Rev. William J. Barber II, a Baptist minister who addressed the Unitarian-Universalist Association’s General Assembly in 2017, is fighting for environmental justice in Greensboro. A coal-fired power plant is polluting the waters of a lower-income colored community with coal ash, disposed in unlined waste ponds that contaminate wells. Rev. Barber was joined in late August 2018 by Al Gore, fighting coal power generation as part of his fight against climate change. Gore linked the issues: “Both are necessary byproducts of our addiction to fossil fuels.” Rev. Barber put the issue succinctly: “Jesus said love your neighbor. I don’t care how many times you tell me you love me, if you put coal ash in my water you don’t love me. Because if there was nothing wrong with the coal ash, then put it in the wealthy communities.”

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