ALTON - The Sierra Club Piasa Palisades group and the Metro East Green Alliance (MEGA) organized a candlelight vigil as part of a nationwide series of events on Monday night.

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The event was held at First Unitarian Church in Alton and several community members participated.

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Alexandra Cope, a spokesperson for the group, said the crowd stood in front of an inflatable coal plant, which acted as a symbol for the specific challenges our community is facing in relation to climate change.

“We have a coal-fired power plant right here in our community that threatens the health of our community residents and contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.

People's Climate Movement National Day of Action was on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Also brought up at the event was negotiations in Paris on the subject of global climate change later this year.

“The crowd cheered as speakers such as Piasa Palisades chair Laura Asher and environmental activist Eden Vitoff spoke about the dangers of climate change and encouraged community leaders to take a stand on this growing issue,” Cope said.

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