"We've been
talking about this for years, and nothing is getting done," Maureen
Barillaro, one of the three Somervillians who participated in the
protest, said of climate change issues. She explained that the protest
focused on coal-fired power plants because all aspects of the
consumption of coal – not just the burning of it, which produces the
greenhouse gases associated with the observed increase in global
temperatures, are "dirty and polluting, starting with extraction." She
cited the "mountain-top removal method" currently used to mine coal in
West Virginia (it is "absolutely destroying the Appalachian mountains,"
she said) as well as the toxicity of coal ash – what remains after the
coal itself is burnt – as examples of coal's deleterious but
lesser-known environmental effects.

For these reasons, she
concluded, "really clean coal can't exist," because "even if they
figured out how to burn it cleanly," these other effects would remain.
As for coal's lower cost relative to "cleaner" sources of energy,
Barillaro explained that "coal is falsely inexpensive, because they
don't take into account the environmental damage" it causes; if the
"hidden cost" of this environmental damage was included in the price of
coal, "it wouldn't be cheap anymore."

Because Monday's protest
involved an illegal obstruction of access to the Capitol's power plant,
the protesters were all risking arrest. For Barillaro, the prospect of
arrest, while not pleasant, is acceptable, given the immediacy of the
environmental problems she believes we face.

"You have to take
it to the next step. If that means 2,500 people getting arrested, then
hopefully that will get people's attention. I'm willing to take the
risk because the situation is that urgent."

Emily Hardt,
another Somervillian at the protest, echoed Barillaro's sentiments. "I
have not been arrested before, and I don't take it lightly, but I feel
that we really need to be taking more action. The situation is very
urgent, and we need our elected leaders to start taking action. We only
have a small amount of time."

In addition to participating in
Monday's protest in Washington, Somerville's Climate Action group has
also been active locally. About twenty people attend the weekly
meetings, Barillaro said, and the group has worked with Somerville's
city government on recycling and sustainability issues. Although not
everyone in Somerville shares the group's views on environmental
issues, Hardt explained, "we all care about having a healthy community
to live in. People are taking action to make Somerville healthier and
more sustainable" – whether through working to increase undeveloped
spaces, promote local farmers' markets, or supporting Somerville's
proposed Tree Preservation Ordinance.

Barillaro, reflecting on
what has motivated her to devote her time and energy to climate change
issues, ultimately hits on a concise, if blunt, summary of the
situation with which she believes that climate change confronts us.