off the letter was so much fun!

I'll work on getting video up as soon as I can, but until then, just believe it was fun. Some retro rollerbladers joined us and the Shakespeare's bike cart gave us a ride. When we got to Senator McCaskill's Office we dropped off this letter.

We told her assistant, Samantha, how we wanted the toughest climate legislation possible to combat rising sea levels and also help provide some assistance and motivation for moving beyond coal. Our goofy outfits and floaties hopefully made a good show. We told Samantha why we were dressed so weird, made our point clear, and made our way back to campus.

Videos to follow...

Thursday Event: Dropping a letter off for McCaskill

Get ready to dress silly and be political!

We're meeting at 3:30 p.m. in Speaker's Circle to get this walk started to Senator McCaskill's office. We're dressing up in beach gear because seas are rising. It's a little silly and a lot of fun, so come join us as we make our way to the senator's downtown to show her our support for clean energy and climate legislation.

Thursday, April 8
3:30pm at Speaker's Circle
Do the "sea walk" to McCaskill's Office

Missouri can make waves of change to prevent rising sea levels!