Showing posts with label West Virginia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Virginia. Show all posts
1/25/2010
Colbert on Mountaintop Removal
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/261997/january-18-2010/coal-comfort---margaret-palmer
1/07/2010
Coal Country at SCC
Moore County Sustainable Film Series
Join us for great films in 2010
Our Next film is "Coal Country"
January 14th, 6:30
Sandhills Community College
Dempsey Student Center, Clement Dining Room
Sustainable Sandhills invites everyone to join us for the screening of "Coal Country," a film by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller. The film is FREE so bring a friend and join in the discussion.
"Coal Country" tells the dramatic struggle around the use of coal, which provides over half the electricity in America. Passions are running high in the mountains of Appalachia. Families and communities are deeply split over what is being done to their land. At issue is the latest form of strip mining called ‘mountain top removal'. Coal companies blast the tops off mountains, and run the debris into valleys and streams. Then they mine the exposed seams of coal and transport it to processing plants. Coal is mined more cheaply than ever, and America needs coal. But the air and water are filled with chemicals, and an ancient mountain range is disappearing forever. Join us for a discussion of the social impact of cheap energy in America.
Bring the family! All ages are invited and it's FREE! We look forward to seeing you there!
Join us for great films in 2010
Our Next film is "Coal Country"
January 14th, 6:30
Sandhills Community College
Dempsey Student Center, Clement Dining Room
Sustainable Sandhills invites everyone to join us for the screening of "Coal Country," a film by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller. The film is FREE so bring a friend and join in the discussion.
"Coal Country" tells the dramatic struggle around the use of coal, which provides over half the electricity in America. Passions are running high in the mountains of Appalachia. Families and communities are deeply split over what is being done to their land. At issue is the latest form of strip mining called ‘mountain top removal'. Coal companies blast the tops off mountains, and run the debris into valleys and streams. Then they mine the exposed seams of coal and transport it to processing plants. Coal is mined more cheaply than ever, and America needs coal. But the air and water are filled with chemicals, and an ancient mountain range is disappearing forever. Join us for a discussion of the social impact of cheap energy in America.
Bring the family! All ages are invited and it's FREE! We look forward to seeing you there!
12/29/2009
Coal Country at Sandhills CC
http://www.sustainablesandhills.org/docs/CoalCountryScreeninginJanuary.pdf
10/09/2009
Raven's Wing Movie Tonight Is. . .
Award-winning film Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America is a timely, solutions-oriented look at one of America’s most pressing environmental challenges: energy.
Filmmaker Jeff Barrie offers hope as he turns the camera on himself and asks, “How can I make a difference?” In his journey Barrie explores the source of our electricity and the problems caused by energy production including mountain top removal, childhood asthma and global warming. Along the way he encounters individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities who are leading the way, using energy conservation, efficiency and renewable, green power all while saving money and the environment.
This often amusing and always inspiring story shows, “You can easily make a difference and here’s how!”
Filmmaker Jeff Barrie offers hope as he turns the camera on himself and asks, “How can I make a difference?” In his journey Barrie explores the source of our electricity and the problems caused by energy production including mountain top removal, childhood asthma and global warming. Along the way he encounters individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities who are leading the way, using energy conservation, efficiency and renewable, green power all while saving money and the environment.
This often amusing and always inspiring story shows, “You can easily make a difference and here’s how!”
9/03/2009
Duke Energy Leaving the Dark Side
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-09-02-duke-energy-quits-scandal-ridden-american-coalition-for-clean-co/
7/06/2009
7/04/2009
Let's Dim the Lights for W.VA.
Published on Saturday, July 4, 2009 by The Charleston Gazette (West Viginia)
Mountaintop Removal: Fourth of July Festival Organizers Fear Violence
by Paul J. Nyden
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Larry Gibson, the well-known, 72-year-old activist against mountaintop-removal mining, will host his annual July 4 music festival at his Kayford Mountain home above Cabin Creek Saturday and Sunday.
