EC

ec@lists.wvsierraclub.org

2254 discussions

Fw: Vote in MTR poll
by Frank Young 09 Aug '11

09 Aug '11

Currently showing 63 percent "No". Let's make it 90 percent! ----- Original Message ----- From: Vernon Haltom To: FOM, List ; MJSlist, MJSlist Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 10:59 PM Subject: [fom] Vote in poll "Should surface mining be allowed on Coal River Mountain?" Vote NO at http://wowktv.com/ -- Vernon Haltom Executive Director, Coal River Mountain Watch 304-854-2182 www.crmw.net

1 0

Fwd: We. Must. Stop. This.
by James Kotcon 08 Aug '11

08 Aug '11

Long, but interesting call to action. "Essentially game over" for the climate. That's what climate scientist James Hanson calls the proposed Keystone XL pipeline -- which would carry oil out of Canada's vast tar sands oil fields to Texas, where it will be refined, then burned across the globe, dealing a catastrophic blow to our chance of returning earth to a stable climate. See the rest below. JBK >>> "Elijah Zarlin, CREDO Action" <act(a)credoaction.com> 8/6/2011 10:19 AM >>> Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230956&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=20 Pres. Obama alone has the power to stop this massive blow to our climate. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230956&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=21 Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to President Obama: "The tar sands represent a catastrophic threat to our communities, our climate, and our planet. President Obama, you have the final word. You do not have to negotiate with Congress or industry. We urge you to demonstrate real climate leadership by rejecting the requested permit for the Keystone XL pipeline." http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=23 Automatically add your name: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=24 Learn more about this campaign http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230956&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=26 Dear James, "Essentially game over" for the climate. That's what climate scientist James Hanson calls the proposed Keystone XL pipeline -- which would carry oil out of Canada's vast tar sands oil fields to Texas, where it will be refined, then burned across the globe, dealing a catastrophic blow to our chance of returning earth to a stable climate. This project requires a presidential permit to start building -- and it is President Obama's decision alone to grant or deny that permit. He will make the decision as soon as September. Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Click here to automatically sign the petition. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=27 The Alberta tar sands are a carbon bomb. The 3rd largest oil field in the world, the difficult extraction and transportation of the tar sands oil ultimately produces up to three times the carbon emissions of traditional oil. (And extreme environmental devastation along the way.)1 The Keystone XL pipeline is the fuse to this bomb -- a highway to swift consumption of this dirty, dangerous crude. As if that wasn't enough, it poses a massive spill risk in the six states along the pipeline route, including over the Ogallala Aquifer which provides up to 30% of our nation's agricultural water. We. Must. Stop. This. Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Click here to automatically sign the petition. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=28 Twenty leading climate scientists have just sent a letter to President Obama urging him to deny the permit. And from August 20th to September 3rd, there will be a massive, historic, daily sit-in outside the White House where more than 1500 people, including CREDO staff, have already signed up to risk arrest in peaceful protest. (For more about the sit-in, see below.) The administration's previous decisions on climate do not inspire confidence that they will deny the permit. Just this week, the administration approved offshore oil drilling in the Arctic. They have opened vast new areas to coal mining, and late last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even said that she was "inclined" to approve Keystone XL. But President Obama still has the final word. He does not have to negotiate with Congress or industry. As his State Department reviews the permit, the decision -- which could have a devastating impact on the livability of our nation, and our world -- is entirely in his hands. We've lost too many climate fights already. We need a massive, historic show of pressure to make sure we don't lose this one. Please sign the petition and read below for other ways to get involved. Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Click here to automatically sign the petition. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=29 Thank you for fighting for an oil-free future. Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=11&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=30 1. "Keystone XL Pipeline http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230958&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=31 ," Friends of the Earth -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Because this fight is so important, leading climate activists including Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein and climate scientist James Hansen are organizing a historic, daily series of peaceful protests between August 20th and Sept. 3rd. The CEOs and Directors of nearly 30 leading Environmental Organizations, including CREDO's Michael Kieschnick and Laura Scher, are urging people to participate http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230959&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=32 .. More than 1500 people from across the country, including CREDO staff, have already signed up to join the sit-in outside the White House and risk arrest. Please read the invitation letter below for more information. If you would like to sign up to join the protest, and possibly be arrested, click here to sign up. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230961&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=33 Dear Friends, This will be a slightly longer letter than common for the internet age -- it's serious stuff. The short version is we want you to consider doing something hard: coming to Washington in the hottest and stickiest weeks of the summer and engaging in civil disobedience that will quite possibly get you arrested. The full version goes like this: As you know, the planet is steadily warming: 2010 was the warmest year on record, and we've seen the resulting chaos in almost every corner of the earth. And as you also know, our democracy is increasingly controlled by special interests interested only in their short-term profit. These two trends collide this summer in Washington, where the State Department and the White House have to decide whether to grant a certificate of 'national interest' to some of the biggest fossil fuel players on earth. These corporations want to build the so-called 'Keystone XL Pipeline' from Canada's tar sands to Texas refineries. To call this project a horror is serious understatement. The tar sands have wrecked huge parts of Alberta, disrupting ways of life in indigenous communities -- First Nations communities in Canada, and tribes along the pipeline route in the U.S. have demanded the destruction cease. The pipeline crosses crucial areas like the Ogallala Aquifer where a spill would be disastrous -- and though the pipeline companies insist they are using 'state of the art' technologies that should leak only once every 7 years, the precursor pipeline and its pumping stations have leaked a dozen times in the past year. These local impacts alone would be cause enough to block such a plan. But the Keystone Pipeline would also be a fifteen hundred mile fuse to the biggest carbon bomb on the continent, a way to make it easier and faster to trigger the final overheating of our planet, the one place to which we are all indigenous. As the climatologist Jim Hansen (one of the signatories to this letter) explained, if we have any chance of getting back to a stable climate "the principal requirement is that coal emissions must be phased out by 2030 and unconventional fossil fuels, such as tar sands, must be left