EC January 2010

ec@lists.wvsierraclub.org

11 participants
38 discussions

Fwd: a "green" project by a Brunswick MD group
by James Kotcon 10 Jan '10

10 Jan '10

Anybody know anything about this group or this project? JBK >>> "Peter Maynard" <excelsior6(a)verizon.net> 1/8/2010 5:50 PM >>> Jim, we are a group of environmentally-concerned people who are now undertaking the restoration of the old Harper's Ferry hydroelectric plant, now owned by Park Service, decommissioned several years ago as, one supposes, not worth the bother. Yet at one time it was a significant source of electric power. And no significant damming of the Potomac is required -- which would make this a very "green" project. Keepers of the Green have taken the first step toward returning to viability this old plant. We have asked the Park Service for its approval. The next step would be a feasibility study. We will need a lot of help to move this project forward. Do you think your Sierra Club people might be interested? Can you give me any suggestions about other people who might be enlisted? -- Peter Maynard

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Fwd: You are invited to register as a Climate Leader for the Online phonebank next week Fwd: Thank you for signing up to phone bank!
by Jim Sconyers 08 Jan '10

08 Jan '10

Great phone bank system - and now the calls are about the Murkowski amendment that would strip the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 304.698.9628 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. --- On Thu, 1/7/10, Jane Feldman <feldman.jane(a)GMAIL.COM> wrote: From: Jane Feldman <feldman.jane(a)GMAIL.COM> Subject: Fwd: You are invited to register as a Climate Leader for the Online phonebank next week Fwd: Thank you for signing up to phone bank! To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Date: Thursday, January 7, 2010, 7:27 PM Hi, Energy Chairs and GW Chairs - I am working hard to recruit people to participate in the online phonebanks that Sierra Club calls "Winning Wednesdays." I just sent out an email to my local conservation crew, asking them to sign up for the online phonebank. The email that I sent them is below. I thought that maybe you would like to sign up for the online phonebank, too. And maybe you might like to send an email of your own to your energy and GW committee people. Thx for all the hard work you do. Jane Las Vegas ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jane Feldman <feldman.jane(a)gmail.com> Date: Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 4:21 PM Subject: You are invited to register as a Climate Leader for the Online phonebank next week Fwd: Thank you for signing up to phone bank! To: best-conservation-crew Hi, all - I just signed up to do the online phonebank next Wed. I'd love to have each ofyou join in, too. We will be calling Sierra Club members in targeted states, and transferring them into their Senator's office voicemail to leave a message. We will urge the Senators to oppose Sen Murkowski's proposal that would limit the EPA's ability to manage green house gases. We are mobilizing in a major way to protect administrative controls on greenhouse gases and to pass a climate and energy bill in the Senate. Here's how the online phonebank works: You need a computer on the Internet and a telephone. (The computer system feeds the phone calls into your telephone - you don't even have to dial the phone.) You can work at home, at your office, at your favorite coffee shop - anywhere that you have Internet and a telephone. You can work for a half hour or for 4 hours. You can apply immediate, incisive pressure to protect administrative action to manage greenhouse gases, and pave the way for a good climate and energy bill in the Senate. Here's how to sign up: Go to www.sierraclub.org/climateleaders. Register to be a Climate Leader. Use the same web page to find the button to "Sign up for Winning Wednesday Phonebanks." Christina and Nicole will then automatically send you an email (see below) with instructions. If you have any questions at all - email or call me. I'll look forward to being on line with you on Wednesday! Thank you. -- Jane 648-0699 landline at home Conservation Chair, Southern Nevada Group of the Sierra Club Energy Chair, Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Christina & Nicole, Sierra Club <online.advocacy(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 8:12 AM Subject: Thank you for signing up to phone bank! To: feldman.jane(a)gmail.com Jane, Thank you for signing up to phone bank! Here's the info. When: Wednesday, January 13th Time: Phone banks from 6-10 pm ET, 3-7 pm PT Dial In: 866-501-6174, Conference Code: 211-1742 Learn how to use our Winning Connections system on one of two training session conference calls at 6:00 pm ET/3:00 pm PT and again at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT. This is a new system for 2010. Even if you've taken a training before, you'll want to join to see what's new. Before the call, please review the instructions on how to use the phone bank system on the sign up page. We'll post the instructions for the new system the week of January 11th. http://action.sierraclub.org/climateleaders_phone We look forward to working with you, and please don't hesitate to send us any questions you have at online.advocacy(a)sierraclub.org. Thanks for leading the way, Christina Yagjian National Conservation Organizer Nicole Ghio Sierra Club Online Organizing Sierra Club 85 Second St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Sierra Club Home Join/Donate -- Jane Conservation Chair, Southern Nevada Group of the Sierra Club Energy Chair, Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/

