(Editor's note: Click here to read about anti-power plant events held last weekend in Salem and at the State House.)

The Arctic Sunrise, a sea vessel operated by Greenpeace, has traveled the world — from Norway where it was built in 1975, to the Gulf of Mexico to respond to the BP oil spill last summer, and beyond.

More recently, Greenpeace brought the ship to ports in North Carolina, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston during its Coal Free Future Tour.

There’s one place the Arctic Sunrise can’t visit, however — Salem.

When Greenpeace contacted the city, hoping to find a place to dock their roughly 160-foot ship, Salem’s harbormaster turned them down.

“They lied to us the last time they were here,” said harbormaster Sgt. Peter Gifford. “We don’t believe anything they say. They’re not credible.”

Greenpeace members came to Salem in August 2001 aboard a different ship called the Rainbow Warrior. Gifford said when he spoke to Greenpeace about visiting back then, the activists assured him they would only be distributing literature and discussing the issues with residents.

“They said they were just going to pass out brochures, but they stormed the power plant,” he said.

A dozen activists were arrested after scaling the massive coal pileon the power plant’s property. According to one report from 2001, other protestors handcuffed themselves to a high-tension power line nearby to protest pollution from the facility.

Police Chief Paul Tucker said he wasn’t involved with the decision about Greenpeace.

“Itrust [the harbormaster’s] judgment to make his best determination as to what’s the safest course of action for Salem,” the chief said.

Tucker remembered the 2001 rally and said it “causedsome problems back then.” He said the protestors who climbed the coal pile “created a very, very dangerous situation.”

Greenpeace spokesman and campaign organizer Shannon Lo Ricco said the organization intended to bring the Arctic Sunrise to Salem last weekend only as a way of reaching the community and helping power plant opponents with their efforts.

The goal was “getting in touch with the community and seeing what their needs are,” he said.

Lo Ricco said he wasn’t involved with the 2001 Greenpeace demonstration, but he acknowledged there were some arrests as a result of the protests.

Salem’s harbormaster “didn’t elaborate” on why Greenpeace was being denied access, Lo Ricco said. It might not have made a difference if Greenpeace had heard the full explanation, however.

“They burned their bridges,” the harbormaster said.

Still making headlines

Although the Coal Free Future Tour wasn’t able to bring the ship to Salem, Greenpeace did bring a solar demonstration truck to Salem State over the weekend. Residents who were interested enough could visit the Arctic Sunrise in Boston, where the ship made the final stop of its Coal Free Future Tour from Feb. 16-21.

Sgt. Gifford said last week that his department would be keeping an eye out in case of any unusual protests from the Greenpeace members. According to police records from last weekend, nothing out of the ordinary happened. The solar vehicle was spotted driving past Salem Harbor Station at one point, but no one tried to access the property.

While Salem’s power plant was spared an on-site protest during Greenpeace’s most recent visit, the Coal Free Future Tour made headlines in Connecticut.

Five Greenpeace activists allegedly scaled the Bridgeport Harbor Generating Station’s coal elevator on Feb. 17. The activists reportedly hung a 40-by-20-foot banner on the elevator that read “Shut it Down — Quit Coal” and demanded the plant be closed. They were arrested and later released, according to Greenpeace.

Lo Ricco said the Arctic Sunrise wasn’t in Connecticut at that time, because the group couldn’t locate a suitable berth for the vessel. Although the ship is classified as a motor yacht, Lo Ricco described it as large and industrial, making it sometimes hard to find a dock with deep enough waters.

Coal at center of debate — then and now

Greenpeace’s visit to Salem last week came at a time when Salem Harbor Station is at a crossroads and may close in June 2014. Likewise, the group’s 2001 visit was also at a critical time in the power plant’s history.

PG&E National Energy Group, then the owner of Salem’s power plant, was facing stricter emissions regulations at the time, but had been “grandfathered in,” and was planning to expand the facility’s coal use.

PG&E later agreed to comply with the new emissions regulations, but in the summer of 2001, the company was moving forward with an all-coal plan.

The decision didn’t sit well with residents of Salem, Swampscott, Marblehead and other nearby communities. While the Greenpeace activists took the most drastic measures, North Shore residents also protested PG&E’s decision. About 100 people attended a rally in Salem.

Chief among the complaints in 2001 was that the plant contributed to global warming, a concern that persists 10 years later.

Lo Ricco said this week that Greenpeace began inquiring about bringing its ship to Salem shortly before Christmas. It’s been harder to bring ships to the United States since Sept. 11, he said. Members were planning to help North Shore residents fight the coal-fired power plant and learn more about Greenpeace’s causes.

The Arctic Sunrise is an icebreaker ship, which allows Greenpeace to conduct research and assessment trips in Arctic locations like Greenland, Lo Ricco said, as well as in warmer destinations like the Amazon.

Greenpeace purchased the Arctic Sunrise in the mid-1990s and converted it for its current use, with plenty of space for research and work stations and accommodations and cargo space for activist campaigns.

Ironically, Greenpeace’s ship was originally a supply vessel that served seal hunters seeking fur, Lo Ricco said.

Greenpeace’s “Rolling Sunlight” truck came to the Enterprise Center at Salem State University last Saturday, Feb. 19, promoting a coal-free future and U.S. transition to green-energy technologies.

The Rolling Sunlight truck has two levels of solar panels and two small wind turbines and runs on diesel or soy diesel fuel.

With its battery storage, the Rolling Sunlight can supply the energy needs of the average American home, according to Greenpeace.

Greenpeace uses the Rolling Sunlight to demonstrate green technology, and also as a touchstone for social protest and raising political awareness.