in the ground." In other words, he added, "if the tar sands are thrown into the mix it is essentially game over." The Keystone pipeline is an essential part of the game. "Unless we get increased market access, like with Keystone XL, we're going to be stuck," said Ralph Glass, an economist and vice-president at AJM Petroleum Consultants in Calgary, told a Canadian newspaper last week. Given all that, you'd suspect that there's no way the Obama administration would ever permit this pipeline. But in the last few months the administration has signed pieces of paper opening much of Alaska to oil drilling, and permitting coal-mining on federal land in Wyoming that will produce as much CO2 as 300 powerplants operating at full bore. And Secretary of State Clinton has already said she's 'inclined' to recommend the pipeline go forward. Partly it's because of the political commotion over high gas prices, though more tar sands oil would do nothing to change that picture. But it's also because of intense pressure from industry. The US Chamber of Commerce -- a bigger funder of political campaigns than the RNC and DNC combined -- has demanded that the administration "move quickly to approve the Keystone XL pipeline," which is not so surprising -- they've also told the U.S. EPA that if the planet warms that will be okay because humans can 'adapt their physiology' to cope. The Koch Brothers, needless to say, are also backing the plan, and may reap huge profits from it. So we're pretty sure that without serious pressure the Keystone Pipeline will get its permit from Washington. A wonderful coalition of environmental groups has built a strong campaign across the continent -- from Cree and Dene indigenous leaders to Nebraska farmers, they've spoken out strongly against the destruction of their land. We need to join them, and to say even if our own homes won't be crossed by this pipeline, our joint home -- the earth -- will be wrecked by the carbon that pours down it. And we need to say something else, too: it's time to stop letting corporate power make the most important decisions our planet faces. We don't have the money to compete with those corporations, but we do have our bodies, and beginning in mid August many of us will use them. We will, each day, march on the White House, risking arrest with our trespass. We will do it in dignified fashion, demonstrating that in this case we are the conservatives, and that our foes -- who would change the composition of the atmosphere are dangerous radicals. Come dressed as if for a business meeting -- this is, in fact, serious business. And another sartorial tip -- if you wore an Obama button during the 2008 campaign, why not wear it again? We very much still want to believe in the promise of that young Senator who told us that with his election the 'rise of the oceans would begin to slow and the planet start to heal.' We don't understand what combination of bureaucratic obstinacy and insider dealing has derailed those efforts, but we remember his request that his supporters continue on after the election to pressure his government for change. We'll do what we can. And one more thing: we don't just want college kids to be the participants in this fight. They've led the way so far on climate change -- 10,000 came to DC for the Powershift gathering earlier this spring. They've marched this month in West Virginia to protest mountaintop removal; a young man named Tim DeChristopher faces sentencing this summer in Utah for his creative protest. Now it's time for people who've spent their lives pouring carbon into the atmosphere to step up too, just as many of us did in earlier battles for civil rights or for peace. Most of us signing this letter are veterans of this work, and we think it's past time for elders to behave like elders. One thing we don't want is a smash up: if you can't control your passions, this action is not for you. This won't be a one-shot day of action. We plan for it to continue for several weeks, till the administration understands we won't go away. Not all of us can actually get arrested -- half the signatories to this letter live in Canada, and might well find our entry into the U.S. barred. But we will be making plans for sympathy demonstrations outside Canadian consulates in the U.S., and U.S. consulates in Canada -- the decision-makers need to know they're being watched. Twenty years of patiently explaining the climate crisis to our leaders hasn't worked. Maybe moral witness will help. You have to start somewhere, and we choose here and now. If you think you might want to be a part of this action, we need you to sign up here. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230961&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=34 As plans solidify in the next few weeks we'll be in touch with you to arrange nonviolence training; our colleagues at a variety of environmental and democracy campaigns will be coordinating the actual arrangements. We know we're asking a lot. You should think long and hard on it, and pray if you're the praying type. But to us, it's as much privilege as burden to get to join this fight in the most serious possible way. We hope you'll join us. Maude Barlow -- Chair, Council of Canadians Wendell Berry -- Author and Farmer Tom Goldtooth -- Director, Indigenous Environmental Network Danny Glover -- Actor James Hansen -- Climate Scientist Wes Jackson -- Agronomist, President of the Land Insitute Naomi Klein -- Author and Journalist Bill McKibben -- Writer and Environmentalist George Poitras -- Mikisew Cree Indigenous First Nation Gus Speth -- Environmental Lawyer and Activist David Suzuki -- Scientist, Environmentalist and Broadcaster Joseph B. Uehlein -- Labor organizer and environmentalist -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share on Facebook Post to your wall http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230962&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=36 Tweet this Post to Twitter http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230967&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=38 References Visible links .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230956&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=20 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230956&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=21 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230956&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=22 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=23 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=24 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=25 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230956&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=26 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=27 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=28 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230957&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=29 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=11&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=30 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230958&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=31 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230959&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=32 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230961&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=33 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230961&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=34 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230962&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=35 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230962&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=36 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230967&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=37 .. http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=230967&id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx&t=38 ________________ To remove yourself (James Kotcon) from this list, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/s?i=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx To change your email address or update your contact info, please visit: http://act.credoaction.com/subscrip/coa.html?id=25349-2577149-5IfUfNx

