The state of Michigan has lost 53,587 jobs — 8th highest in the country — due to the Sierra Club’s campaign to shut down coal factories, according to a report released by the National Mining Association.
The analysis claims the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, in which the environmental group files a lawsuit against every coal plant in America seeking a permit, has cost the country 116,872 permanent jobs and 1.12 million construction jobs. Michigan’s job-loss figure includes both permanent and construction jobs.
“From this analysis, only two conclusions are possible: Either the Sierra Club is exaggerating its effectiveness, or its effectiveness is genuine but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of high-wage jobs for Americans struggling to find work in the middle of an historic employment crisis,” said NMA President and CEO Hal Quinn.
The Sierra Club’s website claims its “Beyond Coal” campaign has stopped 150 new coal-fired power plants over the past few years.
The Sierra Club stated since 2007, activists’ efforts have cancelled or delayed eight proposed coal plants in Michigan.
Anne Woiwode, state director of the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club, declined comment, saying she hadn’t seen the report. She directed questions to Sean Sarah, spokesman for the national organization. Sarah didn’t reply to emails seeking comment.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.