EC February 2009

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william.depaulo@gmail.com has shared: ${socialTitleEscape}
by william.depaulo＠gmail.com 17 Feb '09

17 Feb '09

william.depaulo(a)gmail.com wanted to share this with you: Detailed description of carbon sequestration project in Illinois ${socialTitleEscape} http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/carbonstorage.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Powered by ShareThis http://sharethis.com

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Fwd: Fw: Neill's report on hearing on GA HB 276: mountaintop removal coal billDiary for Feb 13-16, d
by James Kotcon 17 Feb '09

17 Feb '09

You might find the following description interesting, or even useful. If bills like this one from Georgia start passing elsewhere, we may actually see an end to MTR. It will be a long battle, but I am seeing an end game now. And there may be some useful lobbying ideas in here for our hearings. I like the light bulb trick, let's use it. JBK I am sure that the Sierra Club lobbyist in Georgia is an objective, calm, factual, "Nothing But The Truth" kind of guy and the language used below is an accurate representation of the hearing. :-) >>> <Paula.Carrell(a)sierraclub.org> 2/17/2009 1:25 PM >>> Subject: Neill's report on hearing on GA HB 276: mountaintop removal coal bill Feb. 16, Monday, back to the State Capitol. The Energy Subcommittee of the Rollover for GA Power Committee had a hearing on MMO’s bill to place a 5 year moratorium on new coal plants and a phase out of mountaintop removal coal from GA boilers. The Power Co witness was a droning testimony reader named Burleson, who took about 20 minutes to find all sorts of things wrong with the bill without ever dealing with any specific facts, only generalities, and the sort of half-truths Power Co planners use as their lingua franca. Basically, pass this, or anything resembling it, and everyone will move to Alabama or some other paradise where they can burn any goddamned coals they wish and we will be ruint. This is only a variation on the same shit they said 30 years ago, when they said if they couldn’t raise rates that “grass would grow in GA’s streets.” The pro-bill testimony was refreshingly good, and reached the committee in ways that GA Power and that pathetic liar ex-Rep. Dean Alford (D-Conflict of Interest) who was there to spin nothing buy fiction about his proposed Washington Co. coal plant. He even talked about how the pine trees were going to eat the carbon from it. I think it is about time to start circulating the Dean stories from 1991, where he had to quit the legislature because he got caught lobbying for himself. Johnny Noels was very good, with a handout that the Chair, Jeff May referred to twice with respectful admiration, at the amount of cheap power available from efficiency, and Noels was clever enough to point out the EXIT sign in the back of the room, said, “It may have a low wattage fluorescent bulb in it, running 24-7, but if they put one of these,” whipping out an Edison base LED, “They can cut the use to 2% of the incandescent wattage and get the same service, and no maintenance again.” The Appalachian Voices guys were great, and have a very impressive slide show, that enabled them to totally embarrass the Power co, which said they didn’t pay too much attention to the mining technique that produced their coal; these guys said, “We do,” and proceeded to show amazing maps that they could zoom in on, and showed what a mtn top removal site looks like after they are done (17,000 acres of wasteland) and what one looks like at startup. They also had wonderful stats about costs and production totals, the fact that this is a declining resource with rising costs built in. Damning stuff. And it got the committee’s attention despite themselves.

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Fwd: Service Learning Project/ West Virginia University
by Rodger Dotson 17 Feb '09

