Asheville area: 2 Arrested in Protest Against Woodfin NC Power Plant

[G_j]

(currently raising
funds to cover bond ($800) and court costs -- to
donate you can use the paypal on the "Rising Tide North
Carolina" page of our website,
www.risingtidenorthamerica.org, or send a check to
"Rising Tide North America" with a note specifying it's
for our legal defense to: RTNA, PO Box 16851 Asheville,
NC 28816. there is also a short video of the action at:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770206101


2 Arrested in Protest Against Woodfin Power Plant

Local residents braved the frigid cold this
morning perched atop a billboard to protest Progress
Energy’s new oil fired plant, proposed to be built in
Woodfin. They unfurled an enormous banner reading,
“Burning Oil Ain’t Progress – No New Woodfin Power
Plant!” The residents are part of Rising Tide North
America, a group dedicated to fighting the root causes
of climate change. The protest lasted over three hours
until local police and fire department forced them down.

“Western North Carolina is already suffering
from some of the worst air pollution in the country. By
building an oil burning plant that we don’t even really
need, Progress is choosing to endanger our health for
the sake of profit instead of making the necessary
investments in energy conservation and clean energy.”
said Micah Lee, a life-long Asheville resident who was
perched atop the billboard.

According the Environmental Protection Agency,
pollution from power plants in North Carolina is
responsible for 1,000 premature deaths each year.
Progress Energy’s proposed 130 MW oil power plant is
projected to emit 247 tons of smog forming nitrogen
oxide, 2.4 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 97 tons of lung
damaging particulate matter each year. This would put
Progress’ plant among the top 5 polluters in Buncombe
County. Even these statistics are optimistic, based on
Progress’ projection that the plant will only run 10
percent of the time. A recent Wall Street Journal
report found that such “peak” power plants often run up
to 80 percent of the time, greatly increasing emissions.

In addition to the immediate health concerns
caused by the power plant, the activists hope to bring
attention to the devastating impacts of climate change,
to which this plant would only contribute. “Given the
increases in droughts, hurricanes, and massive species
extinction that we are already experiencing as a result
of climate change, burning oil for electricity is
absolutely unacceptable. In the face of total
government inaction, regular people need to take action
to transition our society away from fossil fuels,” said
Abigail Singer from her perch atop the billboard.

The scientific consensus is that we need to
reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80
percent by the year 2050 to avert the worst case
scenarios of climate change. By building a new oil
plant at this critical juncture, Progress Energy would
be taking us further down the road of fossil fuel
dependence at a time when we need to drastically reduce
our consumption. According to EPA statistics, oil fired
power plants emit on average 1672 lbs of carbon dioxide
per megawatt hour.

The protest ended when police placed the
protestors under arrest and forced them down from the
billboard. Rising Tide will keep the pressure on
corporate and political officials until the power plant
is scrapped, since the energy needs it would meet could
easily be met through conservation measures. “It is my
generation that is going to have to live with the
devastating impacts of climate change caused by power
plants such as Progress Energy’s. It is totally
irresponsible and insulting that they are willing to
gamble away our future when clean alternatives exist,”
said Lee.

Buncombe County residents plan on attending
this evening’s county commissioner’s meeting to keep
the heat on their elected officials.

http://risingtidenorthamerica.org/wordpress/category/rising-tide-north-carolina/

--

CITIZEN-TIMES.com
Environmental activists protest plans for Buncombe
power plant

By John Boyle
[e-mail]
February 7, 2007 12:15 am

ASHEVILLE — Two environmental activists protesting a
power plant proposed for northern Buncombe County took
over a billboard along U.S. 19-23/Future I-26 on
Tuesday.

Micah Lee and Abigail Singer, both of Asheville, scaled
the billboard about 7:30 a.m. and put up their own
30-foot-wide sign that read, “Burning Oil Ain’t
Progress. No new Woodfin power plant.” The sign, which
was cut down about 9:30 a.m., was clearly visible to
interstate travelers.

“We’re hoping to help inspire regular people in
Asheville to take action against this power plant,”
Singer said from the billboard. “Clearly to us, our
county commissioners are not listening to the public,
and they’re not working in the public interest.”

Nine Asheville police patrol cars responded, and
police, lifted by a fire department ladder truck
removed the two protesters.

..more..