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FW: {GT} October 5th & 6th Free Energy Efficiency Workshops
by James Kotcon 17 Sep '13

17 Sep '13

This may be worth checking out. I am out of town that weekend, can anyone make it? Jim Kotcon ________________________________ From: morgantowngreenteam(a)googlegroups.com <morgantowngreenteam(a)googlegroups.com> on behalf of Aaron Sutch <asutch(a)mountain.org> Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 2:37 PM To: morgantowngreenteam; James Kotcon Subject: {GT} October 5th & 6th Free Energy Efficiency Workshops Hello All, Here is a great opportunity to attend two energy efficiency workshops. Both are free. On October 5th there is a hands-on home energy efficiency workshop from 9am-4pm at the Glenmark Lowes outside of Morgantown. On October 6th there is a 'saving money with energy efficiency' workshop at WVU.1pm-5pm (Allen Hall Rm 406, Evansdale campus). See attached for more information and registration instructions. Best, -- Aaron Sutch Energy Program Manager 505 730 3943 [The Mountain Institute]<http://www.mountain.org/> www.mountain.org<http://www.mountain.org> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MorgantownGreenTeam" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to morgantowngreenteam+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to morgantowngreenteam(a)googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/morgantowngreenteam. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

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PA's Suite Codes, Can it happen here? (Was: DAILY UPDATE 12 September 2013.
by James Kotcon 17 Sep '13

17 Sep '13

I ran into some PA residents discussing this on Saturday, but was not familiar with the issue till i saw Don Strimbeck's News post (below). Is WV-DEP doing this too? JBK ________________________________ From: dsborowiec(a)aol.com<mailto:dsborowiec@aol.com> To: dsborowiec(a)aol.com<mailto:dsborowiec@aol.com> Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 2:41 AM Subject: Auditor General’s Investigation of DEP Important for Southwest PA excerpt: People are entitled to the truth about what is in water they drink. Is that a debate we even need to be having? Aren’t some things so obvious they should go without saying? What possible reason is there for the DEP, under the direction of Governor Corbett, to withhold information from residents about something this important? http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/groups/jesse-white-state-representative-46t… Auditor General’s Investigation of DEP Important for Southwest PA It’s great to say we should all work together on every issue all the time, but there comes a point when you have to realize the other side has no intention of doing so under any circumstances whatsoever. Posted by Jesse White<http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/users/jesse-white-state-representative-46th…> , September 11, 2013 at 08:36 AM <http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/groups/jesse-white-state-representative-46t…> Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene Depasquale gave an interview to the Scranton Times-Tribune last week in which he was asked about the ongoing audit of the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s handling of water quality issues related to Marcellus Shale drilling. His response to the question was “The only thing I could say is, it’s a good thing we’re doing the audit.” Eugene Depasquale and I were both elected to the State House in 2006 and our offices were across the hall from one another in the Capitol for several years. I believe Eugene is an honest public servant and a good person, and I consider him a friend. I have no doubt that his audit of DEP will be objective and accurate, even though the Corbett administration has recently slashed budgets for investigators, limiting manpower and resources. To refresh everyone’s memory, the basis of the audit is the DEP’s use of “Suite Codes” to limit the amount of information given to people about what DEP found in their water. This scheme was uncovered through the sworn testimony of DEP lab chief Taru Upadhyay in a deposition taken last year. Based on that testimony, here’s what was apparently happening. You have concerns about your water because you live near drilling operations, so you call DEP to check it out. The DEP inspector comes to your house, takes a sample, marks it with a “Suite Code” and sends it off to the lab for testing. The lab tests over thirty different chemicals and substances as required by federal law, the results of which are stored in the DEP lab computer. So far so good, right? But when it’s time to generate the report based on the test results, that “Suite Code” tells the computer to only give back results for a handful of the things DEP tested for, not all of them. So the DEP inspector gets a report out of the computer that is purposely incomplete, but you don’t know that because you’d have no way to know. And when the inspector shows up with that report, they can be technically correct when they say, “According to the report I received from the lab, there is no evidence of any contamination.” But what they know, and you don’t, is that they purposely told the computer to leave out results of dozens of chemicals known to be found in frac water and flowback water. Many of them are known or suspected carcinogens, which means they can cause cancer. The results are sitting in the DEP computers, but you had no way of knowing you got less than the complete results. The DEP has not denied this practice, but they haven’t explained it either. We also learned that they developed a “Suite Code” specifically designed to provide proper results for drilling-related water quality concerns; unfortunately (but not surprisingly) it has never been used by DEP. Furthermore, you would think the Marcellus Shale Coalition would be with us on this. If they don’t believe drilling operations impact the water, wouldn’t they want all the facts out there to help prove their point? The facts should be allowed to speak for themselves, plain and simple. I have provided the Auditor General and his staff information about many problems occurring here in the 46th District, and will continue to do what I can to shed light on these inexcusable practices by the DEP. People are entitled to the truth about what is in water they drink. Is that a debate we even need to be having? Aren’t some things so obvious they should go without saying? What possible reason is there for the DEP, under the direction of Governor Corbett, to withhold information from residents about something this important? The DEP is clearly taking their marching orders from the Corbett Administration to stonewall anyone who asks the tough questions. It’s great to say we should all work together on every issue all the time, but there comes a point when you have to realize the other side has no intention of doing so under any circumstances whatsoever. On an issue as important as letting parents and grandparents know whether their drinking water could put their children or grandchildren at risk of cancer, I decided that standing up for what’s right and demanding accountability is more important than pandering for the sake of politics.

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Fw: Less than a week away! Who has the power? Wheeling, WV Talk
by Sally Wilts 16 Sep '13

16 Sep '13

Seem to have short notice of their events! ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Energy Efficient West Virginia <energyefficientwestvirginia(a)gmail.com> To: sallywilts(a)yahoo.com Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 4:18 PM Subject: Less than a week away! Who has the power? Wheeling, WV Talk Less than a week away! Who has the power? Wheeling, WV Talk Moving Energy Efficiency Forward in the Mountain State... View this email in your browser Facebook Twitter Website You're invited! WHO HAS THE POWER? (View the Flyer In Your Browser) What: Panel Discussion // Forum on Electric Utilities in West Virginia Policies and Programs to: Lower rates Employ Renewables Empower Communities with Panel Speakers: Cathy Kunkel // Energy Efficient West Virginia James van Nostrand // WVU College of Law Aaron Sutch // The Mountain Institute Local Community Members // Energy conservation, efficiency and renewable projects around Wheeling and near by communities Moderated by Mary Ellen Cassidy When: Thursday, September 19, 2013 at noon Where: Main Floor // First State Capitol 1413 Eoff Street, Wheeling, WV Contact: Mary Ellen Cassidy // Jay Good // 304-312-4444 The event is free to the public. For CLE credit for legal professionals inquire with Jay Good at 304-312-4444. Share Tweet Forward to Friend Copyright © 2013 Energy Efficient West Virginia, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you joined our mailing list at a local event or on our website. Our mailing address is: Energy Efficient West Virginia 1500 Dixie St.Charleston, WV 25311 Add us to your address bookunsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

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Fwd: Darrell Scott and Tim O'Brien : Song and Video: "Keep your Dirty Lights On"
by Jim Sconyers 16 Sep '13

16 Sep '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Aaron Isherwood <aaron.isherwood(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 1:48 PM Subject: Fwd: Darrell Scott and Tim O'Brien : Song and Video: "Keep your Dirty Lights On" To: Jim Sconyers <jimscon(a)gmail.com>, Glen Besa <glen.besa(a)sierraclub.org>, Axel C Ringe <onyxfarm(a)bellsouth.net>, Brian Paddock <bpaddock(a)twlakes.net> Enjoy...! Aaron Friends Darrell and Tim contacted me about writing a song. They knew I was producing a new film. They wrote this amazing song, and we gave them the footage for the music video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GInMaWUud4 Please share this link with everyone you know and all the lists. You can post it on all social media, as well. We are all happy to give you a free license to use this song and video on web sites, your own videos and promotional materials, etc. Just send me a request with details. All the best, Mari-Lynn Mari-Lynn Evans CEO and Executive Producer Evening Star Productions -- Jim Sconyers jimscon(a)gmail.com 304.698.9628 Remember, Mother Nature bats last. *There is no Planet B!*

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Beech Ridge Wind HCP and ITP document
by Frank Young 13 Sep '13

13 Sep '13

At 286 pages, it is rather intense (or even boring?) at several points. I am particularly interested in the Project Operations protocols (aka adaptive management techniques) descriptions which start on document page 100 (PDF page 107). Direct PDF link is here: http://www.fws.gov/westvirginiafieldoffice/PDF/beechridgehcp/August_2013_Bee ch_Ridge_%20FHCP.pdf I noted several references to the "Shoenfeld estimator"- developed by WV Highlands Conservancy's Peter Shoenfeld- for determining total numbers of bat/bird fatalities by correcting for ground search results that are subject to several kinds of influences toward inaccuracy. 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FW: Save Your National Forests From Hydrofraking!
by Beth Little 10 Sep '13

