This movement keeps moving: Updates from our coalfield friends...

Posted by Sierra on July 10th, 2009

The 100 Days project may have ended two months ago, but that didn't stop Power Past Coaler's from amping up action in their own communities.  While the JOBS project in southeast West Virginia continues to spark neighborly interest in true "energy independence" -- opportunities for community-owned wind -- impacted residents and welcomed activists in the Coal River Valley have been taking a stoic stand against mountaintop removal.  On June 23rd, twenty-nine valley residents and activists -- including Dr. James Hansen and Daryl Hannah -- were arrested in front of the Marfork coal prep plant, which sits just across the river from Marsh Fork Elementary School.  Meanwhile, impacted community members from Chicago and West Virginia have arranged "holler-to-the-hood" exchanges to learn and share in one anothers' struggle.  And from Black Mesa, 100th Day delegate Marie Gladue just sent this essay of hers our way...it's a beautiful reflection on her community's journey to Washington D.C.  

 In the national news, coal's been no stranger -- the climate bill (which just passed in the house) has put coal front and center, unfortunately in a way that could make it impossible to replace coal with cleaner, more just sources of energy.  Two Power Past Coal organizers, Ben Wessel and Lois Parshley, put together this step-by-step guide to good climate policy.  As impacted communities recognize, the climate bill is not even close to "good" yet.  

 And the future of the Power Past Coal project?  That's to be determined.  In the meantime, keep emailing your news to sierra@powerpastcoal.org, feel free to keep posting your actions on the website (we'll help advertise), and stay tuned for news on an upcoming Power Past Coal gathering in the fall. 

 Keep up the good fight! 

Power Past Coal Video!

Posted by Sierra on May 11th, 2009

Here's a little sneak-peak of what's to come when we assemble all of our footage of the great work Power Past Coaler's have done in these 100 Days...

100th Day a Success!

Posted by Sierra on

The 100th day was an incredibly successful start to an essential and ongoing dialogue between grassroots leaders impacted by coal, and those who could bring green economic solutions to their communities. In our meeting with the EPA, chief climate adviser Bob Sussman said, “These are the voices I needed to hear. It makes a real difference to hear from people living with these issues on a daily basis.”

Over its first 100 days, the Power Past Coal project has grown faster than any of us could have imagined. We’re the first nationwide project to have successfully engaged hundreds of impacted community members from every region of the country, impacted at every stage of the coal cycle. By making the stories of these impacted communities prominent – and by bringing their voices straight to our leaders in the EPA, CEQ, and Congress – we’ve made remarkable progress: coal plants stopped, mining permits revoked, and investments in renewables and green jobs promised.

We know we’ve found an important niche to fill, so as we reflect on this exciting new movement and plan our forward steps, we want to make sure to carry this grassroots momentum and keep doing what we’ve done best: connect the people who before thought they were alone in the fight.

Boundless thanks to everyone who worked together to make this project a success!  Here's to our movement...

The 100th Day Events: Details for the Press and Other Attendees

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Coalfield Residents Want Wind in West Virginia

Posted by Jenny Hudson on April 27th, 2009

Seventeen residents from four southern West Virginia coal counties met early Saturday morning, April 25th to take a tour of the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center in Tucker and Preston Counties and the Mount Storm wind farms in Grant County.   

The 250 mile trip took just over five hours each way.  The group met for lunch at a local restaurant, proceeded to the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center, and ended the trip at Mt. Storm Lake for a picnic with a comparative view of Mt. Storm's wind farm and the Mt. Storm coal fired power plant.

The Mountaineer Wind Energy Center is a 66 megawatt plant with 44 1.5 megawatt turbines that generate enough electricity to power 22,000 homes.  It began commercial operation in 2002. Mount Storm, located in Grant County, WV consists of a total of 132 wind turbines stretching along 12 miles of the Allegheny Front, and can generate up to 264 megawatts, or enough electricity to serve about 66,000 homes and businesses.

Arranged by the JOBS project (Just and Open Businesses that are Sustainable) in collaboration with FRIEnergy, Coal River Mountain Wind and OVEC, the group went to see 1.5 megawatt wind turbines up close and spoke with development officials about energy options in the southern part of the state.

Participants were most interested in the process of wind energy development, economic benefits, and community ownership of wind turbines.

