Today, after a 26-hour occupation of Fisk, Kelly Mitchell issued the following statement from the smokestack:
“As we end our occupation of this dirty and deadly plant, I want to thank groups like PERRO and LVEJO for standing up to Edison International over the years. It is the hard work and incredible fortitude and persistence of grassroots activists across the country that inspired me to take a stand against the company. Together, we will ensure that Edison is no longer able poison communities for profit.
Residents of Pilsen held a candlelight vigil to stand in solidarity with the activists on top of the Fisk coal plant. Meanwhile Chicagoans inundated Mayor Emmanuel’s office with phone calls to shut down the Fisk and Crawford plants and tens of thousands of people all across the country sent emails to Edison International with the same message: shut down these dirty old coal plants!
“After these two days, we have ramped up the awareness of the serious risk that Fisk and Crawford pose to Chicago. We’re coming down, but we’re not done fighting to shut down these plants. Chicago’s children deserve to grow up without facing the specter of asthma, heart disease, and other perils of coal. We deserve clean energy. Our lives depend on it,” Kelly Mitchell said.
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On Twitter: follow #quitcoal and @greenpeaceusa for updates
Contact: Molly Dorozenski, on-site, 917-864-3724, [email protected]
Edyta Sitko, on-site, 812-219-4644, [email protected]
Joe Smyth, Washington DC, 831-566-5647, [email protected]
Greenpeace media desk – 202-640-3471
Photos available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceusa09
(high resolution images upon request)
An .mpeg video and QT .mov depict the activists ascending the smokestack and beginning the painting of a message, “Quit Coal.” The latest news package also contains clips from Kelly Mitchell, coal campaigner, at the top of the Fisk smokestack, and quotes from local resident and activist Leila Mendez. A dopesheet is available.
New video package available at:
http://comms.greenpeaceusa.org/20110523_Chicago/20110524_Update_Activists_Paint_Smokestack/
All documents can be downloaded by right-clicking and selecting “Save link as.”
A preview of the new footage is also available on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTDAw9K6ho0
Interviews available with local citizens and activists Leila Mendez and Edyta Sitko on the ground