"I've been having this event, which is open to the public, for 23 years. Everyone is welcome," Gibson said.
Maria Gunnoe, a Boone County native, who won this year's international Goldman Environmental Prize in April for her anti-mountaintop-removal activism, is among the many planning to attend.
"A lot of elders and a lot of children, show up," Gunnoe said. "Normally, it is very peaceful.
"People get together, socialize and listen to very diverse music," she said. "Some is traditional Appalachian music. Some is music for younger teenagers, including rock music. It is a good time with your family and friends."
But both Gibson and Gunnoe worry this year's festival could spark hostility and possibly violence, especially after last week's arrest of demonstrators protesting Massey Energy's mountaintop removal operations in Boone County.
Gibson, in particular, said he has received threats since the arrests.
No one could be reached at Massey Energy's offices in Boone County on Friday.
A spokesman for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said he had heard nothing about any rumors of violence at Gibson's planned July 4 celebration.
On June 23, 31 picketers were arrested, including: actress Daryl Hannah, National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist James Hansen and former Democratic Congressman and West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler.
Protesting near Sundial, the picketers were charged with obstructing police officers and impeding traffic after sitting in the middle of W.Va. 3 near a controversial Massey coal preparation plant next to Marsh Fork Elementary School.
A nearby Massey dam impounds about 3 billion gallons of coal sludge from company mining operations.
Gibson's festival started out as a family reunion, but quickly grew into an annual community event.
Last week, Gunnoe distanced herself from "out-of-state environmentalists," explaining, "We are connected to the environment around our home lands. We care about our culture. But that does not make us tree huggers."
Gibson hopes today's event is well attended.
"Everyone is welcome. Bring a covered dish. But this is not a place for any kind of violence. But bring a conversation to the table. I would be glad to talk to anyone," Gibson said.
Gibson, whose family has lived on or near Kayford Mountain since the late 1700s, travels around the country speaking about mountaintop removal at colleges, churches, public seminars and community groups
"The stand I am taking here is not so much for myself," Gibson said, "but for all of the people living in this part of the country."
Gunnoe said, "Some people have had windows broken out of their vehicles because they had 'We Love Mountains' stickers on their bumpers.
"For years, mountaintop removal blasting has covered our homes up with dust and polluted our water," she said. "People fight mountaintop removal because they have lost their water, their land and their quality of life."
Mountaintop Removal: Fourth of July Festival Organizers Fear Violence
by Paul J. Nyden
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Larry Gibson, the well-known, 72-year-old activist against mountaintop-removal mining, will host his annual July 4 music festival at his Kayford Mountain home above Cabin Creek Saturday and Sunday.
"I've been having this event, which is open to the public, for 23 years. Everyone is welcome," Gibson said.
Maria Gunnoe, a Boone County native, who won this year's international Goldman Environmental Prize in April for her anti-mountaintop-removal activism, is among the many planning to attend.
"A lot of elders and a lot of children, show up," Gunnoe said. "Normally, it is very peaceful.
"People get together, socialize and listen to very diverse music," she said. "Some is traditional Appalachian music. Some is music for younger teenagers, including rock music. It is a good time with your family and friends."
But both Gibson and Gunnoe worry this year's festival could spark hostility and possibly violence, especially after last week's arrest of demonstrators protesting Massey Energy's mountaintop removal operations in Boone County.
Gibson, in particular, said he has received threats since the arrests.
No one could be reached at Massey Energy's offices in Boone County on Friday.
A spokesman for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said he had heard nothing about any rumors of violence at Gibson's planned July 4 celebration.
On June 23, 31 picketers were arrested, including: actress Daryl Hannah, National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist James Hansen and former Democratic Congressman and West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler.
Protesting near Sundial, the picketers were charged with obstructing police officers and impeding traffic after sitting in the middle of W.Va. 3 near a controversial Massey coal preparation plant next to Marsh Fork Elementary School.
