blogpost by Monica Embrey, Greenpeace Field Organizer
Since this past summer, I have been living and working in Charlotte, NC, calling on Duke Energy to do the right thing for people and our planet. I have had the opportunity to meet people who have showed incredible generosity and welcomed me into their lives like family.
But I have never lived in a community where so many people are suffering from the health impacts of coal. From children who have to miss recess because of the severity of their asthma to the parents who are battling cancer, the impact of the four dirty, coal fired power plants that surround Charlotte is unacceptable.
I am tired of Duke Energy destroying our planet while pushing the costs onto local people. Beautiful mountains in neighboring Appalachia are being destroyed so that I can keep my lights on. Every coal plant in the state of NC is leaking heavy metals into our water supply and spewing tons of pollutants into our air. Worse yet, our electric bills are going up to pay for this destruction.
This is why I chose to take a stand today and do something unlike anything Ive done before. Im taking action with five other North Carolinians in front of the Duke Energy headquarters to send the clear messageenough is enough. We dont want to pay more for dirty energy.
People in Charlotte are paying for the true cost of coal every day with our lives, with the destruction of our environment, and with our hard earned paychecks. As long as this company continues to invest in dirty, old coal, I will continue to call on them to be a good neighbor and do the right thing. I know we can have a country powered by clean, renewable energy that gives jobs to local people, has fair rates, and protects our planet. This is the type of world I want to live in.