17 Feb '09

Does anyone have an idea and be willing to get Traci started on a project? thanks, Rodger ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Alex Rock <upallnightwithalex(a)yahoo.com> Date: Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 1:00 AM Subject: Service Learning Project/ West Virginia University To: Rodger Dotson <bhaddaka(a)gmail.com> Dear Roger, I am a graduate student at WVu and I am interested in working with the Sierra Club for a Service Learning project as part of a minor field for my PhD. Does the local chapter of the Sierra Club take on students as volunteers? I am interested in a variety of environmental areas, including the Decker's Creek clean up project and mountaintop removal. Please let me know if you would be interested in taking on a student volunteer. Your time would be minimal as there are very few forms to fill out. I would be responsible for the projectand volunteer hours. I have been a Sierra Club member for some time now, and I look forward to committing my time and effort to the local chapter here in Morgantown. Cheers Traci Scully --- On *Fri, 2/6/09, Rodger Dotson <bhaddaka(a)gmail.com>* wrote: From: Rodger Dotson <bhaddaka(a)gmail.com> Subject: February Program Meeting for the Mon Group Sierra Club To: bhaddaka(a)gmail.com Date: Friday, February 6, 2009, 7:08 AM Greetings! This month we will be co-hosting a meeting with the Friends of Deckers Creek. The topic will be the drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus shale. The meeting will be at 6:30 on Thursday, February 19, at the WVU Agricultural Sciences Building. The Marcellus shale, which lies beneath most of West Virginia, has the potential to be the largest natural gas source in history. While burning natural gas has lower greenhouse gas emissions than other fossil fuels, this drilling has other environmental impacts that may negatively affect our environment. To date, most of the drilling in the Marcellus shale has occurred in Pennsylvania and has resulted in increased solids in the Monongahela River. Another surface water concern is the use of proprietary chemicals used while drilling a gas well. Unfortunately, WV does not have the regulatory measures in place to adequately protect our environment from the predicted increase in drilling. Please see the attached flier for more details thanks, Rodger -- Most people think the mountains belong to the government, but actually the mountains belong to those who love them. - Dogen (1200-1253) -- Most people think the mountains belong to the government, but actually the mountains belong to those who love them. - Dogen (1200-1253)

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NYTimes.com: Is America Ready to Quit Coal?
by william.depaulo＠gmail.com 15 Feb '09

15 Feb '09

This page was sent to you by: william.depaulo(a)gmail.com. BUSINESS | February 14, 2009 Is America Ready to Quit Coal? By MELANIE WARNER With regulations to address climate change looming, coal power looks increasingly expensive. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/business/15coal.html?emc=eta1 ---------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS E-MAIL This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service. For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help(a)nytimes.com. NYTimes.com 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018 Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

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Fwd: NYTimes.com: Is America Ready to Quit Coal?
by Paul Wilson 15 Feb '09

15 Feb '09

I have attached a Word version of the same article for those who have trouble with the link below. regards,paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <pjgrunt(a)frontiernet.net> Date: Sun, Feb 15, 2009 at 11:10 AM Subject: NYTimes.com: Is America Ready to Quit Coal? To: pjgrunt(a)gmail.com [image: The New York Times] <http://www.nytimes.com/> [image: E-mail This] <http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&page=www.nytimes.co…> *This page was sent to you by: * * BUSINESS * | February 15, 2009 * Is America Ready to Quit Coal? <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/business/15coal.html?emc=eta1> * By MELANIE WARNER With regulations to address climate change looming, coal power looks increasingly expensive. 1. » <http://www.nytimes.com/gst/mostemailed.html?type=1> **<http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&page=www.nytimes.co…> <http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&page=www.nytimes.co…> Copyright 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html> The New York Times Company <http://www.nytco.com/> | Privacy Policy<http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/privacy.html> -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha

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Importing Pollution
by James Kotcon 14 Feb '09

14 Feb '09

A relatively new report form the Union of Concerned Scientists outlines the potential for new coal fired power plants, and expanded production from existing plants, to overwhelm greenhouse gas reduction plans in the Northeast. It is 44 pages, but makes relatively easy reading. It does a good job of explaining transmission pricing, as well as the role of proposed new transmission lines. Lots of discussion of TrAIL, PATH, and they highlight Longview! Right here in our back yard!!! Look in Appendix B for a list of the existing coal plants with the greatest potential to expand their greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/technology_and_impacts/impacts/importing… JBK

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Climate change even worse than predicted
by James Kotcon 14 Feb '09