Robert Burns, who worked for the Tucker County Development Authority during the planning and construction of the wind farm, now works for Tucker Community Foundation.  At the gates of the facility for photos and discussion, Robert spoke about some bottom line incentives for wind in West Virginia, "Our local government was looking for two things when deciding about the economic development of Mountaineer Wind Energy - taxes and jobs."

The project created local jobs, and the county tax revenues increased significantly from the onset of the project.  Yearly, 60-70% of tax payments to the county from Mountaineer Wind Energy are reinvested into schools.

Standing back to see the six mile range of 346 feet tall turbines, Ellis Keyes, a community resident from Kentucky, said, "I'd like to see wind development become accessible for landowners like myself."  There were four landowners in the group who had previously met with Eric Mathis from the JOBS project for preliminary assessments of their windy ridges to identify proximity to electrical lines, good road access, wind speeds, and acreage.  Landowners commented that the turbines were quiet and said they liked the look of the turbines at close range.

Luella Kirk, a resident from Raleigh Co., commented on how deer would graze under the turbines, but others in the group were not so sure, until one walked straight in between two of the closest wind towers.  "The thing I was most impressed with was seeing how technology and nature coincide without affecting each other's work."  Luella later stated, "Change is a scary thing. It is for me, and it is for others, but wind is not going to make people lose jobs, it's going to create long term jobs."

"That's what this trip was all about," said Julia Sendor in a discussion about the relationship between the JOBS project and Coal River Wind. "The tour was organized in order to provide coalfield residents an opportunity to see wind turbines up close, so that they could begin thinking about alternatives to coal and talking about wind power where they live."

Sharing a similar vision, both the JOBS project and the Coal River Mountain Wind campaign strive to create alternative models of economic development in the southern West Virginia coalfields.  Both campaigns are demonstrating that renewable energy industries are not only possible in the southern counties, but would provide a source of economic stability in areas that are often impacted negatively by the bust cycles of coal.

Echoing the spirit of the wind tour, Eric Mathis from the JOBS project said, "It was a step towards energy and economic transition. Everyone walked away feeling excited about the possibility of wind energy in their communities."

The JOBS project and Coal River Wind would like to see community owned wind farms as a part of economic development within all coal dependent communities throughout the Appalachian region.

Citizen Involvement Pays Off in Montana Coal Appraisal Process

Posted by Mike Ritter on April 22nd, 2009

Earlier this week the Montana Land Board, a committee made up of the top 5 elected offices in the state, met to determine the process to move forward on an appraisal of an estimated 610 million tons of coal. Beth Kaeding, Chair of the Northern Plains Resource Council, a grassroots group that works to protect family farms and ranches, went to their meeting with two goals: (1) extend the comment period to 60 days and (2) hold two public meetings near the proposed development. Due entirely to the work of citizens in groups like Northern Plains the Land Board agreed to both requests.

This may seem like a small victory, but it allows the people who will be most directly harmed by this lease to voice their concerns.  For a variety of social, environmental and economic reasons, groups like Northern Plains have long opposed developing these tracts of coal.  While this fight is not over, we are happy to have more time to organize, educate the decision makers, and potentially stop this coal mine from being developed.

Hundreds March and 44 Arrested to Stop Cliffside Power Plant

Posted by Sierra on April 21st, 2009

Charlotte, N.C.— Police arrested 44 people for participating in a protest of Duke Energy’s plans to add massive additional coal burning to the company’s Cliffside plant. Those arrested include: Jim Warren of NC Warn; Bo Webb Coal River Mountain in Appalachia; Larry Gibson with Mountainkeeper, and Mike McCoy-from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth; and several Rutherford County residents where the construction is underway. They will likely be charged with second-degree trespass.

Duke CEO Jim Rogers has publicly touted his company’s commitment to addressing climate change, even pledging in a recent speech to shut down all their plants by 2050. Yet building this plant would lock in another half century of dangerous greenhouse gas emissions in North Carolina.

“It’s absolutely hypocritical for Rogers to talk about sustainability and responsibility when Cliffside locks in dangerous climate pollution for another 50 years,” said John Deans, Greenpeace North Carolina organizer. “If they really want to protect the planet and create jobs, they’d invest in wind and solar power instead of more polluting energy.”

The action is one of a string of protests that have followed a major civil disobedience at the Capitol Power Plant in Washington, D.C. in March. That protest resulted in House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid directing Capitol staff to switch the plant to cleaner natural gas by the end of 2009.

