In a new video, Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon evokes the sacrifices of Ghandi and Martin Luther King in calling on Americans to join the Capitol Climate Action, the country’s largest show of civil disobedience about global warming in history, at the Capitol Power Plant on March 2nd 2009.
Says Sarandon:
"Gandhi. Martin Luther King. They were willing to stand up for what’s right, even if it meant peacefully breaking the law. Civil disobedience can overcome great challenges. And global warming is the greatest challenge of our time."
This video brings another nationally respected voice to America’s call for government action to address the climate crisis. The Capitol Plant is a symbol of the country’s dangerous reliance on coal-fired power plants—the biggest source of global warming pollution in the U.S.
The Capitol Climate Action has been organized and endorsed by over 50 conservation, faith-based, social justice and labor groups with over 1,000 participants already scheduled to attend. Coal-fired power plants are the biggest source of global warming pollution in the U.S. Sarandon joins Dr. James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climatologists, in calling for Americans to participate in this historic event.
Background
The Capitol Power Plant, which is owned by Congress and sits just blocks from the American seat of power, burns coal to heat and cool numerous buildings on Capitol Hill. The facility no longer generates electricity but its reliance on coal has made it the focus of political controversy and a powerful symbol of coal's impact on the environment and public health.