A nearby Massey dam impounds about 3 billion gallons of coal sludge from company mining operations.
Gibson's festival started out as a family reunion, but quickly grew into an annual community event.
Last week, Gunnoe distanced herself from "out-of-state environmentalists," explaining, "We are connected to the environment around our home lands. We care about our culture. But that does not make us tree huggers."
Gibson hopes today's event is well attended.
"Everyone is welcome. Bring a covered dish. But this is not a place for any kind of violence. But bring a conversation to the table. I would be glad to talk to anyone," Gibson said.
Gibson, whose family has lived on or near Kayford Mountain since the late 1700s, travels around the country speaking about mountaintop removal at colleges, churches, public seminars and community groups
"The stand I am taking here is not so much for myself," Gibson said, "but for all of the people living in this part of the country."
Gunnoe said, "Some people have had windows broken out of their vehicles because they had 'We Love Mountains' stickers on their bumpers.
"For years, mountaintop removal blasting has covered our homes up with dust and polluted our water," she said. "People fight mountaintop removal because they have lost their water, their land and their quality of life."
6/23/2009
6/03/2009
4/27/2009
Conservation Insider Bulletin, April 24
Conservation Insider Bulletin
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, cib@conservationcouncilnc.org
April 24, 2009
Environmental action has heated up in Raleigh, with opportunities to speak up on funding priorities and coastal issues coming soon, plus national news on climate change, this week in CIB:
--Legislative Watch: Transit Funding Advances; Mountaintop Protection Stalls; Beach Bummer Up Next; Speak Out On Budget
--Coast Watch: Offshore Drilling Hearing April 27, Climate Change & the Coast May 19
--Washington Watch: EPA Climate Action a "Game-Changer"
--Education & Resources: EPA Report Says Climate Change Will Increase Regional Ozone Pollution
Legislative Watch: Transit Funding Advances; Mountaintop Protection Stalls; Beach Bummer Up Next; Speak Out on Budget
Transit Funding Advances: The N.C. House this week voted twice by convincing margins (77-40, 75-40) to approve HB 148, "Congestion Relief / Intermodal Transport Fund", which would provide a critical public finance option for regional public transit systems. The bill, backed by environmental, municipal, and business groups alike, would permit counties to approve via public referenda a special 1/2 or 1/4 cent sales tax exclusively for the funding of public transit systems. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Mountaintop Protection Stalls: Legislation to protect threatened mountain environments in coal-producing states didn't fare as well. HB 340, "Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act", was heard in the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee this week. Power company representatives made dire and controversial predictions of coal shortages and electric price hikes if legislators approved this bill to bar North Carolina power plants from burning coal obtained by the environmentally devastating process of "mountaintop removal" strip mining. Facing likely defeat in committee, bill sponsors pulled back from a vote. Principal sponsor Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) indicated that she would instead circulate a letter for concerned state legislators to sign in support of federal action to end the controversial practice altogether.
Beach Bummer Up Next: SB 832, "CRC May Permit Terminal Groin"—which CIB non-fondly calls the Beach Bummer Bill—is slated to be heard next week in the Senate Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee. If approved, this terrible bill would rip a gaping hole in North Carolina's long-standing policies protecting our beaches and barrier islands. A host of leading coastal scientists have condemned these "terminal groins" as costly known failures, which temporarily retain sand in one spot at the expense of accelerating erosion elsewhere on the beaches. CCNC lobbyist Dan Crawford calls the bill "worse than ever" and encourages CCNC members and friends to call their Senators in opposition to SB 832.
