From an article by K.J. Lang in the La Crosse Tribune:
Some University of Wisconsin-La Crosse students want to kick coal off campus.
Students plan to rally at 3 p.m. today to show their opposition to UW-L burning coal for heating. Similar rallies will happen across the nation as part of the Sierra Club’s “National Day of Action.”
UW-L is among nine UW campuses still using coal, according to the state Department of Administration. Yet of the 1,925 facilities that report air emissions in Wisconsin, only 50 burned coal in 2008, said Ralph Patterson, emission inventory team leader for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Several speakers at UW-L will talk about the effect burning coal has on climate change, human health and clean air.
“Coal is a dirty, outdated way to be powering our campuses and health facilities,” said Jennifer Feyerherm, director of Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Campaign for Sierra Club.
The Sierra Club contends UW-L, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout all are in violation of the Clean Air Act because they didn’t install modern pollution controls when making plant renovations, said Feyerherm.
The Department of Administration considers the four UW plants to be in compliance, said Emily Winecke, communications specialist with the department.