[media-credit name=’PATRICK STATZ-BOYER/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Though the University of Wisconsin campus is adorned with "We Conserve" signs promoting environmental consciousness, a number of UW students and Dane County residents gathered Wednesday to say the university is not actually adhering to that agenda.

With the permit for the coal plant on Charter Street up for renewal this year, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources held a public hearing to hear residents' opinions.

Several UW students, alumni and area residents said they have seen clouds of black smoke from the Charter Street coal plant linger over campus for too long.

UW sophomore Paul Lee urged the community to support cleaner energy sources on campus.

"We need to reject this permit proposal because we have come so far as a university to get a progressive name for ourselves," Lee said. "And right now … we are really failing to come up to that standard."

Nearly all speakers emphasized the importance of co-generation, which UW alumnus Gary Warner defined as formulating methods to reuse energy numerous times. Warner added that co-generation is particularly important at the Charter Street plant because it burns fossil fuels.

The coal plant's renewal plan is not without its supporters, however. UW sophomore Marya Orf said the coal plant should get its permit renewed because Madison would be in a "serious energy crisis" if the permit was denied.

"I know they've made a lot of progress since the plant was founded, and I know there's still a lot that needs to be done," said Orf, who is a research assistant at the UW environmental chemistry and technology department. "But without a good way to replace it, I don't know what else we'd do."

But UW alumnus and Clean Wisconsin representative Peter Taglia said the Charter Street coal plant is "really dirty." Taglia, who is also a member of Friends of Monona Bay, said along with causing air pollution in Madison, the plant causes thermo-pollution to Lake Monona.

According to Taglia, the Charter Street coal plant is a source of global warming pollution, and the "horrendous puffs of black smoke" the plant emits are a sign of "inefficient combustion."

"It's pretty embarrassing for a world-class university," Taglia added.

Using renewable energy sources is something the university needs to accomplish eventually, Orf said, but added withholding the plant's permit is not the most effective course of action.

Orf said the university should have alternatives in place before the coal plant loses its permit, and also said there are several preliminary steps the university would need to take as well.

"It's something that needs to get funded; it really needs to get worked on, but I don't feel like the power plant can just go away," Orf said. "We need the energy, and we need to move toward new sources, but that's not going to happen tomorrow."

UW freshman and Sierra Student Coalition member Caitlin Shanahan said though renewable fuel may be a financial burden on the university, she thinks it would be a valuable investment.

"No one knows debt better than a college student," Shanahan said. "We are known as the progressive state, and I think it's time to show how progressive we can be."