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Sierra Club Gets Major Donation to Anti Coal Power Campaign

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has donated $30 million to a Sierra Club campaign that aims to close half of the nation’s coal-fired power plants by 2017. There are currently just over 500 coal-fired power plants in the US, including 13 in Wyoming. Those supply 90% of the state's power. 

Connie Wilbert is with the Sierra Club of Wyoming. She says while the campaign hopes to see some of state’s coal power shuttered, there are challenges in Wyoming.

We aren't looking on a state by state basis and saying half of the plants in every state are targeted to meet our overall national goals.

"We aren’t looking on a state by state basis and saying half of the plants in every state are targeted to meet our overall national goals. We do recognize that Wyoming is in a fairly unique position in terms of how dependent it is right now on fossil fuels and particularly coal."

Wilbert also says the campaign has resulted in the closure of about 200 coal fired power plants across the United States.

Jordan Giese is a political science major currently working on his bachelor's degree. He has lived in Wyoming all his life but has a focus on both local issues and international stories. He moved to Laramie just last year rediscovering Wyoming and all it has to offer in landspaces, opportunities and people. He has listened to WPR for years and is thrilled to contribute to an important state service and NPR.
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