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It’s official - in 2019 the US consumed more energy from renewables then coal for the first time in over 130 years. A decade ago when @BeyondCoal started working to shift the grid to clean energy, everyone said this was impossible. But we made it possible.. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=43895#
There's still lots of coal on the grid and lots work to do - continuing our work to stop the rush to gas in the power sector, keep pushing for a fair transition that doesn't leave communities and workers behind - but this reminds us that progress on a big scale is possible.
As the COVID crisis has made clear, cleaning up air pollution is a matter of life and death, especially for communities of color that have faced chronic air pollution for decades - and coal plants have long been a major source of this deadly pollution. https://www.vox.com/videos/2020/5/22/21267365/coronavirus-black-americans-pollution-deaths
One recent study found hospitalizations in Louisville, KY, dropped significantly after a coal plant retired and another installed pollution controls - a 55% reduction in lung-irritating pollutants and 400 fewer hospital admissions for asthma in one year. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13042020/asthma-air-pollution-sulfur-dioxide-louisville-coal-power-plant
Communities across the country continue facing these threats from coal plants like Martin Lake in Texas, which is the nation's largest source of deadly sulfur dioxide pollution and was already contributing to more than 100 premature deaths annually. https://www.sierraclub.org/texas/blog/2020/04/sierra-club-files-legal-action-force-environmental-protection-agency-address
For the sake of our health and our climate, we'll keep moving @beyondcoal, and fighting for a fair economic transition for workers and communities as we shift to 100% clean energy. Thanks to the hundreds of organizations and thousands of people out there making it possible.
