The University is one of the nation's finest institutions, and graduate students and undergraduates alike are lucky to be here. The Medical School, in particular, is truly remarkable, but so many of its advancements are negated by its energy policies. The University owns and operates a coal plant right here on Grounds, and the medial school relies on this plant for most of its energy. Cleaner alternatives such as geothermal energy are available right now, yet day after day we watch trains filled with coal run past the Corner to the plant.
The emissions from the plant are highly dangerous and are holding us back from the innovative ideas the Medical School has put into place. The Medical School has created "clean air zones" right outside its buildings, which prohibit people from smoking on the path near the buildings, thus reducing the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. These clean air zones are a wonderful concept, but they are completely ineffective when the benefits that we would derive from prohibiting smoking are negated by the tons of toxic emissions coming from the University's coal plant.
It is time for us to begin the fight for clean energy. It is indisputable that coal is the dirtiest form of energy, and the toxic emissions that come out of these plants have no place on Grounds. The Sierra Student Coalition on Grounds is part of a national campaign to move all our nation's universities beyond coal to clean energy. Our University has an opportunity to be a leader in this movement. By retiring our University-based coal plant and getting off of coal-generated electricity, we will be investing in, developing and modeling our vision for a future of clean energy.\n\nSara Bakrow\nCLAS II
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