Coal Blooded: Putting Profits Before People

Ranking Environmental Injustice: A Summary of the MethodologyBurning any kilogram of coal producesa roughly equal amount of CO 2 , andthus has a roughly equal effect onclimate change. Nevertheless, thelocal environmental impacts of coalcombustion depend on where thatcoal is being burned. For example,NRG’s Limestone plant burned 7.29million tons of coal in 2005, producing13.5 million tons of CO 2 — whileWisconsin Energy’s Valley plantburned 863,000 tons of coal,producing only 2.13 million tons ofCO 2 . However, Limestone is located ina sparsely populated area of Texas 50miles northwest of Huntsville, whereonly about 300 people live withinthree miles of the plant — whileValley is located near downtownMilwaukee, where 209,000 people live within three miles of the plant, of whom two-thirds arepeople of color. 64 Thus, while Valley has a smaller effect of climate change than Limestone, thefact that it has a vastly larger effect on local public health, and especially on the health of lowincomepeople of color, implies that Valley should be prioritized for decommissioning.Overall, a small number of coal power plants have a disproportionatelylarge and destructive effect on the public’s health, especially on the healthof low-income people and people of color.Coal Blooded: Putting Profits Before People is a systematic study of 378 coal-fired power plantsin the United States, in which each plant is assigned an environmental justice performance (EJP)‘score,’ a relative ‘rank,’ and a ‘grade’ based on how it affects low-income communities andcommunities of color. (For the complete ranking of all 378 plants, see Appendix 1). The samemethodology is used to assign a Corporate Environmental Justice Performance (CEJP) ‘score,’ arelative ‘rank,’ and a ‘grade’ to 59 leading U.S. power companies, based on the effects of thosecompanies’ coal-fired power plants on low-income communities and communities of color. (Forthe complete ranking of these 59 companies, see Appendix 2). The score assigned to each plant,and each company, is based on five factors: SO 2 and NO X emissions; the total population livingwithin three miles of the plant(s); and the median income and percentage of people of coloramong the total population living within three miles of the plant(s).(For a complete description of the report’s methodology, see Appendix 3).Page | 23