14 Feb '09

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090214/sc_afp/usclimatewarming_20090214150716 Climate change even worse than predicted: expert Sat Feb 14, 10:04 am ET CHICAGO (AFP) – It seems the dire warnings about the oncoming devastation wrought by global warming were not dire enough, a top climate scientist warned Saturday. It has been just over a year since the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a landmark report warning of rising sea levels, expanding deserts, more intense storms and the extinction of up to 30 percent of plant and animal species. But recent climate studies suggest that report significantly underestimates the potential severity of global warming over the next 100 years, a senior member of the panel warned. "We now have data showing that from 2000 to 2007, greenhouse gas emissions increased far more rapidly than we expected," said Chris Field, who was a coordinating lead author of the report. This is "primarily because developing countries like China and India saw a huge upsurge in electric power generation, almost all of it based on coal," Field said in a statement ahead of a presentation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Without decisive action to slow global warming, higher temperatures could ignite tropical forests and thaw the Arctic tundra, potentially releasing billions of tons of carbon dioxide that has been stored for thousands of years. That could raise temperatures even more and create "a vicious cycle that could spiral out of control by the end of the century." "We don't want to cross a critical threshold where this massive release of carbon starts to run on autopilot," said Field, a professor of biology and of environmental Earth system science at Stanford University. The amount of carbon that could be released is staggering. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and estimated 350 billions tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) has been released through the burning of fossil fuels. The new estimate of the amount of carbon stored in the Arctic's permafrost soils is around 1,000 billion tons. And the Arctic is warming faster than any other part of the globe. Several recent climate models have estimated that the loss of tropical rainforests to wildfires, deforestation and other causes could increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 10 to 100 parts per million by the end of the century. The current level is about 380 parts per million. "Tropical forests are essentially inflammable," Field said. "You couldn't get a fire to burn there if you tried. But if they dry out just a little bit, the result can be very large and destructive wildfires." Recent studies have also shown that global warming is reducing the ocean's ability to store carbon by altering wind patterns in the Southern Ocean. "As the Earth warms, it generates faster winds over the oceans surrounding Antarctica," Field explained. "These winds essentially blow the surface water out of the way, allowing water with higher concentrations of CO2 to rise to the surface. This higher-CO2 water is closer to CO2-saturated, so it takes up less carbon dioxide from the atmosphere." Field is co-chair of the group charged with assessing the impacts of climate change on social, economic and natural systems for the IPCC's fifth assessment due in 2014. The 2007 fourth assessment presented at a "very conservative range of climate outcomes" but the next report will "include futures with a lot more warming," Field said. "We now know that, without effective action, climate change is going to be larger and more difficult to deal with than we thought."

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Fwd: [PSC Docket] Activity on PSC Case 07-0508-E-CN(Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Company)
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 14 Feb '09

14 Feb '09

The link at the bottom of this email leads you to yesterday's PSC final order reaffirming without signiificant change -- except as requested by TrAILCo -- the August 1, 2008 order approving construction of the TrAILCo transmission line. It is aptly summarized in the "Activity Description" section prepared by the Commission and italicized below. *Commission Final Order * *- that the Sierra Club Petition for Reconsideration is denied; * *- that Mr. Hildebrand's Petition for Reconsideration is denied; * *- that the TrAILCo Petition for Reconsideration is granted as described in this Order; * *- that the sixth ordering paragraph of the Final Order, regarding installation of a static VAR compensator, is rescinded; * *- that TrAILCo notify the Commission within 30 days of the date the MVAR described in this order is installed and operational at the Meadowbrook substation; * *- that TrAILCo may proceed with a phased approach to construction and complying with the pre-construction conditions of the Final Order, as described in this Order; * *- that the eleventh ordering paragraph of the Final Order is revised; * *- that the H-P Petition to Intervene Out of Time and Petition for Reconsideration are denied; * *- that Ms. Stahl's Petition for Reconsideration is denied; * *- that the Sierra Club Petition for a Continuing Prudence Review is denied; * *- that Mr. Hildebrand's Petition for Additional Hearing is denied; * *- that exept as modified, the Order of August 1, 2008 remains the final order of the Commission in this matter; * *Case Final. Removing from open docket.* Click here to view associated document<http://www.psc.state.wv.us/scripts/WebDocket/ViewDocument.cfm?CaseActivityI…'servicelist'> Additional observations will be forwarded early next week. Bill DePaulo

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FW: March 2 coal protest in DC
by Grubb, Karen 13 Feb '09

