After a delegation meeting, one of the delegates asked “Did you hear about the pipeline explosion today?” I immediately answered, “YEAH! The one in Texas?! Again!?” “No… here in Poland…” they replied in a tone that I can only describe as reserved surprise.
Before I go on my rant: SIGN THIS PETITION!!!! I met a wonderful Polish woman named Diana who is working hard to keep an unnecessary proposed coal plant from being built. The man who owns the proposed coal plant is also the chairman of Green Cross International’s BOD and is a member of the Climate Change Task force. What the hell, right?
This whole trip I’ve felt these odd connections between Poland and Texas. Not only is coal a big problem here in Poland, but back home in Texas. Texas is home to two of the five dirtiest power plants (note: this list is not just limited to coal) in the United States: Luminant in Martin Lake and NRG is W.A. Parish- both coal-fired power plants. Poland is home to the Belchatow coal-fired power plant in Lodz which spews 35 million tons of CO2 annually.
Today, I felt even more like Texas and Poland aren’t so different from one another.
Today, both countries had natural gas pipelines explode. In Texas, Natural gas is being touted as an alternative to coal- same as in Poland. This is a big problem. Natural gas is by no means a clean transition source of energy over coal. While natural gas does not release as much carbon when burned, it releases more methane, which is “more efficient” at keeping greenhouses gases in our atmosphere. Not only is the expansion of natural gas extraction accelerating climate change, it’s creating accidents like these where pipelines explode. Is this really the future we want? Earthquakes where there have never been earthquakes before. People’s homes being ruined by exploding pipelines. New cases of cancer popping up near fracking well pads. Does this sound like a “Clean Energy” future? I think you know the answer to that question (“NO”, duh!).
Sitting in Poland thinking of Texas, I can only hope that both of our states are able to figure out what is important: the long-term health of our communities, not short term economic profit.
The only real difference I can think of between Poland and Texas: Temperature (it’s freeeeezing in Poland)
Climate Feminist 
Yes, it’s cold here; but freezingly cold it gonna be in the next months 🙂 May be that’s why the idea of global warming doesn’t appeal to us so much. The prospective of tropical baeches on the Baltic sea… ugh, why not? 😉 But I know its’ not that simple – we’ve got more cloudy days than earlier, and there are some shortages of water as well (especially around city of Łódź).