I agree that a reasoned, calm, detailed and fact driven response would be appropriate. I think it's important NOT to take their bait and come back with a personal attack on the individuals. The facts are powerful enuf.
On Saturday, July 23, 2011, James Kotcon <jkotcon@wvu.edu> wrote: > I think we need to attack the short-sighted leaders who think of coal first, and deny the reality of global warming, especially during this year of unprecedented weather.
> > Manchin ran his campaign by literally shooting at the Cap-And-Trade bill, which would have included the subsidies for Clean Coal and the economic incentives needed for CCS. West Virginia's political leaders do not have any plans for developing a transition to a post-coal future, and are therefore blind to the possibilities and are locking us into ever-increasing dependence on an industry doomed to run out, and sooner than they imagine. Projections show a 40 % decline ion coal produciton in WV within 5 years, yet they continue to talk as if coal is the future of West Virginia's economic development.
> > I believe we need to respond soon. It will expose us to a lot of attacks, but it will also position us as credible leaders on the issues. I think we need a press release, or even a press conference by Monday.
> > Whaddya Tink? > > JBK > >>>> Jim Sconyers 07/23/11 8:43 AM >>> > Translation: "Coal now, coal forever! And to hell with the consequences!" >
> On Sat, Jul 23, 2011 at 8:29 AM, Vivian Stockman <vivian@ohvec.org> wrote: > > July 22, 2011 > > Money to Sierra Club prompts boos <http://www.register-herald.com/local/x202401951/Money-to-Sierra-Club-prompts-boos>
> > By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter <http://www.register-herald.com/> > > http://www.register-herald.com/local/x202401951/Money-to-Sierra-Club-prompts-boos
> > > > > > 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 oi