10 Sep '13

Please distribute. From: Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics [mailto:jennifer@fseee.org] Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 2:06 PM To: blittle(a)citynet.net Subject: Save Your National Forests From Hydrofraking! <http://e2ma.net/oz/13120590906/214339203/1408143/spacer.gif> If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may <http://e2ma.net/map/view:CampaignPublic/id:1408143.13120590906/rid=bd36e13a…> see it online. Share This: <http://social.e2ma.net/next/e/1408143/410cfd183c10571e9246cba4df8e0a55/1312…> <http://social.e2ma.net/next/t/1408143/410cfd183c10571e9246cba4df8e0a55/1312…> <http://social.e2ma.net/next/f/1408143/410cfd183c10571e9246cba4df8e0a55/1312…> <http://social.e2ma.net/next/l/1408143/410cfd183c10571e9246cba4df8e0a55/1312…> <http://cdn.e2ma.net/userdata/1408143/images/e1292443300> <http://e2ma.net/go/13120590906/214339203/241682967/1408143/b64/aHR0cDovL2Zz…> Environmental activist Lopi LaRoe created this Smokey Bear parody to call attention to the dangers of fracking on public lands. Visit our website <http://e2ma.net/go/13120590906/214339203/241683122/1408143/b64/aHR0cDovL2Zz…> to learn more about how the Forest Service is attempting to squelch LaRoe’s free speech. <http://e2ma.net/go/13120590906/214339203/241683123/1408143/b64/aHR0cHM6Ly9k…> DonateNow September, 2013 Dear FSEEE Supporter, I’m writing to ask for your help in combating one of the greatest threats to our public lands today: the unregulated use of hydraulic fracturing or fracking. At stake is the most precious resource provided by our public lands: clean water. More than 60 million Americans receive their drinking water from a source originating in a National Forest. Freshwater rivers, streams, and underground reservoirs sustain innumerable ecosystems and are crucial to both wildlife and people. We need your help to ensure that National Forests are protected from the environmentally detrimental impacts of fracking and that the industry is held accountable when damage occurs. With your help, FSEEE will challenge this threat to our public lands and water supplies every step of the way. With consumer demand for cheap power increasing, the natural gas industry is looking to our National Forests as the next frontier for production. No region of the country is immune from the potential damage caused by natural gas fracking, but a lack of environmental regulations has left our National Forests and the clean water they produce extremely vulnerable. One of the most important mandates of the U.S. Forest Service, indeed, one of the reasons it was established in 1905, is to protect the nation’s supply of clean water. But you would never know that by the way the agency allows the natural gas industry to run roughshod over our public lands while threatening environmental activists with prosecution and jail time (visit our website, <http://www.fseee.org> www.fseee.org, to read more about FSEEE’s efforts to defend those who speak out about the dangers of fracking). Hydrofracking endangers our precious freshwater resources on many fronts. The process itself requires the use of huge amounts of water—a single well can use 5 million gallons—which is mixed with a slew of toxic chemicals. This noxious slurry is injected at high pressure into the ground where it can contaminate subsurface waters and reservoirs. And much of the chemical mixture returns above ground where fracking fluid endangers National Forest ecosystems when spills occur. A lack of consistent and effective disposal techniques often results in the remaining fluid ending up as pollutants in our streams and rivers. Current fracking practices are a risky proposition at best. Despite the threat that existing wells pose to water supplies, the Forest Service has failed to regulate fracking. At the same time, the natural gas industry denies ANY responsibility for the environmental contamination caused by fracking. The natural gas industry is powerful, and the Forest Service is complacent, but FSEEE is prepared to challenge this freewheeling experiment on every front. First, we must cease the development of new natural gas wells on those National Forests where the federal government owns both the surface occupancy and subsurface mineral rights. On these forests, the federal government has complete control over whether to issue fracking leases. The Forest Service makes leasing decisions about fracking during the planning process. FSEEE will monitor forest plans now being revised and insist that the Forest Service properly document the potential environmental hazards associated with fracking when completing the obligatory environmental reviews. There is no requirement forcing the Forest Service to open these lands to fracking, and FSEEE will ensure that the federal government prioritizes the protection of our public lands and waters over private profits. Second, we must ensure that regulations that protect human health and ecosystem integrity are in place when fracking on public lands does occur. Regrettably, fracking is already occurring on some of our public lands. That’s particularly true for the millions of acres of so-called “split estate” lands in the eastern U.S. where the Forest Service owns only the surface while the underground minerals are in private ownership. On these National Forest acres, the Forest Service can regulate industry’s access to its underground minerals, but it cannot deny access to them without condemning and paying for the underground oil and gas. But the Forest Service CAN regulate how the miners use the surface of these National Forests, including how they store and transport fracking fluids on Forest Service lands. This regulation is done through a “surface occupancy permit,” which companies must obtain before they can build access roads or start drilling. FSEEE knows that one of the best ways to ensure that environmental safeguards are implemented is to hold drillers responsible for any damage they cause. To date, the fracking industry has not been required to disclose the toxic stew of chemicals that are used in fracking under the claim that the mixture is a trade-secret. But the real reason they want to keep this chemical mix a secret is that when toxins show up in someone’s well, a town’s water supply or a nearby stream, no one is able to prove that fracking is at fault or which driller is responsible for the mess. Drillers claim that without proof a chemical contaminant came from their operation, they can’t be held responsible. FSEEE has been consulting with cutting-edge scientists to find ways to ensure that gas producers are held liable for any water pollution that results from this industry. In the coming year, FSEEE will be campaigning for a federal rule that requires oil and gas companies to include a non-toxic unique “tracer” in the fracturing fluids used to break up the underground shale rock. We will work to ensure that the Forest Service requires “tracer” use as a condition of getting a surface occupancy permit for natural gas development on National Forests. Tracers can pin liability on drilling companies, even if they refuse to disclose their fracking chemicals. If contamination occurs, a positive tracer will finger the culprit just like DNA can identify the perpetrators of crime. In fact, DNA is a possible tracer chemical because it is non-toxic and can be synthesized in an unlimited number of sequences so that each and every natural gas well can be identified individually. The tracer needs to be unique to each gas well, move with the fracking fluid underground and be readily detectable even at very small concentrations in water wells or streams. Several new technologies are being developed, but without a federal rule requiring industry to label its fracking fluid, none are likely to become commercially viable. A National Forest tracer rule for fracking would catalyze needed research and development in this field. Requiring that industry label its fracking fluids to avoid escaping liability for pollution is a sensible step to take. The National Forests were created to protect water quality and watersheds. To carry out that overriding mission, the Forest Service needs to cease fracking on those lands where they are legally entitled to do so. The Forest Service can and must say “no” to the big-money interests of the natural gas industry. The future of our forests and water resources are too precious to gamble on fracking. And where the Forest Service has no choice but to issue fracking leases, they must ensure that liability for any water pollution can be pinned squarely on the polluter. Tracer technology is the best guarantee that those who pollute our water are held accountable for damages and clean-up. We need your help to ensure that our National Forests and freshwater resources are safe from fracking. Please make a special contribution to FSEEE today. Your gift makes our work possible. Thank-you! Sincerely, Andy Stahl Executive Director P.S. Please see the “ Action Alert <http://e2ma.net/go/13120590906/214339203/241683124/1408143/b64/aHR0cDovL2Zz…> ” on our website and join us in demanding that the Forest Service hold the natural gas industry accountable when fracking results in environmental damage. P.P.S. You can contribute by sending a gift online using the "Donate Now" button below or by calling us at 541-484-2692. Thank you! <http://e2ma.net/go/13120590906/214339203/241683125/1408143/b64/aHR0cHM6Ly9k…> DonateNow P.O. Box 11615 | Eugene, OR 97440 US This email was sent to <mailto:blittle@citynet.net> blittle(a)citynet.net. To ensure that you continue receiving our emails, please add us to your address book or safe list. <http://e2ma.net/app/view:Manage/signupId:1420038/id:1408143.13120590906/rid…> manage your preferences | <http://e2ma.net/app/view:OptOut/ID:1408143.13120590906/signupId:1420038/rid…> opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? <http://e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:1420038/acctId:1408143/mailingId:214…> Sign up to receive our future emails. Network for Good <http://e2ma.net/userdata/20050/images/templates/nfg_emma_logo.gif> <http://e2ma.net/go/13120590906/214339203/241683126/1408143/b64/aHR0cDovL3d3…> EmailNow powered by Emma _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3392 / Virus Database: 3222/6651 - Release Date: 09/09/13

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from Saturday's Washington Post: : U.S. Forest Service mulls fracking in key national forest
by Paul Wilson 09 Sep '13

09 Sep '13

*U.S. Forest Service mulls fracking in key national forest<http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/QJTXP3/C57BVM/34JPBP/GKKSX6K/JEE4XO/…> * The decision will settle whether the drilling method may be used at George Washington National Forest. ( Darryl Fears, The Washington Post) -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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FW: [WVHCBOARD] whistleblowers
by Frank Young 07 Sep '13

07 Sep '13

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia University is bringing whistleblowers to Morgantown to discuss the role they've played in environmental issues. A panel discussion is set for Sept. 18. Among the panelists is Rick Plitz, a former senior associate at the U.S. Climate Change Science Program who exposed White House censorship of reports on global warming in 2005. Also participating is Jack Spadaro, a former head of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy who reported attempts to whitewash an investigation into a Kentucky coal slurry spill. The third panelist is Wilma Subra, a Louisiana scientist who exposed misleading statements by the Food and Drug Administration that seafood harvested in the Gulf of Mexico was safe to consume after the 2010 oil spill. This event is being produced with the Government Accountability Project. _____ From: WVHCBOARD(a)yahoogroups.com [mailto:WVHCBOARD@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Cynthia D. Ellis Sent: Saturday, September 07, 2013 10:31 PM To: West Virginia Highlands Conservancy Subject: [WVHCBOARD] whistleblowers WVU hosting environmental whistleblower forum http://www.wowktv.com/story/23366616/wvu-hosting-environmental-whistleblower -forum -- Cynthia D. Ellis RR 1 Box 163 Red House, WV 25168 304 586-4135 304 206-0083 [no service at residence] cdellis(a)wildblue.net "The wars of the twenty-first century will be fought over water." Ismail Serageldin, World Bank __._,_.___ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WVHCBOARD/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJwZzJyYmdrBF9TAzk3M zU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEwODEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEbXNnSWQDMjIwODIEc2VjA2Z0c gRzbGsDcnBseQRzdGltZQMxMzc4NjA3NDU1?act=reply&messageNum=22082> Reply via web post <mailto:cdellis@wildblue.net?subject=Re%3A%20whistleblowers> Reply to sender <mailto:WVHCBOARD@yahoogroups.com?subject=Re%3A%20whistleblowers> Reply to group <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WVHCBOARD/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJkdjRkZjU1BF9TAzk3M zU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEwODEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDbnRwYwRzd GltZQMxMzc4NjA3NDU1> Start a New Topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WVHCBOARD/message/22082;_ylc=X3oDMTM1YW84MXZx BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEwODEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEbXNnSWQDMjIwODIE c2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDdnRwYwRzdGltZQMxMzc4NjA3NDU1BHRwY0lkAzIyMDgy> Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WVHCBOARD;_ylc=X3oDMTJkcDZoZnRhBF9TAzk3MzU5Nz E0BGdycElkAzEwODEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEc2VjA3Z0bARzbGsDdmdocARzdGltZQ MxMzc4NjA3NDU1> Visit Your Group Working since 1967 for the conservation and wise management of West Virginia's natural resources <http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJjbGVnajNvBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEwO DEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDZ2ZwBHN0aW1lAzEzNzg2MDc0NTU-> Yahoo! Groups Switch to: <mailto:WVHCBOARD-traditional@yahoogroups.com?subject=Change%20Delivery%20Fo rmat:%20Traditional> Text-Only, <mailto:WVHCBOARD-digest@yahoogroups.com?subject=Email%20Delivery:%20Digest> Daily Digest . <mailto:WVHCBOARD-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe . <http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> Terms of Use . <mailto:ygroupsnotifications@yahoogroups.com?subject=Feedback%20on%20the%20r edesigned%20individual%20mail%20v1> Send us Feedback . <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=108108/grpspId=1705064177/msgId= 22082/stime=1378607455> __,_._,___

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Fwd: E- the Environmental Magazine Piece on Fracking
by Paul Wilson 06 Sep '13

06 Sep '13

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: David Dow <ddow420(a)comcast.net> Date: Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 4:50 AM Subject: E- the Environmental Magazine Piece on Fracking To: Patricia Matejcek <patachek3(a)gmail.com> Cc: Alison Robb <nature(a)cape.com>, Paul Wilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> *Concern Grows Over Fracking Public Lands*[image: wildlands]<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001Y9hnx-fniUx3esXBMaf4IzrFvC9mVSxw3G7GWhbhworo…> On May 16, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced new rules for fracking - or hydraulic fracturing – on public lands that environmental groups say do not go far enough to protect public health. There are more than 1 million fracked wells across the U.S.… *Continue Reading »*<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001Y9hnx-fniUx3esXBMaf4IzrFvC9mVSxw3G7GWhbhworo…> -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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FW: WV Coal Association Chairman Files for Chapter 11 for Coal Company and Longview Power Plant
by Frank Young 31 Aug '13