1 0

WSJ.com - Gas Drilling Bringing Jobs to Pennsylvania, but How Many?
by diapalino 02 Aug '11

02 Aug '11

You have received the following link from diapalino(a)gmail.com ******************** If you are having trouble with any of the links in this message, or if the URL's are not appearing as links, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this email. Title: WSJ.com - Gas Drilling Bringing Jobs to Pennsylvania, but How Many? This article will be available to non-subscribers of the Online Journal for up to seven days after it is e-mailed. Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to access the sent link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMail… Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to SAVE THIS link: http://www.savethis.clickability.com/st/saveThisPopupApp?clickMap=saveFromE… Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to forward this link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=forward&etMailT… ******************** Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=browserButtons&…" ********************* Instructions: ----------------------------------------- If your e-mail program doesn't recognize Web addresses: 1. With your mouse, highlight the Web Address above. Be sure to highlight the entire Web address, even if it spans more than one line in your email. 2. Select Copy from the Edit menu at the top of your screen. 3. Launch your Web browser. 4. Paste the address into your Web browser by selecting Paste from the Edit menu. 5. Click Go or press Enter or Return on your keyboard. ********************

1 0

WSJ.com - Left for Extinct, a Steel Plant Rises in Ohio
by diapalino 02 Aug '11

02 Aug '11

You have received the following link from diapalino(a)gmail.com ******************** If you are having trouble with any of the links in this message, or if the URL's are not appearing as links, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this email. Title: WSJ.com - Left for Extinct, a Steel Plant Rises in Ohio This article will be available to non-subscribers of the Online Journal for up to seven days after it is e-mailed. Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to access the sent link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMail… Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to SAVE THIS link: http://www.savethis.clickability.com/st/saveThisPopupApp?clickMap=saveFromE… Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to forward this link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=forward&etMailT… ******************** Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=browserButtons&…" ********************* Instructions: ----------------------------------------- If your e-mail program doesn't recognize Web addresses: 1. With your mouse, highlight the Web Address above. Be sure to highlight the entire Web address, even if it spans more than one line in your email. 2. Select Copy from the Edit menu at the top of your screen. 3. Launch your Web browser. 4. Paste the address into your Web browser by selecting Paste from the Edit menu. 5. Click Go or press Enter or Return on your keyboard. ********************

1 0

Fwd: EPA REFUSES TO STUDY RISKS OF COAL ASH USES IT ENDORSES
by Jim Sconyers 02 Aug '11

02 Aug '11

coal ash in cattle feed? Eeeeewww! ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Russ Maddox <russmaddox(a)yahoo.com> Date: Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 3:29 PM Subject: EPA REFUSES TO STUDY RISKS OF COAL ASH USES IT ENDORSES To: COAL-COMBUSTION-WASTE(a)lists.sierraclub.org http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1499 For Immediate Release: July 18, 2011 Contact: Kirsten Stade (202) 265-7337 *EPA REFUSES TO STUDY RISKS OF COAL ASH USES IT ENDORSES * — Scientists Told Agency Does Not Want Safety Concerns Raised about Coal Ash Washington, DC — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prevents its scientists from examining health risks of coal combustion wastes being added to consumer, agricultural and commercial products even though the agency promotes these practices as safe, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Despite a scathing Office of Inspector General (IG) report earlier this year taking the agency to task for failing to complete a single safety review on the 60 million tons of coal ash and other combustion wastes entering the U.S. marketplace each year, EPA indicates that it has no intention of doing any risk assessments in the near future. In a June 16, 2011 reply to the IG, EPA Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus stated that while “protection of human health and the environment is a critical prerequisite to promoting the beneficial use of coal combustion residuals…we do not yet have a timeline for developing the evaluation process regarding the beneficial use” of coal wastes. He indicated EPA will wait until it finalizes regulations governing coal ash (2013, at the earliest) before considering dangers of how coal ash is actually used. “EPA just gave its IG the middle finger,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that most all of the safety information on coal ash in products comes from the industry. “Thanks to EPA, Congress and the public have no idea which, if any, applications of coal ash are safe or environmentally benign.” Compounding this data gap, IG investigative materials PEER obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show EPA scientists’ safety concerns about coal ash are routinely “steamrolled” and ignored. Scientists could not even get the answer to the basic question of “What’s in this stuff?” For example – - EPA gave an award to a company that sold coal ash in cement “by putting the mixture into plastic bags and selling it to customers at Home Depot” despite knowing of a prominent study finding that particulate matter in these wastes “caused a morbidity and mortality spike in humans”; - Some coal combustion wastes have radiation levels comparable to those at Superfund sites but no warnings are issued for people living close to where these wastes are stored or used; and - Officials downplayed scientific recommendations against including combustion wastes in agricultural products, such as livestock feeders and soil treatments. “It is disturbing that EPA applauds consumers being sold bags of toxic waste,” added Ruch, noting that although EPA shut down its formal partnership with industry to promote coal ash reuse in mid-2010 under pressure from both PEER and the IG, it continues to push coal ash as a “beneficial use” through other programs. “EPA claims to be a science-based agency but it is bending over backward to ensure that its decisions about coal ash occur in a science-free zone.” ### Read the EPA response to the IG<http://peer.org/docs/epa/7_18_11_EPA_reply_IG.pdf> Look at the IG report and how EPA continues to promote coal ash <http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1469> See how EPA prevents scientists from asking or answering questions <http://peer.org/docs/epa/7_18_11_EPA_sci_suppression.pdf> View the array of products containing coal ash<http://www.peer.org/campaigns/publichealth/coalash/everywhere.php> Examine push to use coal ash in agricultural products despite questions<http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1266> <http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1499#top> Contact PEER <http://www.peer.org/about/contact.php> Tell-a-Friend<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/823/t/3694/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_frie…> Your Privacy <http://www.peer.org/about/privacy.php> Ph: (202) 265-7337 • Fax: (202) 265-4192 • email: info[at]peer.org all content © peer.org 2011 website by puffinworks <http://www.puffinworks.com/> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-COMBUSTION-WASTE list, send any message to: COAL-COMBUSTION-WASTE-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp -- Jim Sconyers jimscon(a)gmail.com 304.698.9628 Remember, Mother Nature bats last.