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Fwd: Club-wide "Call to Action on Clean Energy and Climate" - TUESDAY at 8:30pm ET
by Paul Wilson 08 Jan '10

08 Jan '10

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Verena Owen <baumling(a)aol.com> Date: Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 6:54 PM Subject: Club-wide "Call to Action on Clean Energy and Climate" - TUESDAY at 8:30pm ET To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-FORUM(a)lists.sierraclub.org *Subject: Club-wide "Call to Action on Clean Energy and Climate" - TUESDAY at 8:30pm ET PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR LISTS * Last month President Obama's EPA declared that global warming pollutionendangers human health and welfare, and announced plans to limit emissions from big polluters. This plan is now under attack by Senator Lisa Murkowskiof Alaska and other friends of Big Coal and Oil. Join us for a *Club-wide conference "Call to Action on Clean Energy and Climate" on Tuesday, January 12th at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT*. <>We will discuss critical action needed to protect the Obama Administration's ability to clean up greenhouse gas emissions and protect public health. <>We will also share legislative projections for 2010 regarding clean energy and climate solutions. When: *Tuesday, January 12th at 8:30pm Eastern * Number: 866.501.6174 code: 223 9223 Call Agenda: Welcome and Context Legislative and Administrative Strategy Campaign Tactics, Tools and Resources Questions and Answers We need your help to create a create the groundswell of support needed to defend and win a clean energy economy in 2010! Tools for Action: Action Alert (take and forward to your lists!) - * https://secure2.convio.net/sierra/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction… *<https://secure2.convio.net/sierra/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction…> Talking Points (username and password: clubhouse, explore) - * http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/politics/murk… *<http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/politics/murk…> LTEs - * http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/templates/mur… *<http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/communications/talking-points/templates/mur…> Hope you can join, for Christina Christina.Yagjian(a)sierraclub.org, Verena Owen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-FORUM list, send any message to: COAL-CAMPAIGN-FORUM-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/ -- 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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Obama to meet with Manchin - send a PATH message
by Jim Sconyers 06 Jan '10

06 Jan '10

We have been told that Gov. Manchin has a meeting set with President Obama for next week, Jan. 12 to be specific. It would be a GREAT help if all our PATH opponents could flood the White House email system with messages asking the President to stand with us, the public, rather than coal and energy interests! And ask all your family, friends and co-workers to do the same - let's see if we can't get thousands of emails sent by the 12th! Send your message using this link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/ (Cut and paste into your browser if it's not a live link in this email.) Following is a sample message. Feel free to use all or part of it, or compose your own! Dear Mr. President: I am told you will meet with West Virginia Governor Manchin on January 12, 2010, to discuss energy issues. He will no doubt promote increasing coal fired electricity to be transmitted to the mid-Atlantic and northeast states via a 765 kV transmission line known as PATH. Please reject the Governor for the following reasons: 1) Coal is horribly polluting today. Clean coal experiments are starting, but clean coal combustion will not be achievable for decades to come; 2) The PATH application in Virginia has been declared unnecessary by the applicant due to significantly flawed planning by PJM (the electricity planner for this region); 3) PATH is viable only because FERC promised a 14.3% profit on all costs associated with the project to be paid by 50 million electricity consumers in 13 states even if no power ever flows through the PATH lines and regardless of who consumes the electricity that PATH transmits; 4) PATH passes very close to hundreds of homes ruining home values and assuring a spike in childhood leukemia, breast cancer, certain brain tumors and Alzheimer's disease. The sponsors of PATH refuse to purchase the affected homes; In summary, pollution-free electrical generation is your goal to meet future needs and to replace existing production as polluting units retire. The plan to do that is well underway in this region of America. PATH and the associated increase in highly polluting coal-fired electricity transmitted hundreds of miles by the largest extension cord ever built is WRONG and NOT NEEDED. Please reject Governor Manchin and continue to promote conservation, and wind and solar power sources for electrical generation. Expansion of unneeded coal-fired electricity generation today is totally unacceptable. Sincerely, Your Name Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 304.698.9628 Remember: Mother Nature bats last.