Speak Out on Budget: Also next week, there will be important opportunities around the state to speak out for funding for pollution control enforcement, environmental education, and critical land conservation funds. On Tuesday, April 28, from 6-9 p.m., the N.C. House Appropriations Committee will hold a public hearing to receive public comments on this year's state budget. The in-person hearing will take place in Raleigh, in the auditorium of the N.C. Museum of History on Fayetteville Street. Ten community colleges around the state will host simultaneous live interactive broadcasts of the hearing in Charlotte, Dobson, Dublin, Fayetteville, Grantsboro, Henderson, Smithfield, Sylva, Williamston, and Winston-Salem. Speakers will be allowed up to three minutes for comments. Rules for speaking during the event, submitting written comments, and accessing the online broadcast are available at www.ncleg.net/sessions/2009/budget/2009/BudgetPublicHearing.html.
Coast Watch: Offshore Drilling Hearing April 27, Climate Change & the Coast May 19
Two important opportunities to address key issues for our coast are coming up soon.
This Monday, April 27, the state legislative task force on offshore drilling will hold a public hearing in Morehead City at Carteret Community College from 4-6 p.m. Public comments of two to five minutes (depending on turnout) will be heard. Coastal advocates say that the oil industry and its backers will have the "drill now" crowd bussed out in force, so it's important for the voices of environmental reason and long-term economic prosperity for our coast (fisheries and tourism) to be well-represented too. For more details, go to http://www.nccoast.org/Advocacy/2009actionalerts/offshoreoilAA.
On Tuesday, May 19, CCNC and other citizen conservation groups will host an educational event on Climate Change & the Coast, at the N.C. Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill from 7-9 p.m. Speakers will include Dr. Stan Riggs, Distinguished Research Professor, East Carolina University, and former Secretaries of the N.C. Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources. Due to limited space, advance registration is required, at http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageNavigator/Sign_Up_Coastal_Evening
Washington Watch: EPA Climate Action a "Game-Changer"
The U.S. EPA late last week announced its formal conclusion that human emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases now "endanger human health and welfare." That's the formal trigger required by a key 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision applying the federal Clean Air Act, which now launches the formal rulemaking process for regulating those emissions.
The availability of this regulatory process helps level the national policy playing field, choking off the threat by opponents in the Senate to block climate change action by filibuster. President Obama, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and Congressional supporters all say that legislation to address the issue is preferable. However, the clock is now ticking on alternative regulatory action if Congress fails to act in a timely manner.
A leading Congressional supporter of action on climate change, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), calls the EPA decision a "game changer" in the global warming policy debate. "It changes the playing field with respect to legislation," said Markey. "It's now no longer doing a bill or doing nothing. It is now a choice between regulation and legislation."
David Doniger, climate-policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, agreed. Doniger told reporters, "This has enormous legal significance. It is the first time the federal government has said officially that the science is real, the danger is real and in this case that pollution from cars contributes to it." (Associated Press, 4/18/09.)
Education & Resources: EPA Report Says Climate Change Will Increase Regional Ozone Pollution
Speaking of federal pronouncements on climate change, here's another wake-up call just released by EPA's Global Climate Change Research Program. The newly-released report concludes that continued climate change is likely to produce significant increases in summer air pollution caused by ozone in several major U.S. regions. Most of the study's modeling scenarios show North Carolina, especially Piedmont North Carolina, being especially hard hit by the resulting air pollution increases.
The entire report, titled "Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air Quality: A Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on Ground-Level Ozone", including appendices, can be accessed at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=203459.
