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@yahoo.com 304.698.9628
Remember: Mother Nature bats last.