This Monday, March 2nd, a coalition of environmental activists will take to the streets in Washington D.C., ready to be arrested, at a protest to urge action on global warming. The target is an old coal plant located minutes away from the U.S. Capitol. As Bill McKibben, who is spearheading the effort, writes, the coal plant makes a good target for many reasons:

It's antiquated (built today, it wouldn't meet the standards of the Clean Air Act). It's filthy -- one study estimates that it and the other coal-fired power plants ringing the District of Columbia cause the deaths of at least 515 people a year. It's among the largest point sources of CO2 in the capital. It helps support the mining industry that is scalping the summits of neighboring West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky. Oh, and it would be easy enough to fix. In fact, the facility can already burn some natural gas instead, and a modest retrofit would let it convert away from coal entirely.

One more thing: "It's owned by Congress."

Go here for more on this important act of civil disobedience. And be sure to visit AlterNet for further coverage in the days to come.

Thanks for reading,

Liliana Segura

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