Physician, scholar boosts 'No Coal' campaign

Dr. Alan Lockwood gave to the Ecology Center’s Clean Energy Now campaign a major boost during a tour around mid-Michigan earlier this month.

Dr. Alan Lockwood (second from right) met with student leaders of the Beyond Coal campaign at Michigan State University

Lockwood, professor emeritus of neurology and nuclear medicine at the University of Buffalo, is the lead author of a study titled “Coal’s Assault on Human Health” published by the Physicians for Social Responsibility in November 2009.

During his visit, Lockwood carried the message about the dangers of coal-burning power generation to meetings with editors at the Detroit Free Press and with student journalists and activists advocating cleaner fuel sources at Michigan State University.

A centerpiece of his efforts, though, was his presentation at grand rounds at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing on Nov. 8, titled “Code Black: Coal Combustion and Public Health.” Grand rounds are a traditional formal educational opportunity in the medical community, featuring presentations on clinical issues and cases. More than 80 physicians and other health professionals attended Lockwood’s talk, which was accredited for continuing medical education credit.

Ecology Center organizer Brad van Guilder coordinated Lockwood’s visit to Michigan with the national office of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Ecology Center organizer Brad van Guilder and Dr. Alan Lockwood in the Ecology Center offices

“We’re trying to raise the public’s awareness of the dangers of burning coal for power in our work with a broad coalition of other environmental and health groups,” van Guilder said.  “A major focus of our effort is enlisting health professionals as messengers, which is why we’re working with Physicians for Social Responsibility and scholars like Dr. Lockwood.”

In East Lansing, Lockwood and van Guilder met with representatives of a campaign to move Michigan State University toward cleaner fuel sources. At the moment, MSU has the largest coal-burning plant of any college in the country, providing electricity and steam heat to the campus.

“When we went to meet with the editors at the State News (MSU’s student paper), our message was that coal has a significant negative health impact, and that Michigan State could take the lead in addressing climate change,” van Guilder said.  “The tentative goals that they are reportedly considering there fall very far short of what they can and should be doing.”

After their meeting with the student journalists, the State News published its first editorial endorsing the goals of the student Beyond Coal campaign.

On the national level, there is a campaign to encourage colleges and universities to adopt a climate-neutrality commitment, to model ways to eliminate global-warming emissions. While nearly 300 schools across the country have signed on, none of Michigan’s major research universities are on the list, van Guilder noted.