31 Aug '13

_____ From: The Power Line [mailto:comment-reply@wordpress.com] Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2013 12:05 PM To: fyoung(a)mountain.net Subject: [New post] WV Coal Association Chairman Files for Chapter 11 for Coal Company and Longview Power Plant Bill posted: "I don't usually post about the WV coal industry, unless there is a connection to electricity issues. In the past week, just such a story dropped into my lap. WV Coal Association Chairman James Laurita, Morgantown coal baron, filed for Chapter 11 reorgan" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on The Power Line <http://s.wordpress.com/i/emails/blavatar-default.png> <http://calhounpowerline.com/author/ourlinksblog/> <http://calhounpowerline.com/2013/08/31/wv-coal-association-chairman-files-f or-chapter-11-for-coal-company-and-longview-power-plant/> WV Coal Association Chairman Files for Chapter 11 for Coal Company and Longview Power Plant by <http://calhounpowerline.com/author/ourlinksblog/> Bill I don't usually post about the WV coal industry, unless there is a connection to electricity issues. In the past week, just such a story dropped into my lap. WV Coal Association Chairman James Laurita, Morgantown coal baron, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in federal bankruptcy court. <http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2013/08/30/longview-power-mepco-file- for-bankruptcy/> Here is a link to Ken Ward's post about the situation, including some very interesting links to the bankruptcy filing, in particular <https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/782015/keffer-affid avit.pdf> an affidavit filed by Longview CEO Jeffery Keffer. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about the situation after you read Mr. Keffer's affidavit. To me, the whole Longview project looks like one big charlie foxtrot from start to finish. Laurita is the current scion of the family that has owned MEPCo, a coal company that operates in the Morgantown area. It appears that MEPCo had no experience with operating a coal-fired power plant, but that is just what they contracted for in the 2000s. Remember that the 2000s were the go-go years of deregulated electricity. Suckers were pulled into the market by hucksters like Enron's Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. It appears that the Laurita family took the bait and ventured into a quagmire. They contracted with Siemans and Foster Wheeler, to international power plant giants, to build them a $2 billion plant with a rated capacity of only 695 megawatts. Those number alone indicate how crazy the scheme must have been. Laurita, of course, blames the contractors for all his problems. But that is just like a coal industry executive. And now everyone is suing everyone else. Throughout the bankruptcy filing, Laurita continues to claim that if the plant were working perfectly, his companies would be making money. Meanwhile, here in the real world, things are different. Here's how Mr. Keffer explains the current situation: 31. The Debtors' ability to manage through the challenges arising from the Contractors' Failures have also been affected by the current economic environment. Wholesale electricity prices have fallen significantly since construction on the Power Facility began in 2007 as a result of, among other things, the broader recession that commenced around that time, resulting in reduced electricity demand and substantial reductions in natural gas prices. Lower natural gas prices have been caused, at least in part, by the rapid expansion of natural gas production and natural gas inventories arising from the discovery of new shale deposits and the development of new extraction techniques. The presence of low-price natural gas reduces the variable costs of natural-gas fired power facilities and reduces the wholesale market price for all generators. Year-to-date, the average price per megawatt for electricity sold into the PJM on a day-ahead basis was approximately $33 per megawatt-hour-approximately 52 percent of the average power price forecasted for 2013 when construction began on the Power Facility in 2007. 32. Wholesale coal prices have also continued to fall as global markets face oversupply and as U.S. power generators have continued to shift away from coal fired technologies. The Debtors believe this shift results from, among other things, increased costs associated with environmental and regulatory compliance and pressures resulting from fierce industry competition with natural gas-fired power facilities. The coal industry as a whole has idled mines and reduced production in order to compete. 33. Moreover, the power generation and coal production industries are highly competitive on both a regional and national level. For example, Mepco does not compete solely with other regional mines, but also competes against national and international competitors that transport coal into the region. Similarly, Longview Power competes to deliver electricity to PJM against other coal-fired power generation stations as well as natural gas-fired power, nuclear power, and renewable energy, among other sources. This competitive environment has added anadditional layer of complexity to the Debtors' existing challenges. Translation: "We drank the kool-aid in the early 2000s and thought that Cheney would kill renewable power forever and that the Cheney administration would create the perfect environment for coal-fired generation." Instead of taking responsibility for making a $2 billion mistake, Keffer starts the next paragraph this way: 34. The Debtors, however, believe they can compete effectively once they are no longer hamstrung by the Contractors' Failures. As noted above, the Power Facility uses designs, equipment, processes, and technology that have made it one of the most efficient coal-fired power plants in the country-when the Power Facility can operate at full capacity. Note that "when" in the last sentence. That should be an "if." And we know that "if" is fantasy. The drop in demand is not the result of "the recession," but a long term trend, something acknowledged by everyone in the electricity business (except Mr. Laurita and Mr. Keffer). Early in his affidavit, Mr. Keffer states: "the Power Facility has only had a capacity factor of 68 percent since Longview Power took possession [in December 2011]." Hey, compared with other coal fired merchant plants in PJM, that 68% capacity factor looks pretty good. The current capacity factor for "steam" generators, almost entirely coal fired plants, in the most recent quarterly report by the PJM market monitor is 48.5%. The market monitor lists the Jan-June 2012 capacity factor for PJM steam generators at 41.4%. If Longview can't make money with a capacity factor significantly higher than other coal fired generators, their prospects for the future look grim, contractor problems or not. <http://calhounpowerline.com/author/ourlinksblog/> Bill | August 31, 2013 at 12:05 pm | Tags: <http://calhounpowerline.com/?tag=falling-demand> Falling Demand | Categories: <http://calhounpowerline.com/?cat=1> Uncategorized | URL: <http://wp.me/piwFb-1Tj> http://wp.me/piwFb-1Tj <http://calhounpowerline.com/2013/08/31/wv-coal-association-chairman-files-f or-chapter-11-for-coal-company-and-longview-power-plant/#respond> Comment <http://calhounpowerline.com/2013/08/31/wv-coal-association-chairman-files-f or-chapter-11-for-coal-company-and-longview-power-plant/#comments> See all comments Unsubscribe or change your email settings at <https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=973223b16743effc39ef5047389b30e8&email =fyoung%40mountain.net> Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: <http://calhounpowerline.com/2013/08/31/wv-coal-association-chairman-files-f or-chapter-11-for-coal-company-and-longview-power-plant/> http://calhounpowerline.com/2013/08/31/wv-coal-association-chairman-files-fo r-chapter-11-for-coal-company-and-longview-power-plant/ <http://wordpress.com> Thanks for flying with WordPress.com <http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=calhounpowerline.wordpress.com&blog=4 415465&post=7273&subd=calhounpowerline&ref=&email=1&email_o=wpcom>

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Fwd: Longview tumbling
by James Kotcon 30 Aug '13

30 Aug '13

FYI. JBK Begin forwarded message: From: Bill Bishop <bbish(a)austin.rr.com> Date: August 30, 2013, 9:32:27 AM CDT To: Oliver Bernstein <oliver.bernstein(a)gmail.com> Subject: tumbling Longview Power, MEPCO file for bankruptcyAugust 30, 2013 by Ken Ward Jr. ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/files/2013/08/longview.jpg ) Here’s today’s news from Longview Power and MEPCO: Longview Power, LLC today announced that it and certain of its affiliates, including Mepco Holdings, LLC and its affiliates, commenced Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Both Longview and Mepco intend to operate their businesses as they continue to negotiate a chapter 11 plan with their lenders to de-risk their balance sheet. Longview ( http://www.longviewpower.com/ ), of course, operates a fairly new coal-fired power plant outside of Morgantown. And MEPCO’s CEO is James Laurita Jr., the chairman of the West Virginia Coal Association. There’s more background here ( http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/19/idUSWNA950020120619 ). Here’s the rest of their press release: When able to operate at full capacity, Longview’s 700 megawatt supercritical coal fired power generation facility is one of the most efficient coal-fired power plants in the country and has one of the lowest air emissions profiles of any such power plant. Construction failures and defects have prevented the power plant from operating reliably at its designed capacity. Longview’s Mepco affiliate and its predecessors have engaged in coal mining and processing operations in and around West Virginia for more than 50 years. Currently, Mepco owns or operates three active underground coal mines and one active surface mine located in northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. “After careful consideration of available alternatives, the Company determined that filing for Chapter 11 was a necessary and prudent step that allows us to strengthen and operate our businesses without interruption while continuing to restructure the Company’s balance sheet,” said Jeffery Keffer, CEO of Longview Power. “The Company has been in consensual negotiations with our senior lenders toward a Chapter 11 plan to maximize value; those negotiations remain ongoing. We remain confident that the Company and our lenders will reach an agreement on the terms of a Chapter 11 plan in the near term.” “I want to make clear that we will continue to conduct business as usual and our operations and employees will not be affected by the Chapter 11 filing,” Jim Laurita, Jr., CEO of Mepco added. “We will continue to provide our customers with the level of service they have come to expect from this great company and its employees. This is the best option the Company has to negotiate its balance sheet with the Company’s lenders.” The Company has filed customary, so-called “first day” motions to ensure the Company obtains the benefits of the Chapter 11 filing and continues to operate its business in the ordinary course and without interruption. The Company expects that these motions will be heard by the Court immediately after Labor Day and will continue to operate in the ordinary course in the meantime. Employees should expect that all payroll and benefits will continue as they have without interruption. The Company has engaged Lazard as its investment banker and Alvarez & Marsal North America, LLC as its restructuring advisor. The Company is represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, as primary restructuring counsel, and Dentons US LLP for all issues related to Longview’s pending arbitration proceedings. More Sharing ServicesShare ( http://addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300&username=xa-4d2b47597ad291fb )|Share on print ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2013/08/30/longview-power-mepco-file-… )Share on facebook ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2013/08/30/longview-power-mepco-file-… )Share on twitter ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2013/08/30/longview-power-mepco-file-… )Share on email ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2013/08/30/longview-power-mepco-file-… ) This entry was posted on Friday, August 30, 2013 at 9:19 am and is filed under Business ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/category/business/ ), Uncategorized ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/category/uncategorized/ ). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2013/08/30/longview-power-mepco-file-… ) feed. You can leave a response ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2013/08/30/longview-power-mepco-file-… ), or trackback ( http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2013/08/30/longview-power-mepco-file-… ) from your own site Bill Bishop 1415 Alameda Dr. Austin, TX 78704 512.428.9067 ( tel:512.428.9067 ) 512.636.9057 ( tel:512.636.9057 ) mobile www.dailyyonder.com -- Eitan Bencuya National Communications Strategist Sierra Club 202-495-3047 ( tel:202-495-3047 ) o 415-255-5521 ( tel:415-255-5521 ) m eitan.bencuya(a)sierraclub.org -- Kim Teplitzky Deputy Press Secretary, Northeast & Mid-Atlantic Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Pittsburgh, Pa 412-802-6161 (o) 267-307-4707 (c) skype: kim.teplitzky @kim_t

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Fwd: [GW-ACT-LEADERS] Background: How Solar and EVs Will Kill the Last of the Industry Dinosaurs
by James Kotcon 29 Aug '13