Emboldened by the success of that event, other protests of coal plants have occurred in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and other states since then, with more planned for this summer.

The event’s organizers and supporters declared the protest a victory, saying the sacrifice made by these ordinary Tar Heels and other Americans is the kind of commitment needed to convince our leaders to act immediately to address the clear danger coal-fired posed by power plants to our environment and economy.

“Stopping Cliffside is the best thing North Carolina can do to help stop global warming,” said Dr. James Hansen, one of the country’s leading climate scientists.

Last week the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide endanger public health and welfare, setting the stage for strict government regulation.

Dirty energy sources like coal are bad for the economy. A study by Dr. John Blackburn, retired chair of the Duke University Economics Department, found that completing the Cliffside plant and four nuclear facilities proposed in North Carolina would cause the state’s utility rates to jump 50-100 percent. He also confirmed that any additional demand for the electricity in North Carolina can be met by efficiency measures alone.

The findings are supported by a flurry of research showing clean energy is the smart investment for the country’s economy as well as the environment. For example, a recent University of Massachusetts study found investing in clean energy projects like wind power and mass transit creates three to four times more jobs than the same expenditure in the coal industry. Other studies have shown that global warming will soon cost Americans an average of $2000 per family per year as a result of impacts like rising sea level, coastline erosion, extreme weather, floods, and droughts.

Coal’s danger is not limited to global warming. Burning fossil fuel cuts short at least 24,000 lives in the U.S. annually, destroys mountains and communities in nearby Appalachia, poisons rivers and streams, and jeopardizes the lives of miners—issues that have galvanized a national movement to quit coal and build a clean energy economy.

The demonstration was organized by a coalition of over a dozen environmental, faith-based and social justice groups, which are calling on Duke Energy and the state of North Carolina to cancel construction of the Cliffside coal power plant. The plant is predicted to cost $2.4 billion and emit an estimated six million tons of carbon dioxide every year for the next 50 years.

For more information about the event visit: stopcliffside.org

For a photo of the protest visit: http://stopcliffside.org/e107_plugins/my_gallery/foto.php?img=Gallery/action/rally/img_0447a.jpg&h=480&w=580

Today, 40 activists begin a fast for the future

Posted by Ted Glick on April 20th, 2009

This morning, activist Ted Glick has stopped eating. He’s joined by dozens of others who are doing the same – some for a day or two, and some for more than twenty-five and as many as forty. Glick calls it the, “Fast for our Future” – a Gandhian tribute to the necessity of bold, immediate action on climate change.

According to Glick, “We will be fasting because we are entering a critical period in the struggle to get the U.S. government to act decisively on the climate crisis. With the introduction in the House Energy and Commerce Committee of the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009,” a process has been started that will lead to a vote in the full House this summer and in the Senate in the summer or fall. Hearings on this bill begin the week of April 20th.”

Ted is joined by many seasoned activists and others new to the movement, among them Vandana Shiva and Bill McKibben.

If you’d like to join Ted in the Fast for our Future, visit his website for details at www.fastingforourfuture.org.

Solidarity Across Borders: NC Introduces Law to Break MTR Connection

Posted by Sierra on April 18th, 2009

On Tuesday, a new act in North Carolina to break the state's dependence on mountaintop removal coal faces its first public committee hearing.  As one of the heaviest users of mountaintop removal coal, it seems North Carolina is learning to be neighborly -- and recognizing the damage that the state's energy use is wreaking on the same Appalachian mountains, just beyond its state border.  

Jeff Biggers told the full story this morning in his piece, "Our Chance to Spare Mountains," published in the News & Observer:

Powering Past Coal in Michigan, Leaving No One Behind

Posted by Andrew Munn on April 17th, 2009

Yesterday, 125 youth from the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition rallied for green jobs, clean and just energy, and accountability from our Department of Environmental Quality at a public hearing for permits to massively expand Consumers Energy’s Karn Weadock complex’s coal-fired plant by 800 mega watts. As the rally drew to a close and we entered the public hearing, a woman from Bay City shared with me why she joined us in opposition to the expansion. Her mother lives in one of nine homes across the mouth of the Saginaw River from the Karn Weadock complex and is in the midst of her 4th battle with cancer. Each of the nine families living on the row of beachfront homes is afflicted by cancer. It is not a coincidence.

