At Northwestern Community Development Corps’ final fall lecture, one of the panelists spoke about his project: “Topless America.”
The ongoing project – which raises awareness about mountaintop coal removal – features a documentary, part of which was shown at “Alternative Energy and the American Worker: The Prospect of a Clean Coal Economy.”
“We named it that to get your attention,” said Parson Brown, founder of The Topless America Project, to an audience of about 75 students at the event Friday.
The event was held in conjunction with One Book One Northwestern, and focused on the prospect of a clean coal economy.
NCDC’s final installment of its fall lecture series on race, poverty and inequality featured Brown and fellow panelists Pamela Richart and Lan Richart, co-directors of Eco-Justice Collaborative, and Tom Conway, regional program manager of the Labor Climate Project in Illinois and Indiana.
The panelists gave short talks about their stances on the issue of clean coal and afterward took questions from the audience.
“Unless people raise to our attention these issues, we’ll all keep thinking there’s such a thing as clean coal,” Pamela Richart said.
Chicago currently ranks second in the country for cities most adversely affected by coal production, she said.
While the United States holds 30 percent of the world’s coal reserves, people must begin to take into account the question of “economic recoverability,” Lan Richart said.
“The decisions made over the next few years may shape future generations,” he said. “Our choices henceforth need to be guided by the watchword of sustainability.”
America’s problem when it comes to fossil fuels stems from its “voracious” appetite for resources, he said.
Brown said the effects of that appetite for coal can be seen in regions like Appalachia.
The people who live there cannot afford to leave or not take jobs with coal companies, yet the coal production is contributing to environmental problems, as well as health problems for residents.
“People need to realize that there is no such thing as clean coal so long as we are continuing to extract it in this manner,” he said.
Anna Kelly, co-director of the fall lecture series, said she was pleased with the turnout by students for an evening event.
“We’ve never done a Friday night panel before,” the Weinberg senior said. “So I wasn’t quite sure if that would mean more people or less, but it seems like it definitely meant more.”
Weinberg sophomore Sean Emerson Gordon-Marvin said while he thought the panelists did a good job introducing the issues surrounding clean coal, it was limited in solution specificity.
“I thought they were kind of expanding to a general audience,” he said. “I wish they would have focused more on larger alternatives – if not coal, then what? At the same time, I don’t know if they were able to do that because they’re on-the-ground community organizers.”
One Book One Northwestern has been working to partner with various student groups across campus that further students’ understanding of energy and sustainability, said Jeff Henderson, the One Book project coordinator.
“The topic of the discussion as to the prospects of a clean coal economy is relevant and it is incumbent on students at a research institution to understand multiple sides of an issue,” he said.
In the debate over clean coal, understanding the various sides of the issue will be necessary for a long time to come, panelist Conway said.
“We can do it the right way or the wrong way,” he said. “Either way is going to have a lot of impact.” [email protected]
