Group To Holiday-Shame WE Energies Over Coal Concerns

OAK CREEK, WI -- An environmental group plans to deliver petitions to WE Energies and sing Christmas carols outside the utility's Milwaukee headquarters over environmental concerns currently happening in Oak Creek and northern Racine County.

Members of the of the Clean Power Coalition say they will meet in the We Energies’ lobby to sing adaptations of classic holiday carols including “Coal Dust Kills” sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells” and “Dusty the Coal Man” sung to the tune of “Frosty the Snowman” after submitting more than 1,700 petitions calling for the utility to replace its coal-fired power plant with cleaner energy. The carolers will then gather in nearby Zeidler Union Square to sing, and the public is invited to participate.

How to go:

• Petition delivery, caroling, and speakers, hosted by the Clean Power Coalition of Southeast Wisconsin.
• Tuesday, Dec.1 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Group will gather in Zeidler Union Square at the gazebo at 11:30 a.m. and will deliver petitions in the lobby at We Energies, 231 W. Michigan St. Milwaukee

According to the Clean Power Coalition, winds blew dust from a coal storage pile at the Oak Creek plant into neighborhoods north of the plant in March. Test results confirmed the black dust found covering homes, cars, and yards in several Oak Creek neighborhoods was coal dust, they said.

The Clean Power Coalition says that residents in the area have reported more dustings since then, and that the air conditions are threatening the health of Oak Creek residents.

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