Coal

Majority of Voters Oppose Mountaintop Removal Mining in First Nationwide Opinion Poll

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:00:29 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2008

Earthjustice

In the first nationwide poll on mountaintop removal mining, two out of three likely voters oppose recent efforts by the Bush administration to repeal an environmental law known as the Stream Buffer Zone rule, which prohibits mining activities within 100 feet of a stream. Upon hearing that "more than 1,200 miles of streams in Appalachia already have been buried or destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining," fully 85% of voters say they are concerned about the effects of this mining practice.

Speak Now Against Bush's Great Coal Giveaway

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:20:05 -0400

by Jeff Biggers

With our attention focused on the Wall Street crisis and the presidential election, the George W. Bush administration took an extraordinary step last Friday to give coal companies a couple of departing gifts before the end of this year.

This is the really dirty side of coal we rarely hear about.

Mountaintop Removal Destroys Wildlife and the Way of Life for Local Residents

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:12:59 -0400

by Nell Levin

Imagine earth-shaking explosions, rock and debris flying through the air, and mountains blasted to smithereens by explosions 100 times more powerful than those that blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City.

When the dust settles, the remaining land looks like another planet: no trees, no plants, no animals - just a barren moonscape.

These are the shocking images of Jeff Barrie's documentary, Kilowatt Ours, that prompted me to write the song, "Don't Blow Up the Mountain."

Corporate Curriculum: Teaching the 'Science of Death'

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:48:37 -0400

by John F. Borowski

For more than a decade, writing for numerous newspapers, magazines and websites, I have attempted to cast a light on "industrial strength" science curriculum: "that curriculum of the corporation, by the corporation and for a corporation's profits...shall indeed hasten the rate of destruction of the earth's resources and indeed, people may perish from the earth." I have been an utter failure at convincing many in the environmental community of the importance of reaching out to these 55 million students as future voting citizens that must be ecologically literate and that

Court to Decide if Cliffside Coal Fired Power Plant Violates Clean Air Act

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:00:13 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2008

Environmental Groups

Conservation groups today asked a federal court in Western North Carolina to require Duke Energy to control hazardous air pollution from its Cliffside coal-fired power plant to the maximum extent possible. The groups told the court that construction on the 800-megawatt addition should be stopped because their air permit does not adequately control dangerous air emissions, including mercury and dozens of carcinogens such as arsenic, chromium, and dioxin.

So-Called 'Clean Coal' Technology Offers Promise Along with Considerable Risks, New Report Finds

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:02:55 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2008

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

With domestic policy the focus of tonight's third presidential debate, the discussion likely will touch on energy and the future of coal, which currently generates about 50 percent of U.S. electricity. Both John McCain and Barack Obama have frequently mentioned their support for "clean coal" on the campaign trail, but neither one of them has fully explained what that means. Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) issued a report that examines the pros and cons of a proposed technology that would capture coal plant carbon dioxide emissions and store them underground.

The Banality of Clean Coal: Extraction Crimes

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:27:25 -0400

by Jeff Biggers

Three more retired coal miners died of black lung today. Over 105,000 Americans have suffered and died from black lung related diseases; 10,000 miners, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, have died from black lung in the last decade.

Groups Challenge Federal Decision to Waste Natural Gas, Ignore Global Warming at Colorado Coal Mine

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:21:32 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2008

Earthjustice

WildEarth Guardians and Earthjustice today called on federal agencies to withdraw a permit for a Western Colorado coal mine expansion that would waste massive amounts of methane and contribute to global warming.

Methane -- also known as natural gas -- is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, yet is also a valuable energy source.

Proposed Midstate Coal-Fired Plant Draws Variety of Opposition

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:54:03 -0400

by S. Heather Duncan

In a county where folks are accustomed to a single industry calling the shots, community organizing doesn't come naturally.

But some Washington County landowners are starting to line up against a proposed coal-fired power plant, with the help of college and high school students from around the state.

Opponents have created the Fall Line Alliance for a Clean Environment, or FACE, which is in the process of incorporating as a nonprofit group.

Gore Urges Civil Disobedience To Stop Coal Plants

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:13:07 -0400

by Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK - Nobel Peace Prize winner and environmental crusader Al Gore urged young people on Wednesday to engage in civil disobedience to stop the construction of coal plants without the ability to store carbon.

The former U.S. vice president, whose climate change documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" won an Academy Award, told a philanthropic meeting in New York City that "the world has lost ground to the climate crisis."