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, cib@conservationcouncilnc.org
April 24, 2009
Environmental action has heated up in Raleigh, with opportunities to speak up on funding priorities and coastal issues coming soon, plus national news on climate change, this week in CIB:
--Legislative Watch: Transit Funding Advances; Mountaintop Protection Stalls; Beach Bummer Up Next; Speak Out On Budget
--Coast Watch: Offshore Drilling Hearing April 27, Climate Change & the Coast May 19
--Washington Watch: EPA Climate Action a "Game-Changer"
--Education & Resources: EPA Report Says Climate Change Will Increase Regional Ozone Pollution
Legislative Watch: Transit Funding Advances; Mountaintop Protection Stalls; Beach Bummer Up Next; Speak Out on Budget
Transit Funding Advances: The N.C. House this week voted twice by convincing margins (77-40, 75-40) to approve HB 148, "Congestion Relief / Intermodal Transport Fund", which would provide a critical public finance option for regional public transit systems. The bill, backed by environmental, municipal, and business groups alike, would permit counties to approve via public referenda a special 1/2 or 1/4 cent sales tax exclusively for the funding of public transit systems. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Mountaintop Protection Stalls: Legislation to protect threatened mountain environments in coal-producing states didn't fare as well. HB 340, "Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act", was heard in the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee this week. Power company representatives made dire and controversial predictions of coal shortages and electric price hikes if legislators approved this bill to bar North Carolina power plants from burning coal obtained by the environmentally devastating process of "mountaintop removal" strip mining. Facing likely defeat in committee, bill sponsors pulled back from a vote. Principal sponsor Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) indicated that she would instead circulate a letter for concerned state legislators to sign in support of federal action to end the controversial practice altogether.
Beach Bummer Up Next: SB 832, "CRC May Permit Terminal Groin"—which CIB non-fondly calls the Beach Bummer Bill—is slated to be heard next week in the Senate Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee. If approved, this terrible bill would rip a gaping hole in North Carolina's long-standing policies protecting our beaches and barrier islands. A host of leading coastal scientists have condemned these "terminal groins" as costly known failures, which temporarily retain sand in one spot at the expense of accelerating erosion elsewhere on the beaches. CCNC lobbyist Dan Crawford calls the bill "worse than ever" and encourages CCNC members and friends to call their Senators in opposition to SB 832.
Speak Out on Budget: Also next week, there will be important opportunities around the state to speak out for funding for pollution control enforcement, environmental education, and critical land conservation funds. On Tuesday, April 28, from 6-9 p.m., the N.C. House Appropriations Committee will hold a public hearing to receive public comments on this year's state budget. The in-person hearing will take place in Raleigh, in the auditorium of the N.C. Museum of History on Fayetteville Street. Ten community colleges around the state will host simultaneous live interactive broadcasts of the hearing in Charlotte, Dobson, Dublin, Fayetteville, Grantsboro, Henderson, Smithfield, Sylva, Williamston, and Winston-Salem. Speakers will be allowed up to three minutes for comments. Rules for speaking during the event, submitting written comments, and accessing the online broadcast are available at www.ncleg.net/sessions/2009/budget/2009/BudgetPublicHearing.html.
Coast Watch: Offshore Drilling Hearing April 27, Climate Change & the Coast May 19
Two important opportunities to address key issues for our coast are coming up soon.
This Monday, April 27, the state legislative task force on offshore drilling will hold a public hearing in Morehead City at Carteret Community College from 4-6 p.m. Public comments of two to five minutes (depending on turnout) will be heard. Coastal advocates say that the oil industry and its backers will have the "drill now" crowd bussed out in force, so it's important for the voices of environmental reason and long-term economic prosperity for our coast (fisheries and tourism) to be well-represented too. For more details, go to http://www.nccoast.org/Advocacy/2009actionalerts/offshoreoilAA.
On Tuesday, May 19, CCNC and other citizen conservation groups will host an educational event on Climate Change & the Coast, at the N.C. Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill from 7-9 p.m. Speakers will include Dr. Stan Riggs, Distinguished Research Professor, East Carolina University, and former Secretaries of the N.C. Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources. Due to limited space, advance registration is required, at http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageNavigator/Sign_Up_Coastal_Evening
Washington Watch: EPA Climate Action a "Game-Changer"
The U.S. EPA late last week announced its formal conclusion that human emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases now "endanger human health and welfare." That's the formal trigger required by a key 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision applying the federal Clean Air Act, which now launches the formal rulemaking process for regulating those emissions.
