Earth Day Celebration: “Rising from the Ashes” Docuseries Screening
Celebrate Earth Day 2021 with the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter and the Georgia Beyond Coal Campaign on Wednesday, April 21st (Earth Day Eve) at 5 PM EST. We’ll get together, watch, and discuss our new coal ash docuseries "Rising from the Ashes" about the dangers of coal ash in Georgia!
The screening of this three-part docuseries will conclude with a panel, moderated by Daniel Blackman, former Public Service Commission candidate and current Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Chair. The panel will feature the filmmakers and a few of the community organizers, health experts, faith leaders, and environmental advocates in the film.
Produced by the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter and the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign, "Rising from the Ashes" is a three-part documentary about coal ash in Georgia featuring community organizers, health experts, faith leaders, and environmental advocates. The chapters have been released individually here on GeorgiaCoalAsh.org and on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram.
For decades, Georgia Power has been burning coal to generate electricity in Georgia, which has resulted in more than 90 million tons of toxic coal ash stored in more than a dozen locations along Georgia’s rivers. Some of the most dangerous toxic chemicals on Earth — like arsenic, lead, mercury, and chromium — are found in coal ash which cause serious health problems and poison our environment.
Coal ash contaminants have been found in the groundwater at 12 of 13 coal plant sites containing coal ash across Georgia. And water moves, which allows those toxins to flow into nearby streams and rivers. The only way to prevent this and adequately protect our communities and water is to move all the coal ash to dry lined landfills away from waterways.
In the coming months, Georgia's Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD) will be determining how coal ash will be permanently stored in our state, and there will be a 60 day public comment period for each coal ash permit. This is our key opportunity to provide input on the plans for coal ash in Georgia. We need to come together to call for the coal ash at these sites to be excavated and stored safely away from waterways in dried lined landfills.
Hope to see you all there to celebrate Earth Day!