2 1

Fwd: 8 coal-burners closed Fwd: Ontario Waves Bye-Bye To Coal Fired Power Generation
by James Kotcon 28 Jul '11

28 Jul '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jane Feldman <feldman.jane(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, Jul 26, 2011 at 11:19 AM Subject: 8 coal-burners closed Fwd: Ontario Waves Bye-Bye To Coal Fired Power Generation To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)lists.sierraclub.org Hi,all - THIS is what today's technology and today's grid can do. It looks like a feed-in-tariff led the way. Jane --- Ontario Waves Bye-Bye To Coal Fired Power Generation by Energy Matters [image: Coal fired power generation phaseout - Ontario Canada] Ontario, Canada's most populated province, has seen a boom in renewable energy jobs, with 20,000 employed in the sector. It's not such a rosy picture for the coal industry though, with coal fired power generation in Ontario slated to go the way of the dodo by 2014. Ontario's Ministry of Energy says the province's Green Energy Act is on track to create 50,000 clean energy jobs by 2012 and coal usage for the first six months of 2011 was 94 per cent lower than for the same period in 2003. According to Ontario's recently released 2011 Progress Report<http://www.ontario.ca/en/initiatives/progressreport2011/index.htm>, eight coal fired power generation units have been closed already and two more will close later in 2011. Thanks to initiatives such as feed-in tariffs, renewable energy is rapidly replacing fossil fuels. To date, over 2,000 medium and large-scale feed in tariff projects have been announced, representing enough electricity each year to provide the power requirements for around 900,000 homes. Ontario's government says it will be one of the first places in the world and the first in North America to cease coal-fired power generation totally. It has set a goal of eliminating coal entirely by 2014. It believes shutting down coal will save Ontario's health care system CAD$3 billion annually and in relation to emissions, will be the equivalent of taking up to 7 million cars off the roads. The Ministry predicts that by 2018, 10.7 gigawatts of clean renewable electricity from wind<http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-energy/wind-energy/> , solar <http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-energy/solar-power/> and bio-energy will be operational; producing enough electricity for 2 million households. Residents of Ontario are also becoming more energy efficient, saving 1,700 megawatts of electricity through conservation - which is the equivalent of taking half a million homes off the grid. Ontario's clean energy economy has generated more than $20 billion in new private-sector investment. The province's energy plan will rebuild 70 per cent of its electricity infrastructure over the next 2 decades. While Ontario's commitment to renewables and the end of coal is admirable; its continuing love affair with nuclear power has been criticised. Nuclear power has been part of Ontario's energy mix since the 1960's and currently provides more than half of the power used by Ontarians every day. ### - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the TOIYABE-ENERGY-TF list, send any message to: TOIYABE-ENERGY-TF-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/ -- Jane Conservation Chair, Southern Nevada Group of the Sierra Club Energy Chair, Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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

5 4

Public hearing report from Clarksburg
by James Kotcon 28 Jul '11

28 Jul '11

It was standing room only, with over 800 in attendance. 115 people spoke with comments limited to 90 seconds, so it was 11:30 PM before we finished. Several other area Delegates attended, but again, no one from the State Senate. Del. Tim Manchin chaired and indicated the Senate was tied up in re-districting meetings, but was there "in spirit" Industry did pull out the stops, as a lot of people had the "Natural Gas" stickers on their shirts. They got in early, and 22 of the first 24 speakers were from industry. But they also mostly left early, which prompted some complaints from those landowners speaking near the end, but a number from the pro-regulation side also left early, so I am not sure that was a valid complaint. The pro-regulation side ended up with 64 speakers, the industry reps had 49, and 2 were so unclear, convoluted and confused that I could not tell which side they were on. My final count for the three hearings is 74 pro-industry, 136 pro-regulation, 10 unclear. The tally should probably be even higher because most of the pro-industry reps said they supported a clean environment and "reasonable" regulations, but always emphasized jobs, which I interpret as code for "No More Regs" because they always insisted they were already doing a great job. JBK

