EC June 2009

ec@lists.wvsierraclub.org

5 participants
15 discussions

MTR action alert
by Jim Sconyers 08 Jun '09

08 Jun '09

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 304.698.9628 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. --- On Fri, 6/5/09, aaron.isherwood(a)sierraclub.org <aaron.isherwood(a)sierraclub.org> wrote: From: aaron.isherwood(a)sierraclub.org <aaron.isherwood(a)sierraclub.org> Subject: MTR action alert To: "Jim Sconyers" <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com>, "Regina Hendrix" <reginahendrix999(a)gmail.com>, "William DePaulo" <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com>, Bill_Price.SIERRACLUB(a)sierraclub.org Date: Friday, June 5, 2009, 7:34 PM Hi everyone: Apologies if I already sent this (can't recall), but I wanted to be sure you're aware of the Club's recent action alert. Obviously, it's an important time to be putting pressure on the administration, so hope you all can help. See Jim Hightower's below, too; phone calls also helpful. Thanks! Aaron Aaron Isherwood Senior Staff Attorney Sierra Club Environmental Law Program 85 Second Street, 2d Floor San Francisco, CA 94105-3441 Phone: (415) 977-5680 Fax: (415) 977-5793 Help Protect Streams and Communities The Obama administration has taken an important step toward putting an end to the reckless coal mining that has gone on for the past eight years. Carefully reviewing permits for new mountaintop-removal coal mines is essential to protect waterways. However, oversight is not enough. To truly end the destruction, we need a new rule that prohibits dumping mining waste into waterways Stopping the Desecration of Mountaintop Removal Jim Hightower Obama spaketh, and it was good: "We have to find more environmentally sound ways of mining coal than simply blowing the tops off mountains," he proclaimed. And, yea, in the mountains and down through all the valleys of the ancient land of Appalachia, hearts were filled with joy, for here was a prophet of hope who was signaling that a change was coming — at last, the endtime was at hand for the brutish coal-mining method called "mountaintop removal," which is an abomination. Even as the people rejoiced at this good news, coal barons trembled in their temples of black gold. For a decade, these mighty extractors of wealth had been allowed to accumulate unto themselves enormous profits by exploding the tops off the peaks in Appalachia, the oldest mountain range in all the land. With the top third of these awesome, forested mountains reduced to rubble, the barons used giant machines to strip out seams of coal, and then they simply shoved the rubble and toxic coal waste down the mountainsides, burying the valleys and streams below. It was a desecration — but the love of mammon made it the law of the land. Then, behold, now the prophet became president, so he was in a position to put his words into action. And act, he did. On May 15, it was announced that Barack Obama's Environmental Protection Agency had quietly approved 42 of 48 new Appalachian mining permits sought by the coal barons. Say what? The prophet of change and hope just OK-ed more desecration by coal mining profiteers? What in the name of a mysterious God is going on here? Politics. Politics at its weaseliest. Industry supporters point out that while Obama had expressed his concern about this detestable practice in last year's presidential race, he had not actually promised to halt it. Cute, huh? Once he was in office, coal executives, lobbyists and other enthusiasts for bang-and-shove mining went to work on him. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and a full-throated cheerleader for whatever his state's coal industry wants, met with the head of the EPA, the chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff. "In each of these meetings," says Rahall, "I received assurances. The Obama administration knows that it cannot turn its back on coal." Of course, that's not the question. There are many ways to mine coal besides blowing up the environment. The question is whether Obama will turn his back on the mountains, the people and his own integrity. The industry rationalizes its greed in the name of creating jobs for this hard-hit region — but mountaintop removal relies on dynamite and huge machines, not workers. In fact, thousands of mining jobs have been lost as corporations switched to this method. In all of Appalachia, there are only 19,000 jobs connected to every form of surface mining — and the tiniest fraction of those are in mountaintop removal. A much brighter job future is to develop Appalachia's boundless green-energy potential — a blue-green initiative that's supposed to be one of Obama's top priorities. The good news is that the approval of these 42 permits does not mean the debate is over, even in the White House. Some 200 other applications are pending, involving much larger projects, and it's known that top Obamans are very divided on allowing any more of this crass destruction. This is a case where public outrage can make a difference. Obama and team snuck out the 42 permits without even notifying the public, but they won't be able to ambush us on the other applications. Rather than throwing up our hands in disgust at their first action, now is the time for us to flex some grass-roots political muscle. To let him know we expect no more weaseling on his pledge to stop "blowing the tops off mountains," call the White House operator and ask for Nancy Sutley. She heads Obama's Council on Environmental Quality and needs to hear that We the People give a damn: (202) 456-1414. To find out more about Jim Hightower, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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anti PATH video
by Jim Sconyers 06 Jun '09

06 Jun '09

Excellent anti-PATH video on today's "Coal Tattoo." http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2009/06/05/friday-roundup-june-5-2009/ Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 304.698.9628 Remember: Mother Nature bats last.

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Fwd: State Supreme Court won't hear wind farm case
by James Kotcon 04 Jun '09

04 Jun '09

Check out the questions from our WV Supreme Court judges, Ketchum and Benjamin, at the end of this article. Although they declined to hear the case, and thereby let the wind farm proceed, the questions imply a clear bias in favor of coal, as if supporting "Green Energy" was a bad thing. For the "Friends of Coal" it is, and that gives us an idea of how far we have to go in WV. JBK >>> <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> 6/4/2009 7:29 AM >>> jkotcon(a)wvu.edu sent you this article ----- June 3, 2009 State Supreme Court won't hear wind farm case ( http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200906030496 ) By The Associated Press The state Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to hear an appeal by a group seeking to stop construction of a wind farm intended to meet anticipated power demands across the Mid-Atlantic. Read more ( http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200906030496 ) -----

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Fw: PJM leading polluter
by Jim Sconyers 02 Jun '09

02 Jun '09

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 304.698.9628 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. --- On Tue, 6/2/09, Elena Saxonhouse <Elena.Saxonhouse(a)sierraclub.org> wrote: From: Elena Saxonhouse <Elena.Saxonhouse(a)sierraclub.org> Subject: Fw: PJM leading polluter To: CONS-ELP-TRANS-LINES-FORUM(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 12:47 PM ----- Forwarded by Elena Saxonhouse/Sierraclub on 06/02/2009 09:48 AM ----- John Howley <john.howley(a)verizon.net> 06/02/2009 08:44 AM To Elena.Saxonhouse(a)sierraclub.org cc Subject PJM leading polluter Take a look -- comments welcome! http://marylandenergyreport.wordpress.com/2009/06/02/pjms-carbon-bigfoot/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-ELP-TRANS-LINES-FORUM list, send any message to: CONS-ELP-TRANS-LINES-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/

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PATH - PETITION TO INTERVENE OF SIERRA CLUB AND WEST VIRGINIA HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 02 Jun '09

02 Jun '09

Mr. Watkins: I attach a copy of the Petition to Intervene in the PATH proceeding on behalf of the Sierra Club and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. The original and twelve copies of the petition will be filed with the Commission's Executive Secretary today. Please call me if you have any questions regarding this filing. William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel: 304-342-5588 Fax: 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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EC June 2009