In addition to the air pollution that escapes the smoke stacks day-in-and-day-out, the complex produces coal ash by the ton (as do all coal plants) and stores it in poorly regulated retension ponds. Coal ash contains high concentrations of beryllium, cadmium, chromium, nickel, selenium, arsenic, and mercury. For years, two of the Karn Weadock ponds have been leaching into the Saginaw Bay only a few football fields away from these nine homes and others. 

When 125 students from nine schools across Michigan united at the public hearing in Bay City, we united for a properous and sustainable economy for all and the present conditions those who’s lives are endangered or cut short by coal’s toxic lifecycle.

We, however, were not the only constituency out in force yesterday.

The wheels of the coal propaganda machine have been turning in Michigan! Duped community members display signs reading “Clean Coal = Michigan Jobs,” and hundreds of union workers from the electricians, the brick layers, the boiler makers, and the iron workers wore America’s Power’s clean coal t-shirts. The union leadership, understandably grasping for any jobs to be found, required them to be there.

There was a tangible tension in the air. Again, understandably so. The coal propaganda machine has been working overtime, and old school environmentalism has left much of the working class with a deepset distrust of anyone resembling an environmentalist. We will need to overcome this to win the world we want. 

In over 70 public comments, stretching late into the night, members of the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition pointed to the many flaws in the permit under question, articulated a vision for clean energy and green jobs for ourselves and the unions, and shed light on the life cycle impacts of coal - from the broken mountaintops of Appalachia to the toxic ponds leaching into the Saginaw Bay. And though we made our pro-labor stance clear (one commentor began “My father is in UAW, his father was in UAW, my mother is in the teacher’s union and I’ve worked for AFSCME and the Teamsters, and this is the first time I’ve been in a room full of angry union members, and not been one of them”) it is going to take more than rhetoric to win their support - especially in places in Michigan, where unemployment is nearing 12%.

The few public officials and union representatives who spoke in favor of coal gave the usual arguments, ranging from the Machiavellian intentional misinformation presentations from the likes of Dow Chemical and bought politicians, to earnest pleas for jobs from workers.

Our movement needs to build working class credibility. And when I say build, I mean build. No matter the elegant perfection of our green jobs and clean energy talking points and fact sheets or our nuanced understanding of class oppression, a message cannot trump the promise of a job when few jobs are to be found. I spoke with many of the workers there, and it became quite clear to me that they aren’t pro-coal. They are pro-job. We’ve got common ground there.

I am left with two questions after last night’s hearing. Given the absolute imperative of rapidly transitioning away from coal, which includes blocking all 8 of the proposed coal plants in Michigan, how can we build alliances with those who would gain employment in the construction or opperation of a new coal plant? I know the talking point “their skills are skills for the clean energy economy,” but a talking point, true as it is, does not provide a firm enough foundation for an alliance. Secondly, how do we ensure that the green economy does not reproduce the same class oppressions that have divided us for too long?

The fact that 125 students from every corner of the state came together for this public hearing made it a great success and a clear sign of the growing strength of the youth climate movement. As we move forward, however,  creating, not just articulating in talking points, the answers to those questions will be fundamental to the success of our movement.

Five Activists Arrested Hanging "EPA stop MTR" on Massey Mine

Posted by Sierra on April 16th, 2009

SUNDIAL, W.Va. – Three activists, who are committed to nonviolently ending mountaintop removal, unveiled a 40-foot-tall banner that said “EPA stop MTR” at Massey Energy’s Edwight mountaintop removal mine. Five people were arrested: the three activists Charles Suggs, Madeline Gardner, and William Wickham, and independent photographer Antrim Caskey and independent filmmaker Jordan Freeman. The activists chose the Edwight mine because Massey has recently begun blasting directly above the town of Naoma, W.Va., and the grave danger its slurry dam poses to Marsh Fork Elementary. This is the fifth in a series of such actions over the last 3 months that Climate Ground Zero has taken against Massey Energy and mountaintop removal coal mining.

“With the EPA seemingly considering actually doing its job, we believe they will realize that mountaintop removal is illegal and put a stop to it,” Mathew Louis-Rosenberg said, referencing the five mountaintop removal permits EPA has put on hold for review in recent weeks.

“Mountaintop removal is killing people and the the blame lies with the people who let it happen, from the politicians, to the out-of-state mining and land companies, to the DEP and EPA who should have never even let this start,” activist Charles Suggs said. “People’s water is getting poisoned by coal slurry, the blasting shakes dishes off the walls and cracks foundations and the rubble buries what makes West Virginia great.”

