Does anybody have any information about a television ad Kathy Mattea either
made or is going to make with/for the Sierra Club? It may not have been run
yet. If you have any info please fwd to me. Tx
--
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
This electronic mail is intended to be received and read only by certain
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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. Â Obviously, it's an important time to be putting pressure on
the administration, so hope you all can help. Â 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
Â
 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
Â
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.
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 )
-----
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/
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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
FYI:
Counsel for PATH today advised that -- on Friday of this week -- PATH
intends to file with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, its
application for a certificate of convenience and necessity to construct a
765 kV electric transmission line from AEP's John Amos plant in Winfield, WV
to Maryland. We will get a hard copy and a digital copy. I will forward
the digital copy on receipt, but it will also be available shortly after
filing from the PSC web page.
Bill
--
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
Coal Future: 'End Game' Is In Sight May 12 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional
News - Debra McCown Bristol Herald Courier, Va.
The message was twofold Monday at the first day of the 30th annual Eastern
Coal Council conference: coal is a path to American energy security, but the
industry that fuels half the nation's electricity could have a short future
in the current political climate.
"We're in the end game here," said Kenneth Nameth, executive director of the
Southern States Energy Board, as members of Congress debate legislation that
would cap emissions of carbon dioxide. "Now the time has hit."
Nameth recalled the early 1970s, when there was fear of global cooling
caused by the burning of fossil fuel -- and then the late 1970s, when it was
global warming, not cooling, that was the concern.
He said the market and the need for energy -- not the latest political
bandwagon on climate trends -- should determine the nation's energy future.
"Are we tearing down our energy infrastructure today, or are we building it
up? This week in Congress will determine that," Nameth said.
"[According to some members of Congress,] we want to reduce our carbon
dioxide by 80 percent by 2050. So, OK, that means Americans by then instead
of 20 tons would be putting out about 4 tons a year, and so you ask yourself
the question: When did we last emit about 4 tons of carbon dioxide a year?
And the answer is when the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock."
U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-1st, of Tennessee, told those attending the event at
MeadowView Conference Center that the cost of a carbon cap-and-trade system
would mean an estimated $3,000 per family in added cost of living and the
loss of three million American manufacturing jobs.
"The absolute worst time in the world you can increase taxes or prices is
during the middle of a recession," he said.
He pointed to efforts made while he was mayor in Johnson City, Tenn.,
heating with landfill gas, using more fuel-efficient cars and improving the
energy efficiency of buildings and traffic lights, as a better model than
heavy-handed taxes.
*U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, of West Virginia, said the
uncertainty of the coal industry's future stalls funding and investment in
coal-related businesses.*
* "This is an issue that is extremely important to the productivity of our
communities to the individuals to the job base to the manufacturers and
really to the lifeblood of our singular state but also to the region,"
Capito said. "We have been supplying the energy and the resources for this
country to be powered that we're now going to be penalized because that's
where we happen to live and have developed or have used our resources to
power this country and move it to the economic prosperity we have."*
Daniel Roling, president of National Coal Corp., called on those in the
industry to start telling their side of the story because the political
pressure is not going away.
He said taxes that drive up the price of energy in the U.S. would mean jobs
shipped overseas to countries willing to provide cheap power -- meaning a
weaker nation, as well as a worse global environment because such nations
have few environmental controls.
"The mining industry needs to quit hiding under a bushel basket and start
telling its story," Roling said. "The vocal minority in this country has
perfected the art of getting attention. ... I believe there's a very large
silent majority in the United States that needs to be heard; they need to
speak up before it's too late."
The conference concludes today, followed by a meeting of the Southern States
Energy Board Committee On Clean Coal.
dmccown(a)bristolnews.com| (276) 791-0701
--
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
ATTACHED FWIW IS A DISCUSSION BY *"ENERGY INSIDER"* OF AEP'S CARBON CAPTURE
PROJECT IN MASON COUNTY
MAY 15, 2009
Wide-scale deployment is at least five years away. But the architects behind
the first-ever power plant to attempt to capture and store carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions will fire up a pilot project in September in a test that
could last up to three years.
If the 20-megawatt trial at the Mountaineer Plant in New Haven, W.V., is
deemed successful, then American Electric Power (AEP) will implement the
same technology in 2011 at another facility in Oklahoma in a 200-megawatt
project. After that and around 2015, AEP says that the operations that will
use chilled ammonia to scrub the CO2 emissions can be ready for prime time.
Those releases would then be compressed and stored permanently underground
or be used to help retrieve oil deposits.