Shannon Lo Ricco, a Greenpeace organizer and spokesman, said the goal of the month-long tour was “stopping in communities that are affected [by coal], talking with the people there who are not having their needs met, and holding community meetings.”

The solar truck is part of a month-long Coal Free Future Tour, which has traveled along the eastern seaboard spreading Greenpeace’s message.

Another key part of the tour is Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise ship, which traveled from Wilmington, N.C., to Philadelphia and New York City. The ship made its final stop last weekend in Boston, where visitors could tour the boat and learn about the organization’s green efforts around the world.

Greenpeace originally intended to bring the Arctic Sunrise to Salem, but local officials denied the organization permission to dock. (Read a story about Salem’s refusal of the ship here.)

During its visit to Salem and Boston last weekend, Greenpeace had an additional focus: championing the closure of Salem Harbor Station, a coal- and oil-fired power plant. As the Salem Gazette reported last week, plant owner Dominion Energy may be shutting down the plant in 2014.

Taking the issue to the State House

Greenpeace members and other green activists — including numerous North Shore residents — rallied at the State House Friday, Feb. 18. They held a large sign on the State House steps that read “Governor Patrick: Shut Down Salem Harbor Now.”

Marblehead resident Sandra Winter was among those who rallied at the State House.

“We’re getting so close now, we’re so close. And it’s going to take exactly what we’re doing, because we can’t rely on other people to fix it for us. We’re going to have to do it for ourselves,” Winter said at the State House. “And the reason that I’m doing it is because I have seven beautiful grandchildren … and I know that every day that that power plant spews out those plumes, I know that their health is jeopardized by that.’

To view a video clip of Winter’s statements at the rally, scroll to the bottom of this story.

Martha Dansdill, executive director of HealthLink, said the mission of the rally was two-fold: To encourage Gov. Deval Patrick to support the closure of Salem Harbor Station, and to support a coal-free future for the United States as a whole.

Although based in Swampscott, HealthLink is a regional organization, and its members have long opposed the power plant.

After last week, HealthLink members are hoping their goal is within reach. As the Gazette reported, ISO New England (Independent System Operator) has to reassess the Salem plant and whether it is needed to ensure reliable electricity in the region.

Dansdill said rallies will be held every two weeks at the State House, with the next one planned for Friday, March 4 at noon. The goal is to encourage the ISO to close the Salem plant by the end of 2012.

David Lands of Greenpeace, who worked as a field organizer for the Massachusetts leg of the Rolling Sunlight tour, also attended the rally in Boston last weekend.

“There were supporters from Beverly, Salem, Marblehead and Swampscott there,” Lands said. “We were all calling on the governor to step up and lead on this issue of shutting down the power plant. He made a strong statement in December to ISO to come up with a clear plan to shut down the plant, but ISO’s ruling kind of thumbed their nose at him. They don’t seem to get the sense of urgency to close the plant. So we’re coming back to the governor asking him for another strong statement.”

The effects of coal

That sense of urgency, voiced by Greenpeace supporters and local opponents of the power plant, is largely due to concerns about the byproducts of coal burning.

Robert Gardner, a Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, cited serious health issues with coal ash waste and its disposal during his visit to Salem last Saturday.

“Currently there’s no federal regulation of these coal combustion wastes, as far as storage,” he said. “So there’s no guarantee of federal monitoring of water quality, no guarantee that storage sites will be covered to prevent ash going into the air. Over 100 million tons of coal waste is produced every year in this country. That’s huge.”

Coal ash typically contains mercury, lead and arsenic, and opponents say it is linked to cancer, organ disease, respiratory illness, neurological damage and developmental problems.

As far as coal ash storage containment, Gardner cites “bursts” or leakages that have occurred in Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia, which have had lasting toxic effects on local communities.

The long-term effects of coal ash disposal have hit home for North Shore residents in recent years. The Wenham Lake Watershed Association announced in 2000 that the lake had significant coal ash deposits in its beds, which had leached in from the Vitale site.

New England Power, which owned the Salem power plant in the 1950s and 1960s, had used the Vitale site to dump coal ash. Since Wenham Lake supplied water to Beverly, Salem and Wenham, residents were concerned about their health.

The watershed association assured residents the water was safe, but ash, the lake and the future of the Vitale site remained controversial for years. National Grid (of which New England Power is now a subsidiary) ultimately had to pay for a multimillion-dollar cleanup of the lake and the Vitale property.

Gardner said that while coal ash is sometimes used as recycled material, in concrete and bricks, the toxic chemicals remain within the material, and in the future can become exposed and hazardous as the materials break down over time.

The burning of coal itself creates carbon dioxide, particulate matter, sulfur dioxides and mercury in the air, which have been linked to asthma attacks.

“The Greenpeace position is,” Gardner said, “we need to transition away from these clearly unsafe practices to newer, safe technologies such as solar and wind.”

This sentiment was echoed by Rev. Jeff Barz-Snell of the First Church in Salem, Unitarian. He is the president of SAFE (Salem Alliance for the Environment) and a member of Salem’s Renewable Energy Task Force. Barz-Snell also attended of Al Gore’s Climate Project training, where the former vice president personally trained him.

Standing before the Rolling Sunlight truck with his young children in tow, Barz-Snell said, “The challenge before us for the future, the transition process to green energy, is on a par with the Industrial Revolution — how do you reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent in the next 40 years? So that’s why I’m here, to support this effort to spread awareness about transitioning to clean energy.”

FYI: For more about Greenpeace, visit greenpeace.org. For information about the local groups SAFE and HealthLink, visit salemsafe.org and healthlink.org, respectively.

Activist Sandra Winter On Fight to Shut Down Salem's Coal Plant