Environmentalists, Church Members Hold ‘Day Of Action’ Backing Clean Energy

Environmentalists and church members turned out in several Wisconsin cities Thursday to advocate for renewable energy. It’s part of a nationwide “day of action” in support of President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan.

The plan calls for a 30 percent reduction in carbon emissions by the year 2030. Obama announced the initiative last month.

People are being encouraged to contact lawmakers to compel utilities to use green sources of power like wind and solar.

An event in Green Bay was staged near a coal fired power plant. Alan Lawrence, who chairs the northeastern Wisconsin chapter of the Sierra Club, said that such plants will finally have to make substantial changes thanks to Obama’s plan.

“They’ve been living on the grandfather clause ever since the Clean Air Act came out in 1970, and it was thought that they’d do changes within a few years or decades after that, and they haven’t. This will finally make them do that,” Lawrence said.

Events were also held in Milwaukee, Madison and Dodgeville.