Update 7/21: The P-I has the story of the successful climb.
What about Washington’s coal-fired power plant makes four Vashon Island moms so angry that they dump their gardening hoes and take up ice axes? Here’s the short version of what inspired their group to climb Mount Rainier this weekend and call for the state to close the Centralia coal plant down in the next five years (a decade sooner than the state’s current goal.)
- We are a group of pretty average moms with energetic young children and busy lives. We were not mountain climbers when we started this process in February. Most of us didn’t even exercise regularly, aside from chasing our kids around, wheeling loads of compost to the garden, and taking an occasional walk in the woods.Yet like many moms we know, we have become increasingly concerned by the damage being done to our Earth by reckless fossil fuel consumption. We feel that it is no longer enough for us to buy local, turn down the thermostat, and carpool when we can. We are called to take more drastic action.
- Better yet, watch them describe their motivation as they prepare for their ascent:
There will be a send-off party in Seattle on July 14 at Ella Bailey Park in Magnolia with food, views of Rainier, and speeches by the moms and Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien. It starts at 5:00PM.