29 Aug '13

I have been saying this for a year, now it looks like experts are saying it too. JBK ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Edward Mainland <emainland(a)comcast.net> Date: Sat, Aug 24, 2013 at 6:27 PM Subject: [GW-ACT-LEADERS] Background: How Solar and EVs Will Kill the Last of the Industry Dinosaurs To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)lists.sierraclub.org How solar and EVs will kill the last of the industry dinosaurs ( http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/how-solar-and-evs-will-kill-last-of-industr… ) By Giles Parkinson August 23, 2013 >From ReNewEconomy Several years ago, Tony Seba, an energy expert from Stanford University, published a book called Solar Trillions, predicting how solar technologies would redefine the world’s energy markets and create an investment opportunity worth tens of trillions of dollars. Most people looked at him, he says, as if he had three heads. That was possibly because the book was written before the recent plunge in the cost of solar modules had taken effect, and before most incumbent utilities had woken up to the fact that solar – even with minor penetration levels – was turning their business models upside down. Seba is now working on a new book, with even more dramatic forecasts than his first. His new prediction is that by 2030, solar will make the fossil fuel industry more or less redundant. Even more striking is his forecast that electric vehicles will do the same thing to the oil industry by around the same date. The predictions are made on the basis that the cost of solar and EV batteries will continue to fall, while the cost to consumers of sourcing energy from fossil fuels through the grid or liquid fuels will continue to rise. Before the decade is out, Seba says, both technologies will pass a tipping point that will eventually sweep the incumbents aside, just as technology and cost developments have done in the computer, internet, media, photographic and telecommunications industries. “I am incredibly optimistic that by 2030, nuclear, coal, gas, big hydro, and oil will be all but obsolete,” Seba told RenewEconomy in an interview in San Francisco last month. “The world will be mostly powered by solar and wind, and most new vehicles will be electric. The architecture of energy markets is going from centralized to distributed – in liquids and the electric market.” The working title for the book is “Disrupting energy – how Silicon Valley is making coal, nuclear, oil and gas obsolete.” It is pinned on the theme that decentralised generation and storage will replace the centralised, hub and spoke model that has prevailed for the last century. The impact of decentralised generation is already being felt. The striking part of Seba’s prediction is the speed with which it will happen. First, on the technology cost issue. For EVs, Seba says the success of Tesla – in sales and in reputation – has changed the conversation around EVs, particularly after it won the 2013 Car of the Year award. “Basically, EVs were supposed to be expensive and underpowered and weak and 50 years away. Tesla showed all that was wrong. The EV will do to oil what solar will do to coal, nuclear and gas. EVs are a disruptive technology, there is no doubt about that. “The propaganda says that it is too expensive and has little range. But if you look at the cost curve of batteries, even Detroit is saying that by 2020 lithium-ion batteries will be at $US200/kWh. “The tipping point for the mass market to move from internal combustion engines to EVs is between $US250 and $US300/kWh. Once it gets to $US100/kWh, it is all over. I think we will get to $US250/kWh by 2020. By 2030, when batteries are at $100/kWh, gasoline vehicles will be obsolete. Not on their way out, obsolete.” Seba thinks that mass migration will start around 2018 to 2020. On solar it is a similar story. “When I wrote my first book, a lot of people looked at me like I had three heads,” Seba says. “They thought I was way too optimistic because the conversation then was about grid parity for solar in 2060, or 2070. “And what you hear is the same thing we heard 20 years ago, that this is not going to happen, that it is difficult, that power needs specialised scale, that it can only be done like this. When in fact, over the last few years, a country like Germany has pioneered the move from a few dozen central power plants to more than a million producers. “Australia has done the same thing. Bangladesh has a million solar installations. So the poorest people in one of the poorest countries are adopting solar unsubsidised. Solar is already cheaper than grid – what people are paying for electricity – in dozens of countries already. And that is despite huge fossil fuel subsidies. “The sun is more democratic than any other source of energy. Coal is in pockets, gas is in pockets, oil is in pockets. The sun shines a little bit more in some places than others, but everyone gets sunshine. And the thing about solar, is that it can be built on a distributed basis.” Can solar really be built on a scale that would meet the bulk of the world’s electricity needs? Seba points to the computer industry, where he worked in the 1990s, and to the internet and telecommunications. All three were dominated by huge, centralised technologies. All three industries have been turned upside down by new “distributed”, or hand-held devices. He says the same thing will happen in electricity. “This is not in the future. We are going from big centralised power plants to decentralised generation, to decentralised storage, and to decentralised distribution. “It is just a matter of policy makers understanding this and making regulations appropriately. In India, about $30-40 billion goes to subsidise diesel. The grid there is already obsolete. It went down and 500 million people didn’t notice, because they are not on the grid. “If they stop subsidising diesel and put it into solar, they could bring 100 million people a year into solar. If all you do is stop subsidising diesel, you can, in five years, bring solar electricity to 500 million people who are not on the grid today. The biggest threat from all this radical change is to the traditional utility model, Seba says. “Utilities as we know them are over. They are the land line telephone companies of 20, 30 years ago. We will start using them as back-up, as world goes distributed and every house has solar, and factories do the same, and they are stuck with these stranded investments. “What they will try to do is to keep jacking up prices – which makes solar even more affordable. It will be this death spiral. You will see bankruptcies. Finally, it will not make sense. He says markets will be redesigned, and there will be huge opportunities for new companies – he dubs them the Ebays of the electricity world – that can aggregate and trade distributed production, and that can manage the process. “You will need a market, but instead of assuming 10 or 100 producers, you will need market that assumes million or tens of millions of power producers. So you will need some companies that can do that. Markets will get interesting – storing, trading etc. there will be huge opportunities for innovative companies. “And then you need to know how to manage energy without thinking about it. Most of us don’t know enough. We don’t know enough about cars. Why ask same of consumers for electricity. “So companies will do that – they will do that better than utilities do. The Nests, the Apples, Googles, Sungevity, and Suncity, are getting into the home, and getting trust of consumer. “Most consumers don’t trust utilities, but utilities don’t understand this, because they treat consumers like ratepayers. When you buy a car, or a shirt you are treated well. But in the electricity industry, you are not. “The big conversation is about solar panels, and storage and EVs, but that is just beginning of the conversation. We have so many other technologies that will change the way electricity is traded, used, stored. Utilities have no idea about that.” So, what could possibly go wrong? Well, policy will be critical, and right now the conservative right is lined up against renewable and disruptive technologies, and firmly on the side of the incumbents. Seba doesn’t understand why. “In ideological terms, there is no more libertarian energy source than solar. Why do libertarians, at least in the US, align themselves with conservative parties? “Why are they supporting coal and big refineries and power generation? Ideologically it makes no sense. Part of what is going on is an information war. $8 trillion can buy you a lot of information, and can help you spread a lot of misinformation. “ __._,_.___ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp

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Check this out
by Beth Little 29 Aug '13

29 Aug '13

This is an old ad from when Exxon was Humble Oil (which became Standard Oil in the interim) - actually BRAGGING about melting glaciers. http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/what-would-the-humble-oil -ad-look-like-today.html

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Fwd: [fom] FW:] MANCHIN TO CHAIR CONGRESSIONAL FIELD HEARING ON THE FUTURE OF THE COAL INDUSTRY
by James Kotcon 28 Aug '13

28 Aug '13

Is anyone interested in organizing something? I'm available! JBK >>> Bill Price <bill.price(a)sierraclub.org> 8/28/2013 3:00 PM >>> Jim, See below. Maybe some activists can show up. Bill Price, Organizing Representative >>>>> >From Senator Manchin’s office: August 27, 2013 Contact: Jonathan Kott 202-228-1810 ( tel:202-228-1810 ) MANCHIN TO CHAIR CONGRESSIONAL FIELD HEARING ON THE FUTURE OF THE COAL INDUSTRY Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will host a Congressional field hearing in Morgantown, WV to examine the current state of coal-generated electricity in U.S. power markets and the challenges and opportunities the coal industry faces in the future. Senator Manchin serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. A list of witnesses will be available later in the week. Senator Manchin will be available before the hearing to speak with members of the media. WEDNESDAY, September 4 Participate in Press Opportunity before the Energy Field Hearing When: 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Where: West Virginia University’s Erickson Alumni Center, Kennedy Club Room (Room 102), One Alumni Drive, Morgantown. What: Senator Manchin will deliver remarks and take questions from the media regarding energy policy during this press opportunity. PLEASE NOTE: Members of the media who wish to cover this event, must RSVP to Deputy State Director Sara Payne Scarbro at sara_payne(a)manchin.senate.gov. Email Subject Line: FIELD HEARING. Will Host ENR Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Public Field Hearing _______________________________________________ CCC.justice mailing list CCC.justice(a)lists.citizenscoalcouncil.org http://lists.citizenscoalcouncil.org/listinfo.cgi/ccc.justice-citizenscoalc… -- Debbie Jarrell Co-Director Coal River Mountain Watch The outcome is the action as well as inaction of us all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SLu4FyUQjsQ

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from High Country News: New tech to trace fracking fluid could mean more accountability
by Paul Wilson 27 Aug '13

