Members of Beyond Coal tried to obtain 250 signatures on a petition to support the new regulations.
Beyond Coal at Virginia Tech hosted a rally for the National Day of Action for Stricter Ozone Controls yesterday in support of newly proposed national standards for ozone pollution levels.
Beyond Coal continues to campaign for cleaner energy on campus, senior member Bryce Carter said. Tuesday’s rally was designed to be a portion of their campaign for switching exclusively to clean energy on campus by 2020.
After university administration rejected the student group’s push to remove coal-powered energy, generated by the on-campus power plant, Beyond Coal is now re-grouping.
“They know we’re serious,” Carter said.
Tuesday’s rally, backing new regulations for air cleanliness standards, was a way for Beyond Coal to emphasize their platform by calling attention to a detrimental side effect of coal usage.
Sophomore Sarah Grant, a Beyond Coal spokeswoman, said the group began planning the event before spring break to coincide with a nationwide rally day in support of the stronger standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a revision to air quality standards in January. The current average level is about 80 parts per billion; the new standards would reduce the maximum level to a range of 60 to 70 parts per billion.
The EPA also suggested establishing a distinctive “secondary” standard, which would have a different range and is “designed to protect sensitive vegetation and ecosystems,” according to the proposed rule.
The last set of standards was set in 2008 and was not as protective as recommended at the time, according to the proposal.
Project leader sophomore Kara Dodson said the event would hopefully raise awareness of the proposed change in standards.
“It’s encouraging students to come out to collect public comments on the recent legislation,” she said.
Cathy Milbourn, spokesperson from the EPA’s air quality headquarters, said the standards haven’t yet been finalized. They should be finalized by August 31.
The public comment period on the legislation closes March 22.
Linsey Marr, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Tech, said changing the standards would help protect public health, both for people and nature.
Marr spoke at yesterday’s rally about the “ample evidence” she has found through more than 15 years of research of the harms of coal.
She became involved with Beyond Coal when the student group contacted her asking if she would be interested in contributing her expertise to the event.
“I think I’m probably the person on campus who knows the most about it,” Marr said.
Marr’s research has found the ozone levels in Blacksburg to be in compliance, mainly because of the fact that there are less cars being driven in the area than other more populated areas such as Roanoke.
“Ozone is mainly due to vehicle emissions,” she said.
Blacksburg’s ozone emissions are usually “no more than 50” parts per billion, Marr said.
Various counties throughout the nation monitor ozone levels on the ground level, which are the most harmful to people and wildlife.
A version of this article appeared in the Mar 17 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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I love how the "leaders" are these brilliant 20 year olds who know everything, have sooo much experience dealing with bills etc. in the real world and probably voted for B. Hussein Obama because it was the "cool" thing to do.
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That President B.Hussein Obama to you.
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i would rather have the coal plant than the hundreds of windmills that it would take to replace it. their own expert basically said that it is a problem, but not here in blacksburg.
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I think Im probably the person on campus who knows the most about it, Marr said.
Theres a lot of smart people in the Mining Engineering department who may know something about coal. I'd like to hear their expertise in addition to this other associate professor.
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The Mining Engineering department has been awfully quiet about coal on campus, even though articles about it are printed on a weekly basis in the CT. You'd think if they disagreed someone would have spoken up by now.
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Maybe the Mining Department is being quite because there is no reason to bother with something pointless. No one is going to argue against the someone who claims that the sky is green.
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So saying coal is bad for the environment and we shouldn't burn it on campus is like saying the sky is green?
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Yes that's an extremely foolish and ignorant statement. Coal burning is good and a necessary part of our future energy use. Peak oil is going to happen sooner rather than later. You'll be thankful we have coal then.
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How is it ignorant to say that coal companies should be responsible for polluting? And how is it anti-coal to say that a company should be responsible for an effect of production that is detrimental to all of society? They don't oppose coal simply because they hate the industry. They oppose coal because they think that the costs of coal consumption: air pollution from burning and MTR, CO2 emissions, decline in production, etc. are greater than the benefits.
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"They know we're serious."
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