Tuesday’s column “Moving ‘Beyond Coal’ must be cost efficient for students” (CT, Nov. 30), by Gabi Seltzer has a point. We must consider the cost to future Hokies as we look to move beyond coal. As part of that equation, any honest accounting would include the cost of continuing to burn this toxic fuel. Not only does the coal plant emit toxic pollution into the air we all breathe here in Blacksburg, coal is the No. 1 contributor to global warming causing CO2 emissions in the U.S. If we are going to have any chance of preventing the worst consequences of global warming — like sea level rise, severe weather and extreme drought — we have to stop burning coal as soon as possible. That’s not going to happen unless universities like Virginia Tech lead the way. The university’s current plan doesn’t set a deadline for Tech to get off coal until 2050. That is simply not acceptable, and it fails to protect the future of all Hokies.
We can’t afford to wait to get off coal, and we don’t have to. The current university plan calls for the existing boilers at the coal plant to be massively repaired or completely replaced by 2025 at the latest. We already have to make a huge investment. At Virginia Tech Beyond Coal, we propose that we simply tackle the problem now and be off coal by 2020.
A recent report by the International Energy Agency states that every year the world fails to take serious action to stop global warming adds another $500 billion to the eventual cost. Unless we prefer to bankrupt our global economy, we must start now. Virginia Tech is one of the top research institutions in the world, and we can lead the way to a clean energy economy by getting off of coal as soon as possible. At Beyond Coal, we say “let’s invest in the right future for all Hokies.” Instead of pouring our money into mountaintop removal, global warming and toxic pollution, let’s do the right thing and invest in a renewable energy future for all.
Allison Still
Beyond Coal at Virginia Tech