Students involved with efforts against the burning of coal at the UW-La Crosse coal-fired heating plant are holding a candle-lit vigil Tuesday, April 6 at 8:00 p.m. in the clearing to the west of the campus heating plant to acknowledge the loss of life at a coal mine explosion Monday afternoon in West Virginia. Massey Energy Corporation owns the Upper Big Branch coal mine, about 30 miles south of Charleston, and is one of two energy companies in a contract to supply coal to a dozen State of Wisconsin coal plants, including the facility at UW-La Crosse.
The UW-La Crosse “No Coal Coalition”, whose members include UW-L Progressives and Environmental Council, is sponsoring the vigil and inviting students, faculty, staff, and community members to attend and support the families of the twelve dead and ten missing coal miners in West Virginia as of early Tuesday morning. The No Coal Coalition demonstrated against Massey Energy Corporation’s destructive mountain-top removal coal mining practice in the Appalachian Mountains at an event on campus February 18, and have called for Governor Jim Doyle to end contracts with the company and Alpha Natural Resources.
Contacts:
Elizabeth Ward, UW-L Student, No Coal Coalition leader
Mobile: (608) 445-4489
Email: ward.eliz@students.uwlax.edu
Jeremy Gragert, UW-L Graduate Student, No Coal Coalition member
Mobile: (612) 220-1970
Email: gragert.jere@students.uwlax.edu