Marsh Fork Elementary is just two miles from the site of the arrests. It sits less than three-hundred feet from a coal loading silo, where chemically treated coal is loaded onto idling diesel trains, exposing the children to fine, chemical-laden coal dust and diesel fumes.

Marsh Fork Elementary is also directly below a Massey Energy coal sludge impoundment, holding over two billion gallons of coal sludge. Sludge is liquid waste from the coal washing process that is pumped into a dam built into a small valley. Mine Safety & Health Administration inspector Jim Elkins cited Massey in 1999 for improper construction of the dam above Marsh Fork Elementary.

Massey was building the dam in layers up to 10 feet thick between compacting the refuse, which makes proper compaction impossible. Without proper compaction the dam could fail, sending a tsunami of coal sludge through the school and communities downstream. “If the dam failed, fatalities would be expected to occur,” Elkins wrote in his report. “It’s reasonably likely an accident would occur if the condition continued to exist.”

There’s no record the faulty construction was ever fixed.

The Edwight Surface mine, above Naoma and Marsh Fork Elementary school, is a glaring example of everything that is wrong with mountaintop removal mining and coal processing, according to Climate Ground Zero. This banner was dropped to highlight for the EPA what could happen if mountaintop removal coal production is allowed to expand, threatening more schools and blasting above more homes, they said. “This act is a message to the EPA to do the responsible thing, and use its power to stop mountaintop removal mining,” activist Will Wickham said.

Indiana Ratepayers Get Shafted

Posted by Dave Eberhardt, CLEAN Midwest Coordinator on April 16th, 2009

So wait, why don't we want coal-to-natural gas plants? Oh right: they are expensive, environmentally destructive, use imperfect technology, and use the most destructive form of mining for its coal.  With the costs of coal doubling in one year, what state would try and turn coal into gas? Who would want something so financially irresponsible?

The Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels and his administration. 

For years, the hedge fund Leucadia has been working to negotiate a deal with Indiana gas companies to bid on contracts to build a coal-to-gas facility in Rockport, Indiana. Due to the risk and unknown cost there were no takers. Instead, Leucadia lobbied to introduce legislation that would force utility companies into a 30-year contract with the plant without knowing the cost of building the plant, or the cost of the synthetic gas production. 

Indiana utility companies are not too worried about the forced contract since they can pass ALL of the costs onto the rate payers on Indiana (which will total in the billions of dollars). For some, that would be a minimum 20% increase on their gas bill. We hear politicians yell and rant about no new taxes… but isn’t it time to take the political blinders off and see that the rate payer and the tax payer are the same person?

Senator Specter kicks off Nationwide Town Halls!

Posted by Alex Tinker on April 15th, 2009

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) joined students from Drexel University, community members and business leaders for a discussion on tackling climate change and seizing the opportunities of the new energy economy this Monday in Philadelphia.

The event kicked off a series of 103 town hall-style forums, part of a nationwide Town Hall on the clean energy future sponsored by Focus the Nation, a clean energy youth empowerment group based in Portland, OR.

The Philadelphia town hall even featured presentations from Audrey Zibelman, CEO of Viridity Energy, a cutting edge carbon and energy management firm, representatives of the Philadelphia department of sustainability, Senator Specter and others. Afterwards, a select group of participants, students and community members from the Philadelphia area, had a closed-door meeting with one of Specter’s advisers on energy and environment issues, James Decker, to continue a conversation about clean energy solutions.

Senator Specter may be the most crucial swing vote in the Senate as Congressional leaders gear up for a national debate on climate and clean energy legislation this year. As Newsweek recently noted:

“His colleagues may wince, but for reasons of math Specter now finds himself the most sought-after, and sucked-up-to, member of the Senate. He could wind up casting the deciding vote on major issues, including health-care and energy reform. Here’s why: Senate rules say the Democrats need 60 votes to keep Republicans from filibustering. Even if Al Franken is (finally) seated, they’re one maddening vote shy. They’ll need a Republican defector, not an easy thing to get. On big votes, leaders bully members into standing with the party, and senators, fearing retaliation, usually comply.”

“Sen. Specter’s participation in the launch of this national discussion epitomizes the opportunity America has to redefine the kind of leadership it will take to keep our country at the forefront of building the clean energy future,” said Garett Brennan, executive director of Focus the Nation. “This is our window to shift our economy from crisis to opportunity. Legislators need to hear that serious investment in green jobs and affordable clean energy isn’t bold to their constituents at all. It’s common sense. It’s what they want and it’s what our economy needs.”