Clearly, it's now possible to dramatically cut such pollutants as nitrogen
oxide and sulfur dioxide. But it's also becoming increasingly real to trap
CO2 in trees or bury it underground. By most accounts, energy usage will
rise in the coming decades and coal will remain the primary fuel source to
generate electricity. Carbon capture and storage therefore holds the key to
future power plant production using fossil fuels.
"We have seen over time that lab initiatives work well in a controlled
environment," says Bill Sigmon, vice president of engineering for AEP. "But
as you upgrade to commercial scale, it may not work as advertised. We need
to go in steps to give surety. If we can get to the 200-megawatt range, then
it will give us the surety we need to say that we can count on it."
Power companies contribute 33.3 percent of all CO2 emissions in the United
States, according to the Congressional Research Service. Older coal-fired
facilities could be retrofitted so as to trap the CO2 before it leaves the
smokestack. But such remedies are expensive and less efficient than building
modern coal gasification facilities that have the potential to concentrate
the CO2, making it easier to capture.
In Wisconsin, WE Energies is piloting a 1.7-megawatt project that is only
trying to capture the CO2 using chilled ammonia, which is said by AEP to be
more effective than existing options. Others that include "amine" require 30
to 40 percent of a unit's output be diverted for carbon capture. But
"ammonia" necessitates just 15 percent.
*Powerful Initiative*
AEP's endeavor is patterned after that of WE. However, it is different in
that it will be the only power plant in operation to both capture and store
the CO2. The utility will follow a dual course of retrofitting older plants
while also building modern facilities that have the potential to capture
carbon emissions. The Mountaineer plant will capture and bury 8,500 feet
underground about 200,000 tons of CO2 a year -- a small portion of the
roughly 8.7 million tons a year that the plant now emits.
"Our partnership with AEP will result in the world's first clean coal power
plant and will be applicable not only for new plants but also for existing
power plants," says Philippe Joubert, president of Alstom Power Systems in
France, which has developed the chilled ammonia processes now being used by
both WE and AEP. Alstom says that its process has demonstrated the potential
to detain more than 90 percent of CO2.
It's all part of a clean coal initiative set up under the Bush
administration. The program, begun in 2005 and which allocates $2 billion to
the cause, provides the means to demonstrate those projects that can capture
and bury CO2. The government will provide up to half the money to help
commercialize viable technologies. AEP is part of the program but was unable
to say just how much of the roughly $100 million price tag associated with
the Mountaineer plant that the U.S. government would pay or how much could
be passed through to the customers who would benefit from it all.
The key question is not whether the carbon can actually be captured. It can.
Rather, it is whether the CO2 can be safely stored underground and whether a
given geological disposition will work or have enough capacity for such
burial. In AEP's case, it says that the Mountaineer site has been chosen
because it is laden with cap rock that will ensure the CO2 stays safely
buried 8,500 feet under.
"The technology, along with renewable energy and energy efficiency, has
great promise for climate change," says Neeraj Gupta, project manager for
the Mountaineer project with Columbus-based Battelle that is working on the
sequestration part. "We are trying to figure out if CO2 can be injected in
the deep layers and if so, where and at what cost."
AEP's Mountaineer project may be a turning point. The best scenario for it
would be if the technology works as advertised and it could be scaled up
from 20 megawatts to the next level of 200 megawatts. The worst situation
would be that the saline aquifer won't hold the injected CO2 while the
chilled ammonia would not perform up to snuff, requiring too much of the
unit's energy to trap the carbon.
"We should probably wait and see how the AEP pilot project goes," says Frank
O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch. "I think if Congress set a carbon
cap that declines over time, it will really jump start a lot of projects
like this."
AEP's venture could sputter. But it could also succeed and become a
harbinger of things to come with respect to carbon capture and
sequestration. Today's technologies, however, may not be prevalent down the
road. Lots of ideas are being tested that have yet to gain visibility. It's
a slow process but one that the coal generators must pursue if they are to
remain relevant.
More information is available from Energy Central:
- Coal Topic Center <http://www.energycentral.com/powergeneration/coal>
- Emissions & Environmental Topic
Center<http://www.energycentral.com/powergeneration/emissionsandenvironmental>
- Chilled Ammonia Gets a Warm Reception - Tackling Carbon Dioxide,
EnergyBiz, May/June
2008<http://energycentral.fileburst.com/EnergyBizOnline/2008-3-may-jun/Tech_Fron…>
- Underground Solutions - Closing in on Carbon Sequestration, EnergyBiz,
May/June 2007<http://energycentral.fileburst.com/EnergyBizOnline/2007-3-may-jun/FA_CO2.pdf>
--
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