1 0

Gazettee discovers Tomblin weakened Executive Order
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 28 Jul '11

28 Jul '11

http://wv4mom.org/content/charleston-gazette-discovers-tomblin-weakened-exe… -Jonathan

1 0

Fwd: FW: [fom] Manchin's millions from coal
by Jim Sconyers 26 Jul '11

26 Jul '11

Read it and weep. In the U. S. Senate, this is not a conflict of interest! ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Vivian Stockman <vivian(a)ohvec.org> Date: Tue, Jul 26, 2011 at 1:12 PM Subject: FW: [fom] Manchin's millions from coal To: Jim Sconyers <jimscon(a)gmail.com> Great quote!**** ** ** *From:* fom-owner(a)lists.riseup.net [mailto:fom-owner@lists.riseup.net] *On Behalf Of *Vernon Haltom *Sent:* Tuesday, July 26, 2011 1:01 PM *To:* FOM, List *Subject:* [fom] Manchin's millions from coal**** ** ** Just in case anybody had any doubts about why Manchin doesn't mind MTR killing us: http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/07/26/26greenwire-sen-manchin-maintains-l… -- Vernon Haltom Executive Director, Coal River Mountain Watch 304-854-2182 www.crmw.net**** ** ** -- Jim Sconyers jimscon(a)gmail.com 304.698.9628 Remember, Mother Nature bats last.

2 1

Re: [EC] In Beckley paper: Money to Sierra Club prompts boos
by Jim Sconyers 26 Jul '11

