Wash U. Students Steamed About "Dirty Energy" Flash Executives

By Kristen Hinman in Community

Wed., Nov. 4 2009 @ 11:00AM

Wikimedia Commons

Wash U. kids show big balls in protesting reception attended by energy executives, including some from the coal (above) industry.

Actually, it was a flash mob.

Some 100 students clad in yellow T-shirts and arm-bands paraded into the "America Energy First Conference" cocktail reception being held at Wash U. on Monday night and staged a flash mob to protest what they said was an "over-representation" of dirty-energy sources at the conference.

A campus group called Green Action led the protest. Not only were they dismayed that the renewable energy sector did not appear to be represented at the conference, Green Action members said they're uneasy about the university getting in bed with two coal companies: Peabody Energy and Arch Coal.

The CEOs of both firms -- Peabody is St. Louis-based -- joined Wash U's Board of Trustees this past summer.

As Green Action member Will Fischer put it: "We will not stand aside while executives from Arch Coal and Peabody paint a dirty energy future for our school and our nation. We believe that America's real energy future uses renewable, socially responsible energy sources."

So, how did the big-wigs react to the mobsters?

See for yourself in this video produced by campus newspaper, Student Life.