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Public Radio program on Mountaintop Removal scheduled for 10am on Thursday January 7th
by Paul Wilson 06 Jan '10

06 Jan '10

While listening to the Diane Rehm show on WAMU public radio, I heard that tomorrow's show will be on Mountaintop Removal mining. If your public radio station does not carry the Diane Rehm show, you can listen in on their website via the link below. It would be nice to get some call or emails in to this show. You can email Diane Rehm at drshow(a)wamu.org I think this will be a 10am (ETZ) program as a book author is scheduled for 11am according to the website. http://wamu.org/programs/dr/ -- 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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FW: NYT (Friedman -- While Detroit Slept)
by James Kotcon 05 Jan '10

05 Jan '10

From my father-in-law. JBK >>> "Bob Elliott" <rdelliott(a)socal.rr.com> 12/12/2008 7:29 AM >>> <http://www.nytimes.com/> <http://www.nytimes.com/> The New York Times <http://www.nytimes.com/> _____ December 10, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist While Detroit Slept By <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/tho maslfriedman/index.html?inline=nyt-per> THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN As I think about our bailing out Detroit, I can't help but reflect on what, in my view, is the most important rule of business in today's integrated and digitized global market, where knowledge and innovation tools are so widely distributed. It's this: Whatever can be done, will be done. The only question is will it be done by you or to you. Just don't think it won't be done. If you have an idea in Detroit or Tennessee, promise me that you'll pursue it, because someone in Denmark or Tel Aviv will do so a second later. Why do I bring this up? Because someone in the mobility business in Denmark and Tel Aviv is already developing a real-world alternative to Detroit's business model. I don't know if this alternative to gasoline-powered cars will work, but I do know that it can be done - and Detroit isn't doing it. And therefore it will be done, and eventually, I bet, it will be done profitably. And when it is, our bailout of Detroit will be remembered as the equivalent of pouring billions of dollars of taxpayer money into the mail-order-catalogue business on the eve of the birth of eBay. It will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into the CD music business on the eve of the birth of the iPod and iTunes. It will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into a book-store chain on the eve of the birth of Amazon.com and the Kindle. It will be remembered as pouring billions of dollars into improving typewriters on the eve of the birth of the PC and the Internet. What business model am I talking about? It is Shai Agassi's electric car network company, called Better Place. Just last week, the company, based in Palo Alto, Calif., announced a partnership with the state of Hawaii to road test its business plan there after already inking similar deals with Israel, Australia, the San Francisco Bay area and, yes, Denmark. The Better Place electric car charging system involves generating electrons from as much renewable energy - such as wind and solar - as possible and then feeding those clean electrons into a national electric car charging infrastructure. This consists of electricity charging spots with plug-in outlets - the first pilots were opened in Israel this week - plus battery-exchange stations all over the respective country. The whole system is then coordinated by a service control center that integrates and does the billing. Under the Better Place model, consumers can either buy or lease an electric car from the French automaker Renault or Japanese companies like Nissan (General Motors snubbed Agassi) and then buy miles on their electric car batteries from Better Place the way you now buy an Apple cellphone and the minutes from AT&T. That way Better Place, or any car company that partners with it, benefits from each mile you drive. G.M. sells cars. Better Place is selling mobility miles. The first Renault and Nissan electric cars are scheduled to hit Denmark and Israel in 2011, when the whole system should be up and running. On Tuesday, Japan's Ministry of Environment invited Better Place to join the first government-led electric car project along with Honda, Mitsubishi and Subaru. Better Place was the only foreign company invited to participate, working with Japan's leading auto companies, to build a battery swap station for electric cars in Yokohama, the Detroit of Japan. What I find exciting about Better Place is that it is building a car company off the new industrial platform of the 21st century, not the one from the 20th - the exact same way that Steve Jobs did to overturn the music business. What did Apple understand first? One, that today's technology platform would allow anyone with a computer to record music. Two, that the Internet and MP3 players would allow anyone to transfer music in digital form to anyone else. You wouldn't need CDs or record companies anymore. Apple simply took all those innovations and integrated them into a single music-generating, purchasing and listening system that completely disrupted the music business. What Agassi, the founder of Better Place, is saying is that there is a new way to generate mobility, not just music, using the same platform. It just takes the right kind of auto battery - the iPod in this story - and the right kind of national plug-in network - the iTunes store - to make the business model work for electric cars at six cents a mile. The average American is paying today around 12 cents a mile for gasoline transportation, which also adds to global warming and strengthens petro-dictators. Do not expect this innovation to come out of Detroit. Remember, in 1908, the Ford Model-T got better mileage - 25 miles per gallon - than many Ford, G.M. and Chrysler models made in 2008. But don't be surprised when it comes out of somewhere else. It can be done. It will be done. If we miss the chance to win the race for Car 2.0 because we keep mindlessly bailing out Car 1.0, there will be no one to blame more than Detroit's new shareholders: we the taxpayers. _____ Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place. Try <http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000 010> it now.