26 Jul '11

Translation: "Coal now, coal forever! And to hell with the consequences!" On Sat, Jul 23, 2011 at 8:29 AM, Vivian Stockman <vivian(a)ohvec.org> wrote: > July 22, 2011 **** > Money to Sierra Club prompts boos<http://www.register-herald.com/local/x202401951/Money-to-Sierra-Club-prompt…> > **** > > By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter<http://www.register-herald.com> > **** > > > http://www.register-herald.com/local/x202401951/Money-to-Sierra-Club-prompt… > **** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > An industry leader joined a union chief and political luminaries in West > Virginia in a sustained chorus of boos directed Thursday at billionaire New > York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s hefty gift to an environmental group bent on > wiping out the coal industry. > > Bloomberg disclosed he handed a $50 million donation to the Sierra Club > from his own pocket for use in the group’s quest to shut down coal mining > the two consider an environmental hazard. > > His action triggered a swift and predictable response in coal-rich West > Virginia. > > “The next time the lights go out, the people in New York City will all know > exactly whom to blame — their mayor, Michael Bloomberg,” Rep. Nick Rahall, > D-W.Va., said from his Capitol office. > > Bloomberg said his gift would enable the Sierra Club to close as many as > one-third of America’s oldest coal-fired power plants by 2020. > > Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin weighed in on the latest controversy involving > the industry, calling coal “the most stable, cost-effective means of meeting > the energy demands of our country and the world.” > > “With the use of our natural resources here in West Virginia, our country > becomes more energy-independent,” Tomblin said. > > Tomblin helped break ground on the new Willow Island hydro-electric project > near Saint Marys. > > “The fact, however, that we are looking for other sources of energy — and > developing clean coal technologies — does not mean that our country can > afford to no longer use coal,” the governor said. “Coal must be a part of > any realistic solution to meet our growing demand for energy.” > > Given the size of the charitable gift that could be spent on hiring lawyers > to challenge coal production and power plants alike, Bill Raney, president > of the West Virginia Coal Association, said the industry must view > Bloomberg’s threat seriously. > > “It sends a terrible message to coal miners and families that depend on > coal, not only in West Virginia but across this country,” Raney said. “It > has provided energy to make steel and power throughout the history of this > country. Now, all of a sudden, he’s made a lot of money doing something, and > he wants to put it into something that sounds pretty shallow, pretty > selfish.” > > Raney noted the mercury hovered at 100 degrees in both New York and > Washington, D.C., and was 97 in Charleston, and questioned how Bloomberg > would act if the electricity suddenly stop-ped with a lack of coal. > > “Let’s assume he takes all the coal generation off the grid,” he said. “If > he accomplishes quickly what he wants to do, I’m wondering what he’s going > to do?” > > The industry has been in a roiling feud with the Obama administration over > its Environmental Protection Agency’s approach to mining permits, and Raney > said coal operators must brace themselves for a well-heeled assault by the > Sierra Club in a bid to stop coal plants and force others to retreat from > remodeling plans. > > “They’ll just be flinging grenades, is what I think,” he said. “It’s simply > not fair to the people who have made a living trying to provide energy in > this country. It’s just like he thumbed his nose at it. It doesn’t make a > lick of sense.” > > Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., found it disappointing that Bloomberg launched > an attack on coal, rather than work to achieve a balance between production > and environmental concerns. > > “Coal not only built this country, but it built the skyscrapers of New York > City, and, without coal, the lights of that city would be dark and its > economy would be devastated,” the senator said. > > “I have said from day one, and will say until my last breath, that there > has to be a balance in our country between the environment