It's a celebration, c'mon! (seriously, please c'mon)

Anti-coal protesters out on Monday: ~2,500
Pro-coal protesters out on Monday: 15 + this guy.

Photo by Kate Sheppard, grist.org

On Monday afternoon, pro-coal activists like the impassioned young man shown above gathered near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. as part of a “Celebrate Coal!” counter-protest against a massive anti-coal rally taking place at the nearby Capitol Power Plant.

Despite freezing temperatures and several inches of snow, the anti-coal protest drew an estimated 2,500 activists who gathered at the coal-run power plant to protest the harmful environmental and human health effects of coal. The protesters braved over four hours in the cold, linking arms with fellow activists to blockade all five entrances to the Capitol Power Plant. Time Magazine called it “the biggest act of civil disobedience against global warming in American history.”

The “Celebrate Coal!” counter-protest was put together by the conservative think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute to counter these “anti-coal zealots” converging on the Capitol. With its rallying cry to “highlight the human consequences of global warming alarmism,” the counter-protest drew 16 supporters—including several CEI interns—who bore signs proclaiming “Drill Drill Drill!” and “Al Gore—Not Evil, Just Wrong."

Despite the impressive—and animated—showing, pro-coal supporters appear to have been too late this time: last week congressional leaders announced that by the end of the year the Capitol Power Plant will switch to natural gas rather than coal.

To read more about the thousands-strong anti-coal protest that gained national attention, check out Kate Sheppard's story at Grist.org. Kate's other photos of the day, many of them equally entertaining, here.