My guest on the Earth Guardian is Jack Gibbons, Chair of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA). Its campaign,” Coal is Costing Us the Air We Breathe”, is putting pressure on the Ontario government to shut down now instead of 2014 its four (4) coal generated plants, including the gigantic Nanticoke Station because Ontario has a significant surplus of coal-free electricity. According to the Ontario Clean Air Alliance report, Finishing the Coal Phase-out: An Historic Opportunity for Climate Leadership, Ontario’s coal-free generation capacity is now 28% greater than the province’s projected peak demand for the summer of 2011, and 33% greater than the forecasted peak demand for 2014. Why would the Ontario Power Generation buy coal from the United States (mostly West Virginia where the coal is mined from mountain top removal)? What are the health costs?

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is a coalition of individuals and approximately 90 organizations (health, environmental, faith communities, municipalities, utilities, unions, and corporations) that represent over six million supporters. The Clean Air Alliance was established in 1997 to achieve the phase-out of dirty coal-fired power plants and move towards a renewable electricity future.