as well as our > economic and national security, which are threatened by this country’s > addiction to foreign oil.” > > Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming, pointed to a time when the lights indeed > went out in the Big Apple, in a major blackout that crippled much of the > eastern seaboard. > > And with one of the worst heat waves to ever paralyze much of that region > now in sway, Browning said coal takes on an even more critical role in > supplying the energy to keep the air conditioners humming. > > “Can you imagine what it would be like today without electricity right now, > as far as air conditioners go?” > > If coal weren’t being burn-ed to supply energy needs, he said, those swept > up in the heat would be at nature’s mercy without benefit of relief. > > “That’s not the kind of leadership that I would want to set for the people > I represent, to advocate something that’s going to be detrimental to their > way of life,” Browning said. > > Browning said he considers himself both an environmentalist and a realist. > > “In today’s life, we need to make electricity, and the only feasible way to > do that at this point is with coal,” the senator said. “There will come a > day we can do better with coal. We’re all trying to achieve that today.” > > Browning pointed to research in progress in both Pittsburgh and West > Virginia University aimed at cleaning up the use of coal. > > “We all want to have cleaner coal, and we’re getting there,” he said. “In > the meantime, we can’t stop using it until we get an alternative.” > > The Sierra Club says it has applied the brakes to more than 150 new > coal-fired power plants in recent years through the use of the courts and > local action. > > “If we are going to get serious about reducing our carbon footprint in the > United States, we have to get serious about coal,” Bloomberg said in making > his announcement. > > “Coal is a self-inflicted public health risk, polluting the air we breathe, > adding mercury to our water and the leading cause of climate disruption.” > > Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Maloney vowed to take on Bloomberg, > the Sierra Club, President Obama “and anybody else who attacks one of the > pillars of our state’s economy.” > > “I’m convinced that when you get elected to office, there must be some > magic potion they feed you that causes you to become completely detached > from reality and lose touch with regular people,” he said of Bloomberg. > > “This is just another example of career politicians with half-baked ideas > that would devastate our economy.” > > United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts likewise decried Bloomberg’s > gift, saying that it would throw miners out of work and plunge them deeper > into the throes of a recession. > > In some parts of Appala-chia, the union executive said, mining jobs provide > the only decent incomes that allow workers to sustain a solid, middle-class > lifestyle. > > Moreover, he suggested, there is a measure of hypo-crisy to the > environmental cause trumpeted by groups such as the Sierra Club. > > “I suspect that many of their members and supporters spend thousands of > dollars every year on automobiles, computers, smart phones and other goods > made in China, India and other countries, which are rapidly building > economies more robust than ours by using more and more coal as their chief > source of energy,” he said. > > “I would also point out that China is swiftly becoming the world’s leader > in developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which will meet > the goal of reducing and eventually eliminating greenhouse gas emissions > when commercially applied to coal-fired power plants.” > > Delegate Randy Swartz-miller, D-Hancock, suggested Bloomberg not try to run > for office in West Virginia because his vote total would be scant. > > “That is, if he didn’t get run out of the state first,” Swartzmiller said. > > “Just have to wonder if someone that rich is smart enough to know what > truly powers that little switch that makes the lights come on.” > > — E-mail: mannix(a)register-herald.com**** > > [image: http://w.sharethis.com/chicklets/email.gif]**** > > ** ** > -- Jim Sconyers jimscon(a)gmail.com 304.698.9628 Remember, Mother Nature bats last.

2 1

Jump to page:

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

EC