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Fwd: a new month and a new year
by Paul Wilson 05 Jan '10

05 Jan '10

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: West Virginia News Service WVNS <wvnsnews(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 3:36 PM Subject: a new month and a new year To: I'm open to hearing story ideas for January. Best, Dan Heyman -- West Virginia News Service (WVNS) Toll Free: 1-800-317-6705 Fax: 540-301-0801 E-mail: wvns(a)publicnewsservice.org -- 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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Fwd: PennFuture Appeals AMDRI permit for Dunkard Creek
by James Kotcon 05 Jan '10

05 Jan '10

The actual appeal (filed Dec. 30) mentioned below is available at the link at the end of this article. It appears to be a very well-documented case and ties together Dunkard Creek, Longview, ConSol (Himphrey Mine), Dana Mining, PA-DEP, and AMD Reclamation, Inc. This is some important reading. JBK >>> Betty Wiley betty.w304(a)gmail.com> 1/4/2010 11:27 PM >> ( mailto:betty.w304@gmail.com> ) http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view… Business Wire January 04, 2010 05:12 PM Eastern Time PennFuture, Friends of Dunkard Creek File Appeal on Mine Water Treatment Permit Allowing Dirty Water to Be Released into Creek Permit Changed without Public Notice HARRISBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Attorneys with Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) last week filed an appeal before the Environmental Hearing Board challenging an amendment to the permit for the Shannopin Mine Dewatering Project. The appeal was filed on behalf of Friends of Dunkard Creek, as well as PennFuture. "The relaxed standards do not apply to the water being pumped from Consol's permitted Humphrey No. 7 Mine, which is not being done to avert a disaster, but to allow mining of the coal reserves above the Humphrey Mine." The Shannopin Mine Dewatering Project, which was designed to prevent a catastrophic breakout of acid mine water from the abandoned Shannopin Mine into Dunkard Creek, was originally granted a permit allowing less stringent cleanup of the dangerous water. The challenged permit amendment, for which no public notice was given, would allow the project to collect water from Consolidation Coal Company's (Consol) permitted Humphrey No. 7 Mine, where no breakout risk exists, and to treat that water to the less than optimal cleanup allowed in the original emergency situation. The permit amendment was granted by the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Mining Program despite a finding nine months before by a DEP biologist that the Shannopin Project's discharge into Dunkard Creek contained high levels of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and other pollutants, which were causing harm to aquatic life in the creek. The permit amendment was issued two months after a massive kill of fish, mussels, and salamanders occurred in more than 40 miles of Dunkard Creek. "The lax water cleanup standards were allowed originally to avert an emergency - an impending breakout of acid mine pollution from the abandoned Shannopin Mine that would have severely polluted miles of Dunkard Creek and the Monongahela River," said PennFuture Senior Attorney Kurt Weist. "The relaxed standards do not apply to the water being pumped from Consol's permitted Humphrey No. 7 Mine, which is not being done to avert a disaster, but to allow mining of the coal reserves above the Humphrey Mine. "In March, DEP's water quality experts recommended that more stringent water quality limits be included in the renewal of the discharge permit for the Shannopin Project, which is now nearly sixteen months overdue," continued Weist. "It obviously is unreasonable to issue an amendment allowing another source of mine drainage to be connected to the Shannopin Project's treatment system before DEP renews the existing permit and puts the more protective limits into effect." Jim O'Connell of Friends of Dunkard Creek agreed, "How anyone could have granted this permit revision after the destruction we experienced last summer is beyond me. And you can bet that if there had been any public notice, DEP would have heard our objections loud and clear. It's time to reverse this backroom deal and clean up the water." A copy of the appeal filed by PennFuture is online at http://www.pennfuture.org/userfiles10/CalvinRunNOAwithoutattachments.pdf Contacts Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future Jeanne K. Clark, 412-258-6683 or 412-736-6092 info(a)pennfuture.org www.pennfuture.org ( http://www.pennfuture.org/ ) At A Glance Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) Headquarters: Harrisburg, PA Website: http://www.pennfuture.org ( http://www.pennfuture.org/ ) CEO: Jan Jarrett Employees: 21 Organization: Non-profit Source: via Business Wire Updated 03/24/2009 by company Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100104006386/en/PennFuture%2C-Frien…

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EC January 2010