More than 100 similar events are occurring nationwide this week, including a town hall with Congressman Joseph Cao of Louisiana that will be streamed live from New Orleans at focusthenation.org today at 6:00pm ET.

The nationwide Focus the Nation Town Halls are largely being organized by hundreds of youth who are driving today’s clean energy movement. The success of the events is a result of multi-sector and multi-generational partnerships that they are building in their communities.

“It’s usually our leaders who call town halls on pressing issues,” said Lindsey Berger, an organizer at Missouri State University. “This time we’re inviting them to our town halls because our generation knows we don’t have time to wait to build a clean energy future.”

On the national level, many discussions will center on the new draft climate and energy bill released by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) that is the first to set science-based targets to cut global warming pollution. On the international level, the Focus the Nation Town Halls will set the stage American leadership at the December 2009 climate treaty negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the local level, the Town Hall discussions will cover a range of topics representing sectors like agriculture, energy, building, transportation and urban planning and will help each community identify where it sits on the trajectory toward a clean and prosperous energy future.

The Town Halls are also catalysts for further action. Organizers and participants will begin charting community action plans unique to each locality that will be implemented with Focus the Nation’s support over the coming year. Those plans will focus on overcoming roadblocks, sharing solutions from other regions of the country and identifying opportunities to accelerate momentum along the clean energy trajectory.

The events are part of a growing clean energy movement that includes Focus the Nation and partner groups such as 1Sky, Energy Action Coalition, Green For All and 350.org. Together, these motivated leaders are mobilizing youth, business leaders, elected officials and other sectors to create climate and energy solutions within a necessarily rapid time frame.

International climate experts say that the next few years is the window for averting irretrievable climate disruption. “If there’s no action before 2012, that’s too late. What we do in the next two to three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment,” Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the international panel of the world’s top climate scientists, famously warned. That was in 2007.

Attend a Town Hall near you and help Focus the Nation: www.FocusTheNation.org

Upstaging Duke Energy's Greenwashing Tactics

Posted by Scott Parkin on April 15th, 2009

Yesterday, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers spoke at the 6th annual Sustainable Energy Conference in Raleigh to promote Duke’s clean energy agenda which includes building a dirty coal plant in Cliffside, North Carolina.

That doesn’t sound like “clean energy” to me.

A lot of other people in North Carolina agree.

So much that they’ve taken to following Rogers wherever he goes and holding him accountable.  Yesterday, a dozen people from a number of groups ( NC WARN, Interfaith Power and Light, Croatan Earth First!, Mountain Justice, Southern Energy Network and Greenpeace) held a protest outside his appearance in Raleigh.

On Monday, April 20, a lot more people are going to be showing up on the doorsteps of Duke’s headquarters in Charlotte to hold Rogers accountable for his corporate double-speak of promoting “clean energy” and building a new coal plant.  Not only will they be protesting, but many won’t be leaving until the police take them away.

The Stop Cliffside Coalition is made up of a dozen environmental, faith-based and civic groups.  Climate scientist James Hansen and actor Martin Sheen have both endorsed and lent their support.  Folks from Appalachia and across the south will be voicing their protest at Rogers and Duke’s plans to pollute North Carolina’s air and water, burn up the climate and fuel it all with mountaintop removal coal.

Anti-coal advocates have formed a polycentric movement which is fighting for climate justice all over the country.  They are stepping it up with a variety of tactics (like bird-dogging Jim Rogers wherever he goes)  and taking more and more risks to put and end to coal (dirty or coal) once and for all.

Call Today: Put the Office of Surface Mining in Capable Hands!

Posted by Dana Kuhline on April 15th, 2009

Rumor has it that the Obama administration is looking to select a new director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). This office helps enforce  (can you guess?), surface mining and the reclamation of our land. 

Message: I urge the administration to nominate a new director of the Office of Surface Mining who is not from the coal industry or OSM. We desperately need someone who will fix this troubled agency and see that the surface mining laws are fully and fairly enforced.

Please call as soon as you get the chance. The nominee could be named any day.

Ken Ward, a reporter for the Charleston Gazette has written extensively about OSM and the appointment of a new director. Here are links to some of his news stories and blog posts.

