The People vs. The Coal Plant

Not too long ago there was a major grassroots effort to shut down Fisk and Crawford; Chicago's two coal-fired power plants. The Fisk plant also just so happens to be located a few blocks away from where Good Stuff producer, Ryan Wolff, has lived for the past five years.

Ryan explores some of the history and controversy surrounding the two plants, and how they affected the lives of the people in the community.

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Featuring Music by

The Pines

Bailiff

and

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Community Playlist:
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Just a few sources used in the video:

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The Good Stuff elsewhere:
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Produced by
Craig Benzine, Sam Grant, Matt Weber, David Wolff and Ryan Wolff

[juststeveschannel]

Spent the first 15 minutes thinking "This should be called 'The Bad Stuff', " because it didn't seem to offer much in the way of hope, but that 16th minute finally brought the power of persistence to light. Nice story about People Power--aka "The Good Stuff."

[wheezywaiter]

So this is how to take on a coal plant.

[andyman]

I really like this new format for The Good Stuff!

[cravenlunatic]

I love a good documentary, especially ones that focus on how small communities deal with big social issues. This was a really well made film. I hope The Good Stuff does more like this.

[__RD]

This was awesome. I honestly felt like I was watching a VICE documentary. Really good stuff!

[MathAndComputers]

As of about 10 days ago, Ontario is now (finally) completely rid of its once-heavy use of coal power plants, apparently becoming the first major jurisdiction in North America to do so.  The news story didn't get much press, but it's a big milestone, albeit many years later than originally planned.

[elgiad]

This was moving and inspiring. I've been following Wheezy Waiter and The Good Stuff for a number of years now and just came across this. Nice example for someone who's interested in documentary film making. Great job!

[ljmastertroll]

I can see you put a lot of time and effort into this story, and it shows. Brilliant job guys (organizers and documenters all).

[TheAmishEngineer]

326 MW from 176 tons of coal? That would mean that the Fisk Generating Station was 23% efficient. That's just not correct.

[meljac]

This is my favorite episode in a channel really good stuff!!!

[umbrastar]

It's great to see a grassroots effort work and see a community come together like that. But my heart does break for those that lost their jobs. I wish there's a way that we can have clean renewable energy but still make sure people can keep their jobs and support their families.

[Ted]

Good work keeping my attention for so long!

[nictheman]

Great YouTube documentaries are great.

[amcghie]

What an inspiring story of what communities can accomplish if they put their mind to it. Congrats Chicago!

[bamorita]

Really great piece. I like the growing mix of styles.

[teriscallon]

this was sooo awesome. That people can make a change like this moves us all

[JanelChristensen]

What an amazing video. Great job you guys!

[BendyDH]

REALLY great documentary, very well produced and a very good show of how a group of people can really make a difference in their community. Were you guys working on this documentary for years, or using previously made footage of interviews and things given to you by these organizations? Just curious

[heikobo]

good job Mr. Ryan Wolff ;-) very good produced documentation! 

[nuuhkusakura]

I really enjoyed this, always nice to see progress!