27 Aug '13

New tech to trace fracking fluid could mean more accountability Document Actions - Share this: - Like<http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/fracking-…> - Tweet<http://twitter.com/home?source=highcountrynews&status=New+tech+to+trace+fra…> - Tip Jar<http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/fracking-technology-oil-and-gas-drilling-regu…> - Email<http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/fracking-technology-oil-and-gas-drilling-regu…> - Print this - Comments (4)<http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/fracking-technology-oil-and-gas-drilling-regu…> Tay Wiles<http://www.hcn.org/@@search?portal_type%3Alist=Blog+Post&Creator=taywiles@h…> | Aug 22, 2013 02:55 PM <http://www.hcn.org/@@search?portal_type%3Alist=Blog+Post&Creator=taywiles@h…> As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency comes under fire for abandoning studies that linked contaminated water to hydraulic fracturing, and oil and gas companies consider how to fix their public image around<http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/can-the-oil-and-gas-industry-fix-its-public-i…> the issue, states<http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/GovHickenlooper/CBON/1251611065764> are trying to figure out how much transparency to demand from the industry. Meanwhile, researchers are racing to find the most effective tracer to mix with fracking fluid that could dramatically change how the industry works. This fall, a company founded by scientists from Rice University in Houston will conduct a field test of a tracer made with what chemistry and materials science professor Andrew Barron believes is the key ingredient to success: nano rust. Barron and other researchers hope this tracer will settle once and for all whether oil and gas companies are damaging drinking water, and, in the event of contamination, allow communities to determine who – or what – is at fault. [image: pavilion.jpg] <http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/images-2/pavilion.jpg>A hydraulic fracturing site near Platteville, Colorado. “People (with contaminated wells) usually say (I know it was fracking) ‘because I’ve got methane in my water,’” Barron said. “(But) it’s difficult to discern whether it’s from one source or another.” With new tracer technology to help narrow it down, “It may turn out it was Halliburton that contaminated your water, and in another case, it may turn out it’s the municipal dump that’s dumping into a stream that has ground water close to it.” For their field test, Barron’s company will mix nano rust particles into at least two million gallons of fracking fluid before pumping it into the ground for hydraulic fracturing <http://www2.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing> (a process that uses pressurized water, sand and chemicals<http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Hyd…> to break up rock and release gas underground). Texas-based Southwestern Energy will host the testing at one of their wells and has also funded some of Barron’s tracer research. When asked if that’s a conflict of interest, Barron asks where else he might be able to test his technology in the field. “It’s not going to be the EPA (to fund us). And I haven’t noticed Matt Damon giving me a research check recently,” he jests, referring to the actor-screenwriter whose so-so 2012 film*Promised Land* made Damon a target<http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/matt-damon-called-liar-by-pro-frackin…> for industry criticism. Barron, and FracEnsure, anticipate they may publish results from the field test in a Society of Petroleum Engineers<http://www.spe.org/unitedstates/> journal. Tracers that can already be used in fracking fluid today usually either dilute too quickly or rely on radioactive material, which isn’t a great way to test for contaminated water without contaminating it in the process. Barron says his nano rust solution is harmless, detectable at low concentrations and also lasts at least several weeks, and possibly more, making it easier to detect a slow-moving problem. Depending on the results, Barron hopes to have the nano rust tracer on the market within a year. He and his colleagues launched a company in 2011, FracEnsure, to use the nano rust product to provide a service for companies, state governments or individuals, in which they test water for contamination upon request. As far as costs go, that will depend on the market. “It’s not the dollar amount; it’s what percentage of the total cost of the well it is. We’re aiming that (the price for our tracer) should be far less than 10 percent of (the cost of) the chemicals" that the drilling company is already using. A second tracer company, BaceTrace, which popped up last year, is FracEnsure’s biggest competition so far. BaceTrace began as a research project out of Duke University, with grant money from the school, and also hopes to complete a field test before the end of the year. When CEO Justine Chow combined her biology undergraduate work with her curiosity to find a fracking fluid tracer during her graduate work, she came up with what she says may be the perfect solution: artificial deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. Just a thimbleful amount is needed for 7 million gallons, or 11 Olympic-sized swimming pools, of fracking fluid. BaceTrace Chief Technology Officer Jake Rudulph holds a small amount of DNA tracer. Photo by Jake Rudulph. Each tracer is a unique sequence, and each well will be assigned its own tracer, which allows a precise accounting of where the contamination came from. If a tracer assigned to well A shows up in an aquifer, that’s evidence that that well or a fracture in the rock linked to it is connected to that aquifer. If multiple DNA-based tracers come up in one sample of flowback water, or one aquifer, that means there’s an underground connection in the fractures between the wells in which the injection fluid for each gets mixed. “It would be interesting for the company to know that,” Chow says. “They’d probably be more productive if they didn’t spread fractures out so far.” The Duke team has already had several oil and gas companies express interest in the DNA tracer when it’s available. This interest raises the question: If these tracers have the potential to show that a project is contaminating a community’s drinking water, then why are these companies chomping at the bit to try it out? “This technology is another way for our industry to add a level of transparency to what we do and gain the public’s trust,” Christina Fowler, a spokesperson for Southwestern Energy writes in an email. Where lawsuits arise over contamination, the tracers will help plaintiffs support claims that their water has in fact been contaminated by local oil and gas development as opposed to other causes, and on the flip side, would help defendants – which Southwestern has been in the past<http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/new-lawsuit-filed-in-fracking-cou…> on this issue – prove they’re not the source of the pollution, Fowler says. In line with improving public trust, the new technology could help regulators sidestep trying to require companies togive away the specific ingredients<http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2013/03/21/legislation-would-have-fracking…> in their fracking fluid, which the industry often regards as proprietary information. There’s a chance company leaders may be more willing to let an outside party trace their fluid than they are to give away their specific formula for fracking fluid. Yet whether these new technologies will ultimately be useful in holding the oil and gas industry to a higher standard of accountability hinges on whether tracer tests have adequate safeguards to ensure companies do not manipulate results. Both FracEnsure and BaceTrace are working out the kinks and considering applications outside the oil and gas industry. It takes a couple of days to test water samples in a lab to determine whether they contain a tracer, Chow says; she’s hoping to develop the technology to be instantaneously detectable in the field. And water management and the agriculture industry might also benefit from a reliable tracer technology, in order to better understand how various water sources interact underground. “If the general public and the states have the information, then you can make a decision,” about whether to continue or begin drilling in certain locations, Barron said. “Irrespective of which direction you come from, the information is important.” *Tay Wiles is the online editor of *High Country News. *Follow her on Twitter @taywiles. Platteville, Colorado photo from Mark Udall Flickr.* -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Fwd: more on frack win
by Paul Wilson 26 Aug '13

26 Aug '13

not sure how this might relate to WV fracking..... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Edward M Dobson <edobson(a)iglide.net> Date: Fri, Aug 23, 2013 at 9:09 PM Subject: more on frack win To: CONS-AWL-RESILIENT-HABITATS(a)lists.sierraclub.org *Excerpt: * * * *“[Winning bidder company] **currently holds no legal interest in the properties.” * ** *Interesting setback for industry. Tim DeChristopher must be talking to his publisher.* ** * - Ed* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-AWL-RESILIENT-HABITATS list, send any message to: CONS-AWL-RESILIENT-HABITATS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Fwd: Lead Debate vs. Fracking Debate
by Paul Wilson 22 Aug '13

22 Aug '13

fyi, looks like it might be helpful for the Fracking folks and should be linked on the WV-fracking website. best, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 8:13 AM Subject: Fwd: Lead Debate vs. Fracking Debate Remember when the oil industry was forced to phase out leaded gasoline? Until that time in the early-1970s, oil companies spent decades denying that lead was harmful and attacked the researcher who probed it to be a harmful neurotoxin. Sound familiar? See this terrific piece in The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/19/fracking-debate-lead-pet… - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-WPST-COASTOCEAN-FORUM list, send any message to: CONS-WPST-COASTOCEAN-FORUM-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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from ScienceDAily e-newsletter: How shale fracking led to an Ohio town's first 100 earthquakes
by Paul Wilson 20 Aug '13

20 Aug '13

How shale fracking led to an Ohio town's first 100 earthquakes<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/WDM…> Posted: 19 Aug 2013 07:27 AM PDT Since records began in 1776, the people of Youngstown, Ohio had never experienced an earthquake. However, from January 2011, 109 tremors were recorded and new research reveals how this may be the result of shale fracking. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Colbert on Gag Oder
by James Kotcon 19 Aug '13

19 Aug '13

----- Original Message ----- From: dsborowiec(a)aol.com To: dsborowiec(a)aol.com Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2013 12:58 PM Subject: Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert Report: Hallowich family story about fracking makes national news If you have not seen this, it is worth a look. If you have, pass it on. JBK ----- Original Message ----- From: dsborowiec(a)aol.com To: dsborowiec(a)aol.com Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2013 12:58 PM Subject: Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert Report: Hallowich family story about fracking makes national news Hyperlink below is a wonderful and hilarious blasting of Range Resources, and support for the Hallowich family ordeal, on the Colbert Report. If you have not seen this, prepare to laugh as Stephen Colbert makes fun of fracking and Range Resources. Using humor to show what a bully Range Resources is to local residents who oppose them. http://m.comedycentral.com/colbertnation_video.rbml?id=the-word---gag-gift&… ----- Original Message ----- From: dsborowiec(a)aol.com To: dsborowiec(a)aol.com Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2013 1:29 PM Subject: use THIS link for the Colbert Report on the fracking "Gag Gift" - Hallowich gag order settlement sorry, the other link isn't working properly today.. this one loads correctly.... http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/428642/august-15-201…

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The Social Cost of Carbon
by James Kotcon 18 Aug '13

18 Aug '13

Here are some economics on the "Social Cost of Carbon" which is what the emissions of carbon dioxide actually cost us. As explained in the link below, EPA already uses these numbers as part of their estimates of the costs and benefits of various energy regulations. (Would WV ever consider doing so?) Also, the "cost" is not a specific number, but one that varies largely depending on two factors: 1) the year in which emissions occur; and 2) the "discount rate" (roughly analogous to the interest rate or rate of inflation predicted to occur in the future, i.e., the future value of a dollar). EPA uses a range of rates to provide a range of predicted values for the benefits of damages avoided for a given amount of carbon emissions reductions. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/EPAactivities/economics/scc.html The Union of Concerned Scientists has a recent editorial explaining some of the rationale and issues regarding the recent update to the SCC. http://blog.ucsusa.org/the-social-cost-of-carbon-setting-the-record-straigh… Compared to the values used by AEP and FE during the power plant transfer cases, these values from EPA are much higher. Enjoy. JBK

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Pipeline Break in Wetzel County
by James Kotcon 18 Aug '13

18 Aug '13

Is it just me, or do we see an unusual streak of candor in DEP admitting that they won't go in to sample until pollution levels have already dissipated? JBK http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201308170011#.UhC4bMv5reg.email --- This message was sent by jkotcon(a)wvu.edu via http://addthis.com. Please note that AddThis does not verify email addresses. To stop receiving any emails from AddThis, please visit: http://www.addthis.com/privacy/email-opt-out?e=blcTCRYWGg0XIg4UDEwcBgw

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from ScienceDaily e-newsletter; Mountaintop mining pollution has distinct chemical signatures
by Paul Wilson 16 Aug '13

16 Aug '13

Mountaintop mining pollution has distinct chemical signatures<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/Nt-…> Posted: 15 Aug 2013 10:36 AM PDT Three elements commonly found at elevated levels in an Appalachian river polluted by runoff from mountaintop coal mining have distinctive chemistries that can be traced back to their source, according to a new study. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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FirstEnergy's EE practices
by James Kotcon 13 Aug '13