13 Feb '09

From: Rory McIlmoil [mailto:rorygep@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 6:26 PM Subject: March 2 coal protest in DC Please pass this along.... I'm writing today to ask you to consider going to Washington, DC, to join thousands of others at a protest on March 2 at the coal-fired power plant that provides electricity to the U.S. Capitol. Attached below is a letter of invitation from Wendell Berry and Bill McKibben that convinced me that this protest is a good thing that's well worth doing. I hope it will convince you too. A great many of those attending this event will be there primarily because they're concerned about climate change. I think it's especially important that people living in and near Appalachia's coalfields be there as well, and so do folks who are organizing the protest. Money is available to help carloads of people coming to DC from the coalfields pay for gas or van rental. Please note that although the organizers of this event expect to see many, many arrests for civil disobedience that day (and are prepared to provide legal support for those who are arrested), it's also expected that most folks who attend the protest will not be intending to get arrested. Please note also that this event is being carefully planned to be completely nonviolent. The organizers of the March 2 event are asking everyone who wants to attend to go first to a nonviolent direct action training. Training will be available in DC on the morning of March 2--so it should be doable for you to travel to DC on March 1, do the training and go to the protest on March 2, and plan to travel home on March 3. (Arrestees might be delayed in leaving if the police take a long time processing them.) Nonviolent direct action trainings are also being held well in advance of March 2 in several states; see www.capitolclimateaction.org website for more about this, and more information about the protest itself. I want to emphasize that my intention here is not to divert anyone from going to the MTR lobbying week in DC March 14-19--that's important work, too. If you're already planning to go to DC for lobbying and can't manage to come on March 2 as well, that's fine. But if you aren't able to go or interested in going to DC for lobbying that week, or if you can come to DC both for March 2 and for lobbying later in the month, I hope you'll do so. If you think you might be interested in going and would want to carpool and/or share a hotel room with others who live near you, please let me know and I'll try to sort out the details. (It would be simpler and better if one or more folks in or near West Virginia could coordinate this there. If you're willing to do that, please let me know and I'll make sure you get all the information you need.) If you know other folks who might be interested in going, please feel free to forward this email to them. Best regards, Tricia ------------------------------------------------- Tricia Shapiro 2330 Woolyshot Branch Road Hot Springs, NC 28743 ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear Friends, There are moments in a nation's--and a planet's--history when it may be necessary for some to break the law in order to bear witness to an evil, bring it to wider attention, and push for its correction. We think such a time has arrived, and we are writing to say that we hope some of you will join us in Washington D.C. on Monday March 2 in order to take part in a civil act of civil disobedience outside a coal-fired power plant near Capitol Hill. We will be there to make several points: #Coal-fired power is driving climate change. Our foremost climatologist, NASA's James Hansen, has demonstrated that our only hope of getting our atmosphere back to a safe level--below 350 parts per million co2--lies in stopping the use of coal to generate electricity. # Even if climate change were not the urgent crisis that it is, we would still be burning our fossil fuels too fast, wasting too much energy and releasing too much poison into the air and water. We would still need to slow down, and to restore thrift to its old place as an economic virtue. #Coal is filthy at its source. Much of the coal used in this country comes from West Virginia and Kentucky, where companies engage in "mountaintop removal" to get at the stuff; they leave behind a leveled wasteland, and impoverished human communities. No technology better exemplifies the out-of-control relationship between humans and the rest of creation. #Coal smoke makes children sick. Asthma rates in urban areas near coal-fired power plants are high. Air pollution from burning coal is harmful to the health of grown-ups too, and to the health of everything that breathes, including forests. The industry claim that there is something called "clean coal" is, put simply, a lie. But it's a lie told with tens of millions of dollars, which we do not have. We have our bodies, and we are willing to use them to make our point. We don't come to such a step lightly. We have written and testified and organized politically to make this point for many years, and while in recent months there has been real progress against new coal-fired power plants, the daily business of providing half our electricity from coal continues unabated. It's time to make clear that we can't safely run this planet on coal at all. So we feel the time has come to do more--we hear President Barack Obama's call for a movement for change that continues past election day, and we hear Nobel Laureate Al Gore's call for creative non-violence outside coal plants. As part of the international negotiations now underway on global warming, our nation will be asking China, India, and others to limit their use of coal in the future to help save the planet's atmosphere. This is a hard thing to ask, because it's their cheapest fuel. Part of our witness in March will be to say that we're willing to make some sacrifices ourselves, even if it's only a trip to the jail. With any luck, this will be the largest such protest yet, large enough that it may provide a real spark. If you want to participate with us, you need to go through a short course of non-violence training. This will be, to the extent it depends on us, an entirely peaceful demonstration, carried out in a spirit of hope and not rancor. We will be there in our dress clothes, and ask the same of you. There will be young people, people from faith communities, people from the coal fields of Appalachia, and from the neighborhoods in Washington that get to breathe the smoke from the plant. We will cross the legal boundary of the power plant, and we expect to be arrested. After that we have no certainty what will happen, but lawyers and such will be on hand. Our goal is not to shut the plant down for the day--it is but one of many, and anyway its operation for a day is not the point. The worldwide daily reliance on coal is the danger; this is one small step to raise awareness of that ruinous habit and hence help to break it. Needless to say, we're not handling the logistics of this day. All the credit goes to a variety of groups, especially EnergyAction (which is bringing thousands of young people to Washington that weekend), Greenpeace, the Ruckus Society, and the Rainforest Action Network. A website at that latter organization is serving as a temporary organizing hub: http://ran.org/get_involved/powershift_and_mass_civil_disobedience_updat es/. If you go there, you will find a place to leave your name so that we'll know you want to join us. Thank you, Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------- -- Kind Regards, Rory McIlmoil Coal River Mountain Wind Project (w): (304) 854-2182 (h): (304) 854-1937 www.coalriverwind.org www.crmw.net "The progressive state is in reality the cheerful and the hearty state to all the different orders of the society; the stationary is dull; the declining melancholy." ADAM SMITH.