• “OSM ‘at a crossroads,’ Rahall says.”
• “Credibility for OSM”
• “Who is Glenda Owens?”

 From a March 28 Courier-Journal editorial:

“Mr. Childers has a distinguished 30-year record of advocacy on behalf of coalfield citizens who have been abused and exploited by the mining industry. He helped lead the legal team that fought the broad form deed, and forced mining interests to pay their fair share of property taxes in coalfield counties. He has worked tirelessly on behalf of coalfield residents whose water has been destroyed by mining, and has worked to limit the damage of blasting on surrounding properties. He knows these issues literally from the ground up.”Read the entire editorial here.

Similar views were expressed by the Lexington Herald-Leader on April 7, which you can read here.

Stop the Cliffside Power Plant!

Posted by Sierra on April 13th, 2009

In less than a week, a critical mass of citizens will gather in Rutherford County, North Carolina to protest the construction of an 800-watt coal-fired power plant to be build by Duke Energy.  The plant would have no ability to capture or control its carbon emissions.  Take a look at this awesome video call to action...

Finding Power Past Coal: 100 turns to thousands

Posted by Sierra on April 12th, 2009

Today marks President Obama’s eighty-second day of office. I know because it’s my job to count: each morning I mark the days since our new President told us to, “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”

I count other things too: actions groups have taken with Power Past Coal since inauguration (that’s 202 today), Focus the Nation town halls (103), new coal plants denied permits (95 and counting), mountaintop removal permits withheld by the EPA (3 more last week), revenue that wind turbines on Coal River Mountain could bring to the local community (1.7 million), and the President’s commitments to regulating carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants (1) and coal ash from sludge ponds (1).

There are some things I’ve seen in these eighty-two days that are more difficult to quantify. First, the disbelief, the elation, then the deep disappointment I watched on my neighbors faces in the Coal River Valley when the EPA’s supposed hold on all mountaintop removal permits led Lisa Jackson to clarify that most of the pending permits would “not raise environmental concern.” Second, the stoic determination with which my neighbors and fellow activists returned to work the next morning. False alarm: Coal River Mountain was far from saved, and there was no time for rest.

And I can’t begin to quantify this movement we’ve been witnessing. There are countless communities in every region of this country who still bear the burden of dirty coal, but who are just beginning to find their voice. For the first time in history, these impacted communities have come together in a united call to action. They’ve been the “people power” behind Power Past Coal’s 100 Days project, and the voices behind this new letter they hope you’ll sign.

On President Obama’s 100th Day, six delegates of these impacted communities are coming to DC to represent the growing movement in front of Congress. They come from Chicago’s asthma ridden inner city, Pennsylvania’s longwall mining region, the Powder River Basin’s stripped and dried farms, the Black Mesa Navajo reservation’s coalfields, North Carolina’s mercury-polluted valleys, and Kentucky’s leveled mountaintops.

But when the delegates present their case for a transition away from coal, they won’t be the only voices in the room. They plan to deliver a stack of letters, thousands deep, each attached with its own coal story.

To join in solidarity with impacted community members, fellow climate activists, and other concerned citizens, please sign our letter and add your story – on the 100th day, we’ll prove to Obama the diversity and power of this beautiful movement.

Honking for Hybrids in Richmond, VA!

Posted by Sierra on April 10th, 2009

Last week, Power Past Coal'er Lauren Glickman joined with fellow drivers in Virginia's capitol for a Hybrid Car Parade.  Sounds like these Virginians drove home the message:

This past Saturday I joined a dozen other hybrid owners on a gorgeous spring day to… Circle the Capitol in Richmond! Yes, you read that correctly, I woke up early and covered my friend’s Toyota Prius in streamers and balloons and battled downtown Richmond traffic and construction on Broad Street. I did this to send a message that was loud (horns were honked) and clear (in bold font across the side of each of our fuel efficient vehicles). We support Governor Kaine amending legislation that made it through the general assembly session to include the 19% efficiency target that his own Commission on Climate Change recommended this past fall.

Energy efficiency is the cleanest, quickest and cheapest way to meet Virginia’s energy needs. With federal legislation in the works to regulate carbon to stave off the most devastating effects of climate change, the Commonwealth can’t afford to miss this opportunity. Energy efficiency equals tens of thousands of jobs for our state, how much longer do we plan to wait? We really drove home the message that we want Gov Kaine to be a leader on efficiency!

