Virginia religious leaders oppose Dominion coal plant

Labeling coal fired electric power “immoral and destructive,” sixty religious leaders called on Virginia governor Tim Kaine to drop any support for a proposed power plant in Wise County.
The religious leaders included Jewish, Protestant and Catholic leaders from all around Virginia. Among them were Bishop Charlene Kammerer of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church; Rev. Dr. Kwame Osei Reed of the United Church of Christ, and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
In a news conference, Rabbi Ben Romer from the Congregation of Or Ami in Richmond said the spiritual community has “an inherent covenantal responsibility” to care for the earth.
In response, a Kaine spokesman told an Associated Press reporter that conservation and cleaner energy sources “are central to the governor’s energy plan and he believes we’ll get there faster if we work with all the parties to achieve that goal.”
Dominion Power Company also responded to the letter: “Dominion believes we are good environmental stewards and we have a record that demonstrates that.”
The religious leaders asked Kaine to lead Virginia to a clean energy future, visit Wise County, and to see the devastation of mountaintop removal with his own eyes.
(Excerpts of the letter to Gov. Kaine, p.6)