Eight Arrested at Cliffside

The Canary Coalition Response

Wrong People Arrested at Cliffside

April 2, 2008

Eight courageous, young non-violent protesters were brutally arrested at the construction site of Duke Energy's planned new Cliffside coal-burning power plant in Rutherford County yesterday. Two of these people of conscience were tasered for no apparent reason by police. The police, whose salaries are paid for by taxpayers, not by Duke Energy, arrested the wrong people. The protesters chained themselve to bulldozers to prevent a crime.

Officials within the NC Division of Air Quality should be arrested for allowing themselves to be improperly influenced to issue an air quality permit for the Cliffside facility despite full knowledge that Unit 6 does not meet federal standards for mercury emission controls, despite their knowledge that recent federal court decisions allow a denial of permit based on CO2 emissions and despite the mandate for clean air the people of North Carolina successfully demanded through a groundswell of public support manifested in the passage of the Clean Smokestacks Act of 2002.

Decision-makers within the corporate structure of Duke Energy should be arrested for beginning construction on the Cliffside plant prior to the end of the appeal process after the permit was issued. They should be arrested for defying scientific evidence, knowingly constructing a powerful instrument that will result in the death, disease and suffering of tens of thousands of people from heart and lung diseases, emphysema, asthma, chronic bronchitis. They should be arrested for contaminating water ways with toxic mercury resulting in neurological damage to children, causing autism and learning disablilities.

When the last coal-burning power plants were built in North Carolina, more than thirty years ago, it could have been argued that Duke Power executives didn't understand the effects it would have on public health and the environment. But, these corporate executives can no longer make that claim today. Duke Energy executives should be arrested because they are willfully endangering the lives of children, the elderly and all people who will be subjected to the sulfur-dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and other toxic chemicals coming from the new Cliffside smokestack. Just as the cigarette companies once denied responsibility for the health impact of their products, so is Duke Energy denying its responsibility. But, unlike cigarette smoke, the population of North Carolina will not have a choice about breathing in the fumes from Duke Energy's operations at Cliffside. They should be arrested because they understand the profound consequences of climate change on the lives of people, yet the Cliffside unit would produce six million tons of CO2 each year, negating all efforts by the state, the federal government and people to dramatically reduce greenhouse gases to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

There needs to be a thorough investigation of the police who arrested the eight protesters apparently using unnecessary force and potentially lethal taser weapons against non-violent citizens. The courageous actions of these eight people should be remembered in history books as Rosa Parks is remembered for her role in the Civil Rights movement. This is, indeed, the new civil rights movement. The police should be investigated for arresting the wrong people, while protecting those who are perpetuating a great crime against humanity, the environment and future generations.

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