Imagine attending class by candlelight, crouching by a fire to keep warm while discussing physics or Shakespeare, or actually having to write with a pen and paper rather than type away on a computer or smart phone. Imagine having to wear a wristwatch to find out the time, or not being able to text a friend or Facebook creep during a boring lecture. This would be life with out Abbot.

Abbot Power Plant provides 75 percent of the University’s energy, said Amy Allen, project coordinator for the group UIUC Beyond Coal and senior in Engineering. This energy is provided primarily by burning coal. Because coal is damaging to the environment, the Beyond Coal Campaign emphasizes transitioning from burning coal to burning natural gas, Allen said.

The Campaign, which began in the spring of 2010, is a combined effort between the Sierra Club and the Students for Environmental Concerns. It aims to end coal usage at Abbot Power Plant by pressing the University to be responsible investors and implement energy efficient plans.

“Coal has significantly higher carbon emissions per unit of fuel than natural gas does,” Allen said. “Transitioning to natural gas would be a huge reduction in Abbot’s carbon emissions and reduce air pollution emissions as well. Natural gas isn’t a perfect end solution but it’s an important transition step.”

Although Abbot does have natural gas boilers, Allen said there are not enough to support the winter steam demand solely with natural gas.

“It is cost effective to use natural gas but the natural gas capacity at Abbot is limited as a function of the equipment that’s at Abbot,” Allen said. “But what we’re hoping is that … our energy use will go down so that we can meet all of our winter steam demands with just natural gas.”

Although the University implemented a Climate Action Plan, iCAP, to stop all coal usage by 2017, UIUC Beyond Coal was formed to maintain this issue as a topic of conversation and boost University efforts, said Tyler Rotche, media leader for the group and freshman in DGS.

“We’ve been focused on accelerating their transition off of coal,” Allen said. “As well as starting this year getting the campus to become more responsible investors, meaning not investing in coal and other fossil fuels with the endowments.”

The group recognizes that the University has made significant efforts in achieving the 2017 goal; however, more can be done.

One step the University has taken to reduce coal usage is not burning coal over the summer months, from April into October, Allen said. However, the real issue comes with cold weather.

“(We want to see them) invest in other conservation measures to reduce the peak steam demand in the winter, which is what controls how much coal is used at Abbot,” Allen said. “Improving the steam distribution system would be one step, and then just reducing the demand (for steam) by making the buildings better so that they use heat more efficiently and aren’t wasting so much energy.”

The campaign also asks the University to disclose its investments and invest responsibly, Allen said.

“We are asking the University to start investing money, like that coming from our tuition, into more environmentally friendly resources instead of investing in coal,” said Suzanne Pearson, head of the grassroots pressure committee and senior in LAS. “Right now, the University is investing our money into a privatized foundation so we don’t get to see where our money is going.”

Getting beyond coal is important to members of the group because of the impact it has on the environment as well as people’s health.

Burning coal has a number of damaging effects, Allen said. One effect is that coal burning releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which causes climate change and aggravates asthma and other respiratory problems. Coal burning also results in coal ash, which is often disposed of improperly and can pollute nearby water sources, Rotche said.

“I go camping a lot so I like the environment, and I didn’t realize how bad it was until actually taking an environmental science class,” Rotche said. “Once I came to college I had the opportunity to actually get involved and do something that was actually making a change and influencing the way things are done.”

Members of the campaign meet every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the campus YMCA. New members are welcome.