Richmond power plant defeated

Dear People,

We won a great victory!!!! By a unanimous vote, the Energy Subcommittee
of the Richmond City Council voted against recommending $3 million for a
feasibility study for an oil burning power plant. That vote effectively kills
the Richmond power plant proposal. This only happened because about 100
people came to the meeting to testify against the power plant. Those people
came because of the combined efforts of Richmond Greens, GreenAction, West
County Toxics Coaltion, Communities for a Better Environment, many
Neighborhood Councils, and many concerned individuals working together. On
behalf of Richmond Greens, I am proud of us all!!!

There were lots of signs that said things like, "This smells like Chevron,"
"Oil Burning = Death," and "No More Pollution,". Many people spoke
eloquently about the need for clean air, public power, protecting people's
health, using renewable and nonpolluting power sources, no more fossil fuels,
etc., etc.

Near the beginning, City Manager Isiah Turner said that he had decided on
Friday to withdraw the power plant proposal and put it "on the back burner."
However, many speakers, particularly Bradley Angel from Green Action, said
that they did not want the proposal on the back burner, they wanted it off
the table completely. After 22 people had testified against the power plant,
City Council Member Bell moved that the Committee vote against the Power
Plant Proposal. After brief discussion, the committee members voted
unanimously to kill the Power Plant. The crowd spontaneously cheered their
action!! Several citizens who spoke after the vote said that the vote
restored their faith in representative democracy.

This is a big win!!! On behalf of the Richmond Greens, I want to thank all
who contributed to the victory in any way by writing letters to City Council
members, coming to the meeting, writing letters to the editor of the West
County Times, and helping in many other ways. The organizations Green
Action, West County Toxics Coalition, and Communities for a Better
Environment, and many people from Neighborhood Councils also contributed.
Thanks to them as well.

We have generated some momentum. We expect that there will be steps toward
getting the Richmond City Council to take a stand for green public power
soon. Stay tuned!! This could be fun!!!

Chris Darling
Richmond Greens