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Re: [EC] Stimulus update: Adios to big nuke, coal assistance - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
by James Kotcon 13 Feb '09

13 Feb '09

Maybe we dodged a bullet. Thank goodness for National Sierra Club staff, they earned their salary on this one. JBK Lyndsay Moseley wrote: > Economic Recovery Bill to exclude $50 billion in DOE Loan Guarantees > > The conference agreement on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act > will not include a controversial $50 billion DOE loan guarantee program > that could have been used for liquid coal, coal gasification, and nuclear > power projects. As you all know, the House version included funding for > loan guarantees only for renewable energy and efficiency projects, but > Senator Bennett (R-Utah) working with Sen. Dorgan (D-ND), inserted a > provision into the Senate bill authorizing $50 billion in additional loan > guarantees for all eligible projects listed in Title XVII of EPACT 2005 > (including liquid coal, coal gasification and nuclear power projects as > well as renewable energy, efficiency, hybrid and advanced vehicles, etc.). > > > Mobilizing quickly, we worked with House and Senate leaders, especially > Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Waxman, as well as members of the new Sustainable > Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) in the House, to convey the > message that we should not undermine this historic investment in > clean/renewable energy by investing in high-risk, expensive energy sources > that will do little to promote economic recovery, and take us backward in > the fight against global warming. > > Given our overall support of the bill, our effort required a strategic and > delicate lobbying and communications plan, but Sierra Club successfully > collaborated with taxpayer, environmental and health groups on extensive > lobbying, as well as rapid-response online and grassroots campaign to > eliminate the $50 billion DOE loan guarantee program from the bill. We > developed a community letter, fact-sheet, and made contact with over 200 > offices in the House and Senate. The votes on final passage of the > American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are expected today in the House and > today or tomorrow in the Senate. > > Moving forward, we plan to work with DOE Sec. Chu and key members of > congress to ensure that funds from the DOE loan guarantee program are > directed toward clean energy. > > Great work everyone! > -Lyndsay > > > > Stimulus update: Adios to big nuke, coal assistance > By: Bill Lambrecht > Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau > WASHINGTON ? Nuclear operators and clean-coal dreamers had better start > looking elsewhere to finance their plants. > A $50 billion Senate provision boosting government loan guarantees for > energy projects was sliced away when House and Senate conferees pared down > the economic recovery package to $789 billion. > A conference report isn?t out yet but several sources tell us that the $50 > billion proved to be a target too fat to ignore. > The cut is a blow to companies in the St. Louis region looking to build > so-called clean coal plants, like the $1 billion FutureGen project > proposed for southern Illinois seeking a Holy Grail of energy production: > burning coal with zero emissions. > It?s also a bitter pill for companies like Illinois-based Exelon, the > nation?s biggest nuclear operator, and AmerenUE who eyed loan guarantees > to put some cash behind the frenzied planning in this era of worry about > global warming. AmerenUE is looking to add another reactor at its Callaway > plant in Missouri. > Financing an $8-10 billion nuclear plant is all but impossible in the best > of times considering all the risks. That?s one reason we haven?t seen an > order for a new nuke plant in the U.S. for three decades. > Budget hawks like Taxpayers for Common Sense are pleased at the reduction, > noting that the loan guarantees are a chancy proposition for taxpayers, to > say the least. The Government Accountability Office places the risk of > default of a new nuclear plant at 50 percent and worried in a report about > DOE?s ability to oversee all that loan money. > > Lyndsay Moseley > Washington Representative > Sierra Club > 408 C St. NE > Washington, DC 20002 > tel: 202-548-4581 > fax: 202-547-6009 > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS list, send any message to: > COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG > > Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: > http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp > > To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: > http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS list, send any message to: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp

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EC February 2009