13 Aug '13

I just ran across this article in an e-mail from last week. I had heard some of this before, but putting it all together like this is pretty interesting. Would it be a good idea to start highlighting how bad First Energy is at efficiency, and urge the PSC to get independent contractors to do EE? This may be useful in both preventing a repeat of these kinds of problems, as well as creating the perception that some type of EE program is inevitable. This may all be moot if some kind of settlement gets agreed to, or we might apply it to the EE Stakeholder/Phase II process, which would be going forward in either case. Perhaps something like this could turn into a WVNS story? Whaddya Tink? Jim Kotcon On Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 1:26 PM, Vanessa Pierce <vanessa.pierce(a)sierraclub.org> wrote: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/how-a-utilitys-shady-business-o… How a Utility’s Sketchy Efficiency Practices Could Be Costing Ratepayers More Than $400M Is FirstEnergy “hiding” efficiency on its books to the detriment of ratepayers?ADAM JAMES: JULY 12, 2013 FirstEnergy is one of the nation’s biggest investor-owned utilities, and it has a big problem. Efficiency investments, required by statute in the state of Ohio since 2008, mandate that utilities such as FirstEnergy make investments in saving energy. These efficiency targets are good for customers, who will save billions ( http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/energy-efficiency-target-could-… ) of dollars over the lifetime of the investments. However, these same investments could hurt the bottom lines of vertically integrated utilities, which profit from selling electrons and building new electrical infrastructure as customers use more energy, instead of less. Efficiency programs are a clear example of the tension between what’s good for customers and what’s good for utilities. In some cases, utilities are adjusting their business models to account for these changing market dynamics. However, there are still companies that are engaging in business practices to avoid or mismanage efficiency investments. These practices have a real price tag, to the tune of millions of dollars, as customers miss out on opportunities to save energy and lower their bills. Exploiting Loophole Savings: $368 Million In 2008, a law was passed requiring FirstEnergy to help customers save energy. FirstEnergy still had no efficiency programs lined up ( http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/DocumentRecord.aspx?DocID=bbf7c580-3147-42d3-a94…. ) by the middle of 2009, so in a scramble to meet its end-of-year goals, it proposed ( http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/DocumentRecord.aspx?DocID=e9546cf4-f4b7-420b-8fb… ) purchasing and hand-delivering 3.75 million 100-watt equivalent compact florescent light bulbs, two per customer in their territory, for a cost of $21 per customer. This is about three times what those bulbs would cost ( http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/10/firstenergy_light_bulbs… ) at a retail store such as Home Depot. Despite opposition from interested stakeholders, the commission approved ( http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/DocumentRecord.aspx?DocID=5ffa3899-2740-4cae-975… ) the programbefore ( http://www.toledoblade.com/Energy/2009/10/10/Concerns-voiced-over-mercury-i… ) public backlash ( http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/10/light_bulbs.htm ) derailed ( http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20091007/FREE/910079967 ) it. FirstEnergy later sold the bulbs at a discount through retailers. Again behind on implementing an industrial efficiency program in 2011, FirstEnergy created ( http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/DocumentRecord.aspx?DocID=0d57b475-28de-4088-807… )an incentive program for its industrial customers. These overly lucrative incentives led to the three-year budget for the program being depleted ( http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/CaseRecord.aspx?Caseno=09-1947&link=DIVA ) in less than eight months as many projects went forward that perhaps shouldn’t have, before the company finally lowered incentives. These actions stranded contractors ( http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/DocumentRecord.aspx?DocID=410b8b5a-c8d8-401b-a71… ) who had lined up to complete these projects across the state. "Going in, of course, we couldn’t predict how popular the program would be, but its success did not diminish opportunities for our customers to participate in other energy efficiency programs. We did not turn projects away based on savings achieved through the mercantile program," said FirstEnergy's senior spokesman Christopher Eck. Overall, FirstEnergy has invested less in efficiency than other utilities. A good example: FirstEnergy invested approximately as much in helping residential customers save energy between 2009 and 2012 as Dayton Power & Light, a utility that is one-quarter ( http://www.puco.ohio.gov/emplibrary/files/util/MktMonitoringElecCustSwitchR… ) the size of FirstEnergy. In addition, FirstEnergy has shown compliance by relying heavily on a loophole that allows it to count existing efficiency projects at large consumer facilities toward its total. These “loophole savings” accounted for over 50 percent of its total claimed savings, compared to18 percent ( http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/DocumentRecord.aspx?DocID=55b65ebb-0700-492a-bb8… ) from American Electric Power and 18 percent ( http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/DocumentRecord.aspx?DocID=267ab02e-5247-47b9-b04… ) from Dayton Power & Light and Duke. FirstEnergy’s reliance on loophole savings between 2009 and 2012 displaced new energy efficiency projects that would have reduced customer energy bills $253 million over time -- instead raising customers’ energy bills by at least $115 million by offsetting new energy-efficiency projects. “If we could truly implement these programs in the way that they were meant to, electricity prices would fall and homes and businesses would receive some much-needed financial relief," said Dan Sawmiller, senior campaign representative with Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. Weak Capacity Market Bids: $39 Million Every year, PJM holds a ( https://www.firstenergycorp.com/content/fecorp/about.html )capacity auction ( http://www.pjm.com/~/media/markets-ops/rpm/rpm-auction-info/2016-2017-base-… ) to secure enough resources to meet electricity demand three years in advance. The payments that all the generators receive are based on the capacity price, which is set by the most expensive marginal resource needed to meet demand. FirstEnergy ( https://www.firstenergycorp.com/content/fecorp/about.html ) witnessed a stunning 56 percent decrease in capacity prices in the PJM auction ( http://www.pjm.com/~/media/about-pjm/newsroom/2013-releases/20130524-pjm-ca… ). The next day, FirstEnergy’s share price dropped 6.5 percent. As a utility with 20,000 megawatts of generating capacity, FirstEnergy benefits from higher capacity prices. Every megawatt of capacity clearing in the auction creates more revenue for the company, and the more expensive the last marginal generating unit is, the more it gets back across its whole portfolio. This year, the clearing price in its territory fell from $357 per megawatt-day to $114 per megawatt-day, which translated to a massive financial hit to the company. On the other hand, lower capacity prices were good for customers, who are paying less to have their electricity needs met. FirstEnergy was partially responsible for the lower prices that hurt them. The company bid in 75 percent of the projected energy savings it will achieve before the delivery year, which applied downward pressure on capacity prices in the auction. In other words, since total demand was lower, more expensive generators were edged out, making the clearing price that is paid to all the resources lower as well. So while FirstEnergy stands to collect $6.9 million on efficiency from the auction, it will likely lose quite a bit more than that on other generators in its portfolio. FirstEnergy didn’t bid the energy efficiency into the market voluntarily. It was required by the Public Utility Commission to do so, in part to help “lock in” commitments, since making the bids into capacity markets requires delivery or a risk of being fined. The end result was good for customers, but not great for FirstEnergy. Remarkably, the story took another turn last month, as a last-minute amendment by Senator Seitz (R-Green Township) in the Ohio statehouse would have required the state public utilities commission to renegotiate the terms of the efficiency commitments with FirstEnergy. If FirstEnergy succeeded in lowering its efficiency requirements during the negotiations, the company could risk being hit with a fine by PJM for reneging on its auction bid -- with the bill ultimately being footed by FirstEnergy’s customers. The amendment did not pass. This isn’t the first time the capacity markets have been home to some shady business. Last year, FirstEnergy’s Ohio distribution utilities could have bid around 360 megawatts of energy efficiency into the 2015/2016 auction. Instead, they only bid one-fifth or one-sixth of that, and ultimately only 36 megawatts cleared in the auction. This could potentially hurt customers in three ways. First, they missed out on the payments from efficiency bids that could be used to offset the costs of making the investments, which in this case would have amounted to $39 million in additional revenues going toward paying off the efficiency upgrades. Second, consumers could be forced to pay for power plants they do not need, since demand is lower but the market has no way to recognize it. Third, in some cases this can lead the overall clearing price to be much higher than it could have been -- and customers will pay those extra costs. Fortunately, because the marginal unit in that auction wouldn’t have been displaced with a full efficiency bid, these last two outcomes didn’t materialize. But that will not always be the case. Upon reaching out to FirstEnergy, the utility correctly pointed out that this analysis assumes that all 360 megawatts would be eligible in the PJM region and that it owned the resources. "It would have been irresponsible for the company to bid projected savings into the auction for years in which it had no approval to run energy efficiency programs. If we had we done so and the savings had not materialized, the price our customers would have paid for generation service could have been much higher. The savings we bid into the auction reflected actual savings that had already been installed and that the company owned," said FirstEnergy's Eck. However, FirstEnergy did not take any steps to ensure that it had ownership of the resources, and there were a significant amount of credits it left on the table. "Our PUCO-approved program met all applicable laws and regulations and we’re proud of its success," said FirstEnergy's Eck. Former Commissioner Cheryl Roberto’s dissenting opinion ( http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/TiffToPDf/A1001001A12G18B41251E34808.pdf ) points this out, stating that “the burden is on the Companies [FirstEnergy] to demonstrate that its actions are aligned with both its own interests and those of its customers. [...] The information in our record is insufficient to find that the Companies dedicated sufficient resources to reliability.” In fact, this is one reason that the Commission ordered FirstEnergy to require ownership as a condition of participating in its programs the following year. Electricity prices have fallen in Ohio by 1.4 percent since passing efficiency standards. But that's just a small portion of what could be realized if utilities offered up the full amount of energy efficiency on their books. *** GTM Editor Stephen Lacey contributed to this story. Adam James is a Research Assistant for Energy Policy at the Center for American Progress and the Executive Director of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute ( http://cleanenergyleaders.org/ ). You can email him at ajames(a)americanprogress.org and follow him on Twitter @adam_s_james. Tags: capacity market ( http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/tag/capacity+market ), energy efficiency ( http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/tag/energy+efficiency ), firstenergy ( http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/tag/firstenergy ), ohio ( http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/tag/ohio ), ratepayers ( http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/tag/ratepayers ), utilities ( http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/tag/utilities ) Vanessa Pierce Eastern Regional Director, Beyond Coal Campaign Sierra Club | 50 F Street NW | Washington DC 20001 Tel: 202-675-6691 (w) 801-652-5151 (c)

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Fwd: Study Finds High Levels Of Arsenic In Groundwater Near Fracking Sites
by Paul Wilson 10 Aug '13

10 Aug '13

This is from the Huffington Post. Click on the photo or articles title. fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: David Dow <ddow420(a)comcast.net> Date: Sat, Aug 10, 2013 at 7:15 AM Subject: Fwd: Study Finds High Levels Of Arsenic In Groundwater Near Fracking Sites To: Alison Robb <nature(a)cape.com>, Paul Wilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com>, Becky Bartovics <bartovi(a)earthlink.net> fyi Begin forwarded message: *From: *Patricia Matejcek <patachek3(a)gmail.com> *Date: *August 10, 2013 12:14:12 AM EDT *To: *CONS-WPST-COASTOCEAN-FORUM(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG *Subject: **Fwd: Study Finds High Levels Of Arsenic In Groundwater Near Fracking Sites* * * ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: HuffPost Green <dailybrief(a)huffingtonpost.com> Date: Fri, Aug 9, 2013 at 3:43 PM Subject: Study Finds High Levels Of Arsenic In Groundwater Near Fracking Sites ** Study Finds High Levels Of Arsenic In Groundwater Near Fracking Sites GREEN <http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/URGdfSuomE…> [image: Study Finds High Levels Of Arsenic In Groundwater Near Fracking Sites]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> [image: t]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> [image: f]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> Study Finds High Levels Of Arsenic In Groundwater Near Fracking Sites<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> [image: A Growing Sense of Urgency]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> [image: t]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> [image: f]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> A Growing Sense of Urgency<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> [image: Is The Antarctic Ozone Hole Causing Warming?]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> [image: t]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> [image: f]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> Is The Antarctic Ozone Hole Causing Warming?<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> ------------------------------ Creationists, Climate Change Deniers Rebuffed In Kentucky<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> [image: t]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> [image: f]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> Continue reading<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> Raging Wildfire Forces 1,800 To Evacuate<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> [image: t]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> [image: f]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> Continue reading<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> <http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> <http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> <http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> ------------------------------ [image: A Reality Show With Depth: Live Ocean Exploration]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> A Reality Show With Depth: Live Ocean Exploration<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> [image: t]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> [image: f]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> Continue reading<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> ------------------------------ [image: Philippe Cousteau And Others Push Major Marine Initiative]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> Philippe Cousteau And Others Push Major Marine Initiative<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> [image: t]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> [image: f]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVwKcJSYX…> Continue reading<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> ------------------------------ [image: Advertisement]<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/UgVvwuYQyd…> ------------------------------ Received this from a friend? Sign Up<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/Tn0BZ78g-_…>for alerts from The Huffington Post Forward<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/forward/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/bd…> • Unsubscribe<http://link.huffingtonpost.com/oc/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/5bc6d74…> Huffington Post, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 <http://link.huffingtonpost.com/51d26d8465dfa34d7a8a5e2c13tm8.mep/TKnXbiKfgo…> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-WPST-COASTOCEAN-FORUM list, send any message to: CONS-WPST-COASTOCEAN-FORUM-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Royal Dutch Shell: They've Really Got a Friend in Pennsylvania
by Beth Little 10 Aug '13

