This weekend, as part of the 350.org International Day of Climate Action, Chicago’s Roll Beyond Coal rally and march brought people together from across the city to demand an end to the toxic pollution from the Fisk and Crawford coal plants.
Chicago community members led a bike ride across the city, then joined hundreds of others in a rally and march led by Greenpeace executive director Kumi Naidoo and community members from the Pilsen and Little Village communities where the two plants are located. Kumi toured the Pilsen neighborhood with community members before the event.
“I am inspired by the energy exuding from Chicago today. For far too long we have seen communities just like Pilsen and Little Village all over the world be taken advantage of by corporate greed at the expense of people’s lives. Edison International needs to be a responsible global player and get off coal” said Kumi at the rally.
Chicagoans called on Edison International owner of the two plants operated locally by Midwest Generation – to retire the two coal plants and invest in renewable energy. Community members wrote letters and collected photos addressed to Ted Craver, the CEO of Edison International, asking him to retire the coal plants.
The letters, photos and over 25,000 petitions to Edison International to shut down the Fisk and Crawford coal plants will be delivered by Kumi and five Chicago residents this week at the Edison headquarters in California.
