CoalSwarm
Encyclopedia
CoalSwarm is an American
environmentalist
online project which focuses on sharing information about the coal industry. It is structured as a set of pages on the SourceWatch
wiki
. According to the San Francisco Chronicle
in 2009, it has been an important player in the anti-coal movement. Its purpose is to "build a shared information resource on coal is an effort to create an informational tool on coal for students, journalists, activists, public officials, and the general public", according to a statement on its website. It was founded in 2008 by environmental activist Ted Nace
. Nace claimed in Dissent Magazine in 2009 that CoalSwarm had helped anti-coal activists and other environmentalists to derail 109 proposed coal plants. In March of 2009, there were 1500 articles, and there were 2500 articles later that year, and over 4000 in December 2010.
CoalSwarm has received attention in left–leaning publications such as Socialist Worker
as well as the online environmental journal Grist the journal Atlantic Free Press
, and in the online blog by Joseph J. Romm
entitled Climate Progress. Poet and activist Beth Wellington was affiliated with CoalSwarm, according to the British newspaper The Guardian
. When CoalSwarm released a list of 126 coal-fired power plants which had 10,000 or more people living within a three-mile radius of each plant, and that a medical group cautioned about possible health effects, this finding was reported in Online Journal in 2009. CoalSwarm, as an organization, is a project of the Earth Island Institute
. The CoalSwarm wiki is a joint project between CoalSwarm and the Center for Media and Democracy
.
Director Ted Nace writes regularly about anti-coal issues in publications such as the bimonthly Orion Magazine
. CoalSwarm received a grant of $34,500 from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation in 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
environmentalist
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
online project which focuses on sharing information about the coal industry. It is structured as a set of pages on the SourceWatch
SourceWatch
SourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
. According to the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
in 2009, it has been an important player in the anti-coal movement. Its purpose is to "build a shared information resource on coal is an effort to create an informational tool on coal for students, journalists, activists, public officials, and the general public", according to a statement on its website. It was founded in 2008 by environmental activist Ted Nace
Ted Nace
Ted Nace is an American writer, publisher, and environmentalist notable for his critique of corporate personhood and his anti-coal activism. He co-founded Peachpit Press from his house and grew it into a substantive publisher of computer–related books; it grew quickly, according to a report...
. Nace claimed in Dissent Magazine in 2009 that CoalSwarm had helped anti-coal activists and other environmentalists to derail 109 proposed coal plants. In March of 2009, there were 1500 articles, and there were 2500 articles later that year, and over 4000 in December 2010.
Origins
Nace noticed that hundreds of grassroots groups were opposing coal, and they were working together "kind of as a swarm", and he figured a way to help was to create an "information clearinghouse". CoalSwarm includes articles on specific coal plants as well as on a variety of subjects pertaining to the anti-coal movement.CoalSwarm has received attention in left–leaning publications such as Socialist Worker
Socialist Worker
Socialist Worker is the name of several socialist/communist newspapers associated with the International Socialist Tendency...
as well as the online environmental journal Grist the journal Atlantic Free Press
Atlantic Free Press
Atlantic Free Press, an online political website, was founded in September 2006 by Publisher Richard Kastelein of V.O.F. Expathos, in Groningen, The Netherlands and has published over 13,000 articles from over 300 progressive writers worldwide since its inception.The publication's mission ...
, and in the online blog by Joseph J. Romm
Joseph J. Romm
Joseph J. Romm is an American author, blogger, physicist and climate expert who concentrates on methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming and increasing energy security through energy efficiency, green energy technologies and green transportation technologies...
entitled Climate Progress. Poet and activist Beth Wellington was affiliated with CoalSwarm, according to the British newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. When CoalSwarm released a list of 126 coal-fired power plants which had 10,000 or more people living within a three-mile radius of each plant, and that a medical group cautioned about possible health effects, this finding was reported in Online Journal in 2009. CoalSwarm, as an organization, is a project of the Earth Island Institute
Earth Island Institute
The Earth Island Institute was founded in 1982 by environmentalist David Brower. It organizes and encourages activism around environmental issues and provides public education. Funding comes from individual members and supporting organizations...
. The CoalSwarm wiki is a joint project between CoalSwarm and the Center for Media and Democracy
Center for Media and Democracy
The Center for Media and Democracy is a non-profit investigative reporting group. The CMD gives analysis and opinion on policies such as the economy, environment and national security...
.
Director Ted Nace writes regularly about anti-coal issues in publications such as the bimonthly Orion Magazine
Orion (magazine)
Orion is a bimonthly, advertisement-free, magazine focused on nature, the environment, and culture, addressing environmental and societal issues....
. CoalSwarm received a grant of $34,500 from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation in 2010.