DALLAS (ABP) — Texas Christians — by reputation a determined, opinionated and politically powerful bunch — recently held another statewide prayer day. This time, though, it wasn't about abortion or gay marriage. It was about coal.
On Oct. 19, a group of environmentally minded Texans convened in front of the governor's mansion in Austin to pray about some 17 coal-burning power plants proposed for the state. They were joined by comrades at other locations across the state.
Their concern: the environmental and health dangers posed by burning coal.
Some participated for reasons of faith; others were more involved in the political scheme of things. For Matthew Sleeth, however, the common bond was “a concern for their neighbors.”
Sleeth provided much of the impetus for the prayer day, touring five Texas cities last September to raise awareness about the proposed coal plants. A former physician, he teaches and writes full time about earth stewardship. He wrote Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action, which was published in June.
Sleeth's eight-day tour was arranged by Sustainable Dallas, Public Citizen and Interfaith Power and Light, all organizations aimed at sustainability and environmental protection. Founded by Ralph Nader, Public Citizen focuses primarily on consumer advocacy and governmental accountability.
Sleeth and his wife, Nancy, visited roughly 15 environmental groups, churches and colleges like Southern Methodist University, Baylor University and Texas Christian University. Both Sleeths said the tour was essential for raising awareness about health and environment issues, especially among Christians.
“In the final analysis, the decision on building the coal plants will not be a logical one. Rather, it will be a spiritual one,” Sleeth said in a written statement about the event. “We will have to answer [if] we have the heart to continue down this path. How many more mountains made of coal should we level in order to run our multiple televisions and refrigerators? Who better to ask than the Lord?”
Sleeth's concern about the coal plants — which offer energy cheaper than oil and are perceived as more reliable than some renewable power sources — has to do with their side effects. Texas already produces the most carbon dioxide of any U.S. state. Breathing the secondhand smog put out from burning coal can be just as harmful as smoking, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Smog-related diseases include heart disease, lung disease, asthma and stroke.
The federal government does not regulate carbon dioxide emissions. Each year the new Texas plants would emit the same amount of carbon dioxide as 19 million cars, according to a recent National Public Radio report. The new coal plants will also pollute the air with nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury. There are no plans to shut down or replace existing plants.
Despite such effects, roughly 150 new coal-fired plants are planned across the nation, according to the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Illinois and Texas are the only states with more than 10 plants planned. Eleven of the plants in Texas belong to the state's largest power company, TXU Corp. The company has announced a five-year, $10 billion plan to build the plants faster and cheaper than ever before.
TXU officials have set up a website, www.reliabletexaspower.com, to combat negative publicity about the coal plants. The site says the plants will add much-needed power to the growing state, lower annual wholesale power costs by $1.7 billion, and create thousands of jobs. The plants will also be much more efficient and clean than older coal plants.
Big names have joined the fight. In a recent op-ed article in the Dallas Morning News, Texas governor Rick Perry wrote that a delay in building the plants would damage the state's economy. He also dismissed the opposition's concerns over air quality, noting that TXU has announced plans to install $500 million-worth of anti-pollution devices on some of its older plants.
For Sleeth and others like him, the task at hand is to pray for the utility owners, activists and oil companies — “everything that sustains us.”
Nancy Sleeth said she and Matthew believe they have a biblically based responsibility to care for God's creation, including humans. Jesus commands people to love one another, she said, so Matthew preaches a message of love. They aim to “build bridges to help more people become good stewards of God's abundant blessings.”
In addition to teaching environmental stewardship, Sleeth educates people about the health risks of pollution. As a physician, he has seen breast cancer and asthma rates soar. At such a dramatic rate, he said, the nation can't afford to spend time looking only for cures and not for prevention tactics.
“Both my head and my heart tell me that we should not build the dozens and dozens of coal plants that are being fast-tracked into production nationwide,” he said. “The drive behind this unprecedented push is not to meet current demand, nor is it to meet the needs of the next decade. This rush to build coal-fired plants is, in fact, motivated by the desire to grandfather in these plants before stricter emissions requirements go into effect.”
Half of the power generated in the United States comes from coal, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Analysts estimate that U.S. coal reserves could last for the next 200 to 250 years.
The new units will use coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, with 9,000 rail cars operating continuously to transport the coal. Construction could begin in 2007. Plants would be operational in 2009.
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