The availability of this regulatory process helps level the national policy playing field, choking off the threat by opponents in the Senate to block climate change action by filibuster. President Obama, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and Congressional supporters all say that legislation to address the issue is preferable. However, the clock is now ticking on alternative regulatory action if Congress fails to act in a timely manner.
A leading Congressional supporter of action on climate change, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), calls the EPA decision a "game changer" in the global warming policy debate. "It changes the playing field with respect to legislation," said Markey. "It's now no longer doing a bill or doing nothing. It is now a choice between regulation and legislation."
David Doniger, climate-policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, agreed. Doniger told reporters, "This has enormous legal significance. It is the first time the federal government has said officially that the science is real, the danger is real and in this case that pollution from cars contributes to it." (Associated Press, 4/18/09.)
Education & Resources: EPA Report Says Climate Change Will Increase Regional Ozone Pollution
Speaking of federal pronouncements on climate change, here's another wake-up call just released by EPA's Global Climate Change Research Program. The newly-released report concludes that continued climate change is likely to produce significant increases in summer air pollution caused by ozone in several major U.S. regions. Most of the study's modeling scenarios show North Carolina, especially Piedmont North Carolina, being especially hard hit by the resulting air pollution increases.
The entire report, titled "Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air Quality: A Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on Ground-Level Ozone", including appendices, can be accessed at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=203459.
8/29/2007
Mountaintop-Removal Mining
[from Grist]
Bush administration eases restrictions on mountaintop-removal mining
The Bush administration has given a big thumbs-up to mountaintop-removal mining, the practice of blasting the peaks off of mountains and dumping the rubble into watersheds and valleys. A proposed rule issued Friday will exempt mining waste from an inconsistently interpreted 1983 rule that disallows mining activity within 100 feet of streams; considering that hundreds of miles of Appalachian streams have been obliterated by MTR mining in the last 20 years, it was basically a technicality anyway. Once officially free to dump mountaintops wherever the hell they please, coal-mining companies can continue to destroy ecosystems and communities in the name of reducing dependence on foreign oil. The rule is subject to a 60-day comment period; while officials have indicated that significant changes are unlikely regardless of public input, tell them what you think anyway. Then check out dispatches sent to Grist from writer Gabriel Pacyniak and photographer Katherine Chandler, who are traveling in West Virginia to report on MTR mining.
straight to the source: The New York Times, John M. Broder, 23 Aug 2007
straight to the source: Environment News Service, 22 Aug 2007
straight to the rule: Excess Spoil, Coal Mine Waste, and Buffers for Waters of the United States, [PDF]
see also, in Gristmill: Reports on MTR mining from West Virginia
Bush administration eases restrictions on mountaintop-removal mining
The Bush administration has given a big thumbs-up to mountaintop-removal mining, the practice of blasting the peaks off of mountains and dumping the rubble into watersheds and valleys. A proposed rule issued Friday will exempt mining waste from an inconsistently interpreted 1983 rule that disallows mining activity within 100 feet of streams; considering that hundreds of miles of Appalachian streams have been obliterated by MTR mining in the last 20 years, it was basically a technicality anyway. Once officially free to dump mountaintops wherever the hell they please, coal-mining companies can continue to destroy ecosystems and communities in the name of reducing dependence on foreign oil. The rule is subject to a 60-day comment period; while officials have indicated that significant changes are unlikely regardless of public input, tell them what you think anyway. Then check out dispatches sent to Grist from writer Gabriel Pacyniak and photographer Katherine Chandler, who are traveling in West Virginia to report on MTR mining.
straight to the source: The New York Times, John M. Broder, 23 Aug 2007
straight to the source: Environment News Service, 22 Aug 2007
straight to the rule: Excess Spoil, Coal Mine Waste, and Buffers for Waters of the United States, [PDF]
see also, in Gristmill: Reports on MTR mining from West Virginia
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