Latino leaders are calling for a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants after their October annual meeting in Los Angeles.

The Washington-based Earth Day Network, which wrote the resolution, announced the unanimous vote on the proposed ban Monday. The network, founded by the organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970, promotes environmental citizenship worldwide.

The advocacy organization’s announcement came during the same week that Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., had scheduled a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of new power plants. Waxman chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Initially scheduled for Oct. 17, the hearing was postponed earlier this week.

More than 3,000 Latinos participated in the second annual National Latino Congress Oct. 5-9. The gathering included representatives from more than 2,000 organizations and elected officials from 20 states.

"Latinos are all too familiar with the human health problems and environmental degradation associated with coal-fired energy plants,ö attendee Antonio Gonzales, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute, said in an e-mail. ôCoal is linked to our nation’s unacceptable rates of asthma, lung cancer and other major diseases. A moratorium on new coal-fired plants is critically needed.ö

The resolution recognizes coal as this nation’s largest source of electricity, as well as a major emitter of air pollution and climate-changing greenhouse gases. Some 600 coal plants are operating today, and at least 150 are in the pipeline. The resolution also calls on the government to phase out existing coal plants and coal production, replacing them with renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal.

In addition, participants passed two separate resolutions also written by Kathleen Rogers, the network president. One urges the federal government to require that one-fifth of the nation’s electricity come from renewables by 2020. The other resolution would require schools to meet nationally recognized green building requirements.

To subscribe or visit go to:  http://www.wastenews.com