Thursday, March 28, 2024

MSU should focus on renewable energy

We should all take a moment to celebrate. We have successfully navigated Welcome Week, syllabus week, and we won our first football game!

One of the biggest things we can celebrate this year is possibility.

MSU has the nation’s largest on-campus coal plant, and it’s possible a plan could be signed this year to move us to 100 percent renewable energy — that is if MSU’s Board of Trustees will stand with the nearly 6,000 student petitions, (1 out of 10 students on campus); faculty and East Lansing community members who support a 100% renewable energy future. Fact: The MSU Power Plant burns 600 tons of dirty, dangerous and outdated coal every day. Consider this: If the Board of Trustees stood with the MSU Beyond Coal Campaign and demand a 100 percent renewable energy future, we would set a nationwide standard.

In Virginia, the largest coal plant in the state announced its closing last week. This step forward opened the door to where else? Possibility. Directly after, two more of Virginia’s largest plants announced they will be closing their doors within a few years, and more plants also are expected to fall to the force of the real possibility of clean energy.

What is going on in Virginia could happen on a national scale if the Board of Trustees can show it believes anything is possible from Spartans by demanding a plan for 100 percent renewable energy from the administration’s Steering Committee.

America’s clean energy future is waiting on us, Michigan State.

Mollie VanOrsdol, MSU Beyond Coal spokesperson, English and education sophomore

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