The Illini article quoted several tour participants and organizers.
“We’re busting at the seams with interest,” Cross said. “We’ll be able to see firsthand what’s happening.”
The students had the opportunity to talk to affected individuals of coal mines. They will be visiting coal mines that are disposing coal waste above ground, discharging coal ash into the water supply and storing it in pounds next to a local lake, Cross added.
“Coal is not a viable energy source,” she said. “We need to be moving beyond coal."
(Iowa Hawkeyes give thumbs down to impacts of coal mining)
The Daily Iowan article wrote about the tour and a campaign to shut down their campus coal plant.
The University of Iowa consumes almost 500 tons of coal each day.
And UI junior Zach Carter wants to change that.
After attending the alternative-energy event Power Shift 2011 in Washington, D.C., last spring, Carter started the UI Sierra Student Coalition this fall, in hopes of pushing for the university to shift its energy production away from coal and other fossil fuels to biomass.
I spoke on the tour so I'll post pictures and details soon.