10 Aug '13

Here's a sterling example of corporate/political corruption in fracking. Royal Dutch Shell: They've Really Got a Friend in Pennsylvania By Walter Brasch <http://thedemocraticdaily.com/author/brasch/> | <http://thedemocraticdaily.com/2013/08/10/royal-dutch-shell-theyve-friend-pe nnsylvania/> August 10, 2013 - 7:55 am | by Walter Brasch Royal Dutch Shell, which owns or leases <http://www.shell.us/aboutshell/projects-locations/appalachia.html> about 900,000 acres in the Marcellus Shale, had a great idea. It wanted to frack the Ukraine. But, there was opposition. So, Royal Dutch Shell decided to create a junket for some of the Ukrainians opposed to fracking to show them just how wonderful fracking is. They were going to bring the Ukrainians to northeastern Pennsylvania, and give them an all-expenses-paid four day tour. The tour was to begin at the end of July. Other shale gas corporations have created press junkets, where they lay out a nice day or two of activities, complete with handouts, trinkets, meals, and lodging. Members of the establishment press often go on these junkets. Some take what they're told, rework it, and put it into print or on the air. Now, the people of the Ukraine anti-fracking movement aren't idiots. They weren't just going to take whatever they were shown and told. So, they contacted the state's leading fractivists and anti-fracking organizations. They wanted to learn all the facts-not just what was spoon-fed to them. They were willing to talk to anti-fracking activists when there were no other scheduled activities. But Royal Dutch Shell was monitoring FaceBook and the Internet, and saw that the Ukrainians were trying to talk to the grassroots movement in Pennsylvania to get all sides of the issue. What a company with solid PR would do would be to just deal with it-and hope that its side could be presented, and the people would make reasonable decisions. But, Royal Dutch Shell, apparently, has some rather lame six-figure income PR people and administrators. Royal Dutch Shell decided it didn't want to deal with having any opposition to its PR tour. So, the company that has about $360 billion in assets-and made about a $27 billion profit last year, placing it No. 1 on the Fortune 500 list-cancelled the tour less than a week before it was to begin. But the story doesn't end with a cancelled press junket. Royal Dutch Shell is embedded into Pennsylvania politics. The foreign-owned company was thinking about building an ethane cracker plant about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. A cracker plant takes natural gas and breaks it up to create ethylene, primarily used in plastics. Royal Dutch Shell considered placing the plant beside the Ohio River in Pennsylvania, Ohio, or West Virginia. All three states were interested, but Pennsylvania held out the most lucrative corporate welfare check for the company, which had spent <http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=e01&year=2012> $14.5 million in lobbying during 2012, about 10 percent of all lobbying costs for all gas and oil corporations. The Pennsylvania legislature handed over a 15 year exemption from local and state taxes, apparently without consulting local officials <http://publicsource.org/investigations/potter-township-forgotten-player-bri nging-shell-oil-pa> in Beaver County's Potter and Center townships. Tom Corbett, who never met a gas driller he didn't like, then approved a $1.65 billion tax credit over 25 years, tweeting <http://triblive.com/news/2008446-74/jobs-state-plant-permanent-shell-indust ry-corbett-numbers-tax-billion#axzz2DbxQ6ptB> , "A crackerplant would create up to 20,000 permanent jobs in Southwest PA." The reality is considerably lower. Shell stated it planned to hire only 400 to 600 persons; because of the location, many new employees would probably be Ohio and West Virginia residents. Even if all possible indirect jobs-including more low-wage clerks at local fast food restaurants-were added, the most would be about 6,000-7,000 employees. Pennsylvania may have been able to attract the plant without giving up so much corporate welfare. A Shell news release <http://www.shell.us/home/content/usa/aboutshell/media_center/news_and_press _releases/2012/03152012_pennsylvania.html> stated the company "looked at various factors to select the preferred site, including good access to liquids rich natural gas resources, water, road and rail transportation infrastructure, power grids, economics, and sufficient acreage to accommodate facilities for a world scale petrochemical complex and potential future expansions." Even then, Shell said it could be "several years" before construction would begin. At the proposed location, the Horsehead Corp., which signed an agreement with Shell to sell the land, has until April 30, 2014, before Shell could begin construction. Corbett may have believed that extending corporate welfare to Royal Dutch Shell was just good business, and would spur job creation and the economy. But, there is another probability for his generosity, and it's both personal and political. Dory Hippauf's "Connecting the Dots" series <http://commonsense2.com/2011/12/naturalgasdrilling/connecting-the-dots-the- marcellus-natural-gas-play-players-part-1/> explains why Corbett may have been so generous with extending tax credits and subsidies, and it begins with billionaire Terrance (Terry) Pegula, who sold <http://www.forbes.com/profile/terrence-pegula/> East Resources to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 for $4.7 billion. East Resources, according to <http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article326485.ece> reporting in the Buffalo News, had "a less-than-stellar track record in the environmental dicey business of drilling for natural gas." Terry and Kim Pegula donated <http://marcellusmoney.org/company/shell> $280,000, and Shell donated <http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor_details.phtm l?&c=123883&i=33&s=PA&y=2010&summ> about $358,000, to Corbett's political campaign for governor. As governor, Corbett appointed Pegula in March 2011 to the newly-formed Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, which was loaded with pro-fracking energy company executives prior to being disbanded after fulfilling Corbett's vision to produce a pro-industry report. The story continues at Penn State, where the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR) announced that with funding provided by General Electric and ExxonMobil-which donated a combined $2 million to Penn State, the University of Texas, and the Colorado School of Mines-it would offer a <http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/03/gas_drilling_industry_pa ying_p.html> "Shale Gas Regulators Training Program." The Center had previously said it wasn't taking funding from private industry. However, the Center's objectivity may have already been influenced by two people-Tom Corbett, who sits on the university's board of trustees, and Terry Pegula. Hippauf made a few more connections. Pegula, a Penn State graduate, is full owner of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. Penn State had Division II ice hockey teams that played in a 1,350 seat stadium. That would change. In September 2010, Penn State announced that Pegula and his wife, Kim, donated $88 million, the largest individual gift in Penn State's history, to fund a world-class 6,000-seat ice hockey arena; the men's and women's ice hockey teams would now become Division I athletics; the arena will be completed this Fall. While understanding a person's motives is difficult, it's possible the Pegulas wanted to do something nice for Penn State. It's also possible they saw Penn State as a feeder school to the NHL, especially the Sabres. There is also another possibility. On the day Pegula gave the money to Penn State, he said <http://onwardstate.com/2010/09/18/pegula-marcellus-shale-development-good-f or-students/> , "[T]his contribution could be just the tip of the iceberg, the first of many such gifts, if the development of the Marcellus Shale is allowed to proceed." So, now we have connections between Penn State, a billionaire with connections to Penn State and Pennsylvania's governor, and the world's largest gas and oil multi-nation corporation, which has substantial holdings in Pennsylvania-and is afraid to allow Ukrainians to hear about the negative effects of shale gas drilling. [Dr. Brasch's latest book is Fracking Pennsylvania <http://www.greeleyandstone.com/mediaroombooks/frackingpennsylvania.html> , an in-depth look at the effects of fracking upon health, the environment, and the economy; he also discusses the politics of fracking. The book is available at www.greeleyandstone.com <http://www.greeleyandstone.com/> , amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and your local bookstore.] http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/10/1230262/-Royal-Dutch-Shell-They-ve- Really-Got-a-Friend-in-Pennsylvania# <http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/10/1230262/-Royal-Dutch-Shell-They-ve -Really-Got-a-Friend-in-Pennsylvania> http://themoderatevoice.com/185340/royal-dutch-shell-theyve-really-got-a-fri end-in-pennsylvania/comment-page-1/ http://thedemocraticdaily.com/2013/08/10/royal-dutch-shell-theyve-friend-pen nsylvania/ http://www.laprogressive.com/royal-dutch-shell-fracking/

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Fwd: [Coal Volunteers List] TIME highlights Beyond Coal in article on climate change as a public health issue
by Paul Wilson 09 Aug '13