EPA finds fault with 3 new MTR permits, and one is Ison Rock Ridge...

Posted by Sierra on April 8th, 2009

Appalachia, Virginia — In a victory for community members and for clean water, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week requested that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revoke the “nationwide 21” mining permit for A&G Coal’s massive Ison Rock Ridge mountaintop removal coal mine in Southwest Virginia. The news comes only weeks after a delegation of Appalachian coalfield residents met with the EPA in Washington, D.C. urging the Agency to take quick action to protect their communities from the ravages of mountaintop removal coal mining. The bold move is the latest clear signal that the Obama Administration is taking action on mountaintop removal coal mining and supports clean energy solutions and green jobs. Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS), a community organization based in Wise County, Virginia, and the Sierra Club have worked for two years to oppose strip mining on Ison Rock Ridge.

“This is a great day! I am hopeful it means the beginning of the end of the wholesale destruction of the Appalachian Mountains, its watersheds, its streams, its people, and its soul,” said Kathy Selvage, vice president of SAMS.

The Army Corps had been relying on a cookie-cutter “nationwide” permit for the Ison Rock Ridge mine, but in the EPA’s recommendation that the Army Corps revoke the permit the Agency raised concerns about the mine’s impact on waterways that were not addressed in the “nationwide” permit. By dumping its mining waste into valleys and waterways, the Ison Rock Ridge mountaintop removal coal mining operation would be extremely destructive. Residents are also concerned with the proximity of the proposed mine to their homes, as portions of the permit are within the corporate limits of the town of Appalachia and surround several other nearby communities.

“I’m so relieved and grateful the EPA has taken this action,” said Gary Bowman, whose home is only hundreds of feet away from a proposed sediment pond for the permit. “We were stuck between a rock and a hard place with this permit and are so happy that we will be able to stay in our home.”

The company that operates the Ison Rock Ridge site, A&G Coal, is known for its role in the August 20, 2004 tragedy in which a boulder from an A&G strip mine rolled down a hillside and crashed into a family’s Wise County home below, killing a sleeping three-year-old child in his bedroom.

“The days of reckless, unchecked destruction of Appalachian mountains are numbered,” said Mary Anne Hitt, Deputy Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “There is much more work to do, but President Obama’s EPA has taken bold action on mountaintop removal coal mining, and we applaud their intervention.”

The Ison Rock Ridge permit in Wise County, Virginia, covers nearly 1,300 acres and would destroy three miles of streams and fill nine lush valleys with more than 11 million cubic yards of rock and dirt. The massive mountaintop removal coal mine would surround the community of Derby, bringing destruction within a half mile of the historic district, eliminating the community’s tourism appeal. Other nearby affected communities include Andover, Inman, and Osaka and the Town of Appalachia.

“I’m walking on air,” said Derby resident Bob Mullins, who recently returned from a meeting with the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “I feel like we’ve finally accomplished something. This is a great victory to start with and now it’s time to get our friends and neighbors together to continue fighting for the cause and building this movement that is truly gaining momentum.”

Mountaintop removal mining is a destructive form of coal mining that has already contaminated or destroyed nearly 2,000 miles of streams. The mining poisons drinking water, lays waste to wildlife habitat, increases the risk of flooding and wipes out entire communities. For more information, visit www.samsva.org.

Breathing Easy in Michigan

Posted by Monica Patel on April 7th, 2009

On April 14-15, Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) will hold public hearings for a 930 MW coal-fired power plant proposed by Consumers Energy near Bay City.

Michigander and clean energy advocate Monica Patel recorded this video when she spoke with Dr. Ken Rosenman, Chief of MSU's Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, about the health effects of additional coal-fired plants in Michigan.

The proposed Consumers Energy coal-fired power plant is located within 3 miles of 47 schools and 13,219 children.  According to its Draft Permit to Install, Consumers Energy proposes to emit 64 more pounds of mercury every year for the next 50 years - in addition to the nearly 2,000 pounds already emitted by coal-fired power plants in the state. This plant will also add 437 tons per year (tpy) of particulate matter, 2,152 tpy of sulfur dioxide, 1,820 tpy of nitrous oxides, and more than 4,532 tpy of carbon monoxide to our air each year for 50 years. Medical studies estimate that existing Michigan coal plant pollution already results in over 850 deaths and more than 18,500 asthma attacks each year.

Visit www.ecocenter.org/action/nocoal.html and submit your comments to MDEQ today!