09 Aug '13

fyi, for those of you who are not on this SC list. paul w ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Mary Anne Hitt <maryanne.hitt(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Thu, Aug 8, 2013 at 9:08 PM Subject: [Coal Volunteers List] TIME highlights Beyond Coal in article on climate change as a public health issue To: #Coal <coal-list(a)sierraclub.org>, coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org Greetings Beyond Coal team, Check this out - TIME has a new article about the power of focusing on the public health impacts of climate change, and they cite the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign as the prime example of the environmental movement doing it right. This is a testament to the great work you've all been doing, and to your efforts nationally and locally to build meaningful partnerships with health professionals. Kudos! Mary Anne http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/08/rebranding-climate-change-as-a-public… Public Health <http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/public-health/> Rebranding Climate Change as a Public Health Issue Why medical professionals may be the best messengers for global warning right now By Courtney Subramanian<http://healthland.time.com/author/courtneysubramanian/> @cmsub <http://www.twitter.com/cmsub>Aug. 08, 20135 Comments<http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/08/rebranding-climate-change-as-a-public…> - - - - - - inShare1 - Read Later<http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/08/rebranding-climate-change-as-a-public…> To most people, climate change <http://topics.time.com/climate-change/> means melting snowcaps and helpless polar bears sweltering under escalating temperatures. But most of the world’s populations aren’t likely to see an iceberg in their lifetimes, much less a stranded polar bear in the wild. Which explains why the dangers of these environmental changes haven’t exactly earned high priority on most people’s list of attention-worthy crises. (Does anyone remember Al Gore <http://topics.time.com/al-gore/>’s $300 million We Campaign<http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1837761,00.html>?) The politicization of climate change — the never-ending debate over whether it exists, for example, and the ensuing back-and-forth over its causes, its implications and potential solutions — further discourages the public from action. But what if climate change were instead about an increase in childhood asthma, or a surge in infectious diseases, or even an influx of heat-induced heart attacks? Would that hold more resonance for the average citizen of the world? That’s what some climate change experts are hoping, as they steer the conversation about global warming<http://topics.time.com/global-warming/> toward the public health issues it raises. Last week, the journal *Science* featured a special <http://www.sciencemag.org/site/special/climate2013/> issue <http://www.sciencemag.org/site/special/climate2013/> on climate change and included a study on the complex yet growing connection between global warming and infectious diseases. *MORE:* Infectious Disease Could Become More Common In a Warmer World—Especially for Plants and Animals<http://science.time.com/2013/08/02/infectious-disease-could-be-more-common-…> According to a recent study<http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10584-012-0513-6.pdf>, framing global warming as a public health issue rather than as an environmental or national security one produces the most emotionally compelling response among people, since it focuses on the immediate implications a warmer climate could have on people’s lives. This strategy also has the benefit of providing a sense of hope that the problems can be addressed and avoided, if people take action early enough. Matthew Nesbit, co-author of the study, says such positive actions are critical for communicating the importance of climate change to a broader and more diverse proportion of Americans who may not care about environmental issues. “It’s easy to become fatalistic about the problem,” he says. “You have to give them a sense of hope that they can become part of something that addresses the problem.” For example, tying the frequency of extreme weather events, such as last year’s devastating Hurricane Sandy, widespread wildfires or the recent summer heat waves to global climate change can help people to appreciate the immediacy of the problem. As people deal with the public health consequences of such events — from floods to contaminated water to heat-related illnesses — the impact that environmental events have on health starts to hit home. To exploit this potential, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a Climate and Health Program in 2009, and associate director George Luber has been advising 16 states as well as New York City and San Francisco officials, on regional climate change problems and the public health issues they entail. (*MORE: *States Show Improvements but Remain Unprepared for Public-Health Emergencies<http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/27/states-show-improvements-but-remain-u…> ) The Obama administration also seems to be getting the message. In an energy speech in June at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., the President laid out his plans for climate change. Speaking in the midst of a blistering heat wave that was roasting the Northeast, Obama called on policymakers to readdress global warming and implement new pollution standards. And he emphasized that such action was necessary not only to preserve the planet, but also our health. “Don’t tell folks that we have to choose between the health of our economy or the health of our children,” he said as he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “By simply having him put those two words in his speech makes an enormous difference in people recognizing that it’s a public health problem,” says Dr. Georges Benjamin, director of the American Public Health Association (APHA). By re-branding global warming as a health issue, the administration is hoping to bypass the political quagmire that has kept climate change initiatives such as regulating greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants or passing renewable energy standards from being implemented. Earlier this month, the White House chose to honor medical and environmental professionals in its Champions of Change<http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/07/12/protecting-human-health-changing-…> program, for their efforts in “protecting public health in a changing climate.” (*MORE: *Fighting Climate Change by Not Focusing on Climate Change<http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2085220,00.html#ixzz2bEErBpj2> ) But even Champion of Change recipient Gary Cohen, co-founder and president of global non-profit Healthcare Without Harm <http://www.noharm.org/>, says that the re-branding will require the backing of medical professionals, who serve as the hubs of education for raising community awareness about the health consequences of climate change. That’s why Healthcare Without Harm, for example, is trying to transform the healthcare industry into a greener sector — encouraging hospitals to adopt more environmentally friendly energy resources and waste management practices — and informing medical professionals about the close connection between climate change and medicine. “Healing is their core mission,” Cohen says. “It’s the one sector of the economy that has an ethical framework that underpins it.” Sabrina Mccormick, an environmental documentary filmmaker and sociologist at George Washington University, agrees that doctors have a unique role that can transcend political differences. “[The public is] kind of attuned to their expertise and we really care about what they say,” McCormick says. “They have a potential for an impact that scientists may not have.” Indeed, a 2012 Gallup poll<http://www.gallup.com/poll/159035/congress-retains-low-honesty-rating.aspx> found that the American public ranked nurses with the highest honesty rating (85%) while doctors placed third with 70%. That’s why anti-smoking advocates, for instance, focused on educating medical professionals to quit smoking first before addressing the greater public. Cohen believes doctors can do the same for climate change as long as they are prepared and educated to lead by example as environmentally responsible stewards. And they have reason to be hopeful. The environmental group Sierra Club was successful in doing just that with its “Beyond Coal<http://content.sierraclub.org/coal/>” campaign, which shut down coal power plants in several states by eliciting the help of local stakeholders, including physicians, who informed local residents about the respiratory problems that the plants triggered among its workers and children in the area. (*MORE:* ’Coal Kills Every Day’: Michael Bloomberg Pledges $50 Million to Fight the Coal Industry<http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2084476,00.html> ) It’s also encouraging that more physicians, particularly newly minted ones, are inclined to join in the climate change conversation. The American Medical Association has hosted state-based courses on climate change since 2011 <http://www.amednews.com/article/20110404/opinion/304049959/4/>, educating doctors about how to prepare for and respond to climate-related illnesses and injuries. In May 2011, the journal* Lancet* hosted a worldwide symposium on climate change and health concerns, drawing international experts to discuss the health implications of a changing climate while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has since shifted its efforts to focusing on the health concerns emerging from global warming after winning the Nobel Peace Prize for its 2007 report<http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessmen…> . Such efforts to embed awareness into medical training are important, says Nesbit and other experts, since the re-branding is not about spin as much as it is about changing the type of dialogue people have about climate change. “You’re creating the context and the relationship around which people are discussing, interacting and bumping into information about climate change,” he says. For instance, he says pediatricians may start to explain how higher regional pollen counts, which may be contributing to their patients’ asthma and allergies, could be due in part to changing climates that boost pollen production of trees. And the timing may also be right for such conversations as well. With unemployment now below 7%, coupled with the frequency in extreme weather, people may be more inclined to accept public health efforts aimed at reducing their exposure to potentially costly health problems that might be emerging from changing patterns in the global climate. Among young voters, a new poll found<http://www.lcv.org/issues/polling/recent-polling-on-youth.pdf> that 79% were more likely to vote for a candidate who supports taking action on the issue, regardless of the candidate’s party. (*MORE:* Dengue Fever Creeps Back Into the U.S. — and Climate Change Isn’t Helping<http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/10/dengue-fever-creeps-back-into-the-u-s…> ) The hope is that seeing climate change as a health issue will spur more people into pushing for environmental reforms, but that’s still a big ‘if.’ “My biggest concern is that like many things in prevention, people might want to put it off,” says Benjamin. “We don’t have 20 years to wait like the tobacco campaign. Every year we wait puts us behind the eight ball, and I think it’s important to move that message.” Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/08/rebranding-climate-change-as-a-public… -- Mary Anne Hitt Director, Beyond Coal Campaign Sierra Club Twitter <http://twitter.com/#!/maryannehitt> | Blog<http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/coal-director/> 304-876-7064 (w) | 540-239-0073 (c) www.beyondcoal.org -- To access the Beyond Coal Campaign Resource Portal, go to: https://sites.google.com/a/sierraclub.org/beyond-coal-resource-portal/ To sign up for this list, email becki.clayborn(a)sierraclub.org with the subject and message "SUBSCRIBE #coal-volunteer" --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "#Coal-Volunteers" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coal-volunteers-list+unsubscribe(a)sierraclub.org. To post to this group, send email to coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Fwd: EPA Fracking Cover Up?
by Paul Wilson 06 Aug '13

06 Aug '13

somebody with Fracking experience want to check this out? David is a SC member in Massachusetts and this was posted to the Club's COAST-OCEAN-FORUM. best, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: David Dow <ddow420(a)comcast.net> Date: Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 8:11 AM Subject: Fwd: EPA Fracking Cover Up? To: Alison Robb <nature(a)cape.com>, Paul Wilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> Cc: Dan Proctor <dproctor(a)post.harvard.edu>, "Woll Jr. Woll" < ewoll(a)sandw.com>, Becky Bartovics <bartovi(a)earthlink.net> fyi Begin forwarded message: *From: *Patricia Matejcek <patachek3(a)gmail.com> *Date: *August 6, 2013 3:51:58 AM EDT *To: *CONS-WPST-COASTOCEAN-FORUM(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG *Subject: **Fwd: EPA Fracking Cover Up?* * * Wanted to make sure you saw this and signed ~ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sarah Alexander, Food & Water Watch <act(a)fwwatch.org> Date: Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 2:03 PM Subject: EPA Fracking Cover Up? Last week, there was breaking news from EPA whistle-blowers that in 2012 the EPA abandoned an investigation of fracking-related water contamination in Dimock, Pennsylvania after an EPA staff member raised the flag that it was likely caused by fracking¹. There's an unfortunate trend here, because they've also abandoned their fracking-related water contamination investigations in Pavillion, Wyoming² and Weatherford, Texas³. This is unbelievable, and totally unacceptable. Will you join me today in calling on President Obama and his new EPA administrator Gina McCarthy to immediately reopen these investigations and deliver safe drinking water to the residents of these communities while the investigations commence?<http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=egZWsTPol7SnKCbtRCiDsQ> Thanks for taking action, Sarah Alexander Deputy Organizing Director Food & Water Watch act(at)fwwatch(dot)org ________________ 1. Internal EPA report highlights disputes over fracking and well water<http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=EaDKPGChiqXx05jT7yJgbQ>. LA Times, July 27, 2013. 2. EPA Drops Fracking Probe in Wyoming<http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=gapXuEGo-WOnCYNRITCTSg>. Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2013. 3. EPA halted 'fracking' case after gas company protested<http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=K1kUzAAtToHJ1rIQ-l_x-Q>. USA Today, January 16, 2013. ------------------------------ *Sent by Food & Water Watch to patachek3(a)gmail.com * Donate: https://secure3.convio.net/fww/site/Donation2?df_id=1040&1040.donation=form1<http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=qRRIdagK3zEA0t-AftwcQA> Contact us: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/about/contact-us/<http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=NTulgC0n2nw_h04hUrJ2Gw> Visit us online: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/<http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=jplniXpIWoch-kELvUBjmQ> Unsubscribe: https://secure3.convio.net/fww/site/CO<http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/CO?i=fqOPrwbrMk2h6Fw1TSKntXj0EWbIp0Zi…> Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink. Food & Water Watch, 1616 P Street, NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 • (202) 683-2500 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-WPST-COASTOCEAN-FORUM list, send any message to: CONS-WPST-COASTOCEAN-FORUM-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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FW: DEP Public Notice - Comment period begins on draft TMDLs in Monongahela River Watershed
by Frank Young 02 Aug '13

02 Aug '13

-----Original Message----- From: dep.online(a)wv.gov [mailto:dep.online@wv.gov] Sent: Friday, August 02, 2013 4:55 PM To: fyoung(a)mountain.net Subject: DEP Public Notice - Comment period begins on draft TMDLs in Monongahela River Watershed The following was sent to you because you are a Member of the DEP Public Notice mailing list. =========================================================== Friday, August 2, 2013 @ 4:53 PM =========================================================== The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announces a comment period and public meeting on draft Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for impaired streams in the Monongahela River watershed. A Total Maximum Daily Load is a plan of action used to clean up streams not meeting water quality standards. Each of the streams under TMDL development has been identified as violating state water quality standards and the federal Clean Water Act requires TMDL development for them. The pollutants addressed in this project are acidity (pH), total iron, total manganese, total selenium, dissolved aluminum, chlorides and fecal coliform. After consideration of public comments, DEP will submit final draft TMDLs to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval. A public meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., August 20, 2013 to present a general discussion of the TMDL development process and to answer questions regarding the proposed TMDLs. The meeting will be held at Fairmont State University in the Falcon Center, Conference Room 3, Room 303, 2101 Locust Ave., Fairmont, WV. Parking is available to guests on the third floor of the parking garage across from the Falcon Center. The DEP invites public comment on all aspects of the draft TMDLs. The comment period begins August 2, 2013 and extends through September 3, 2013. Written comments may be submitted by U.S. Mail, electronic mail, and fax. The preferred form for comment submissions is e-mail or disk in order to expedite the review and response process. Written comments should be postmarked no later than September 3, 2013. Comments should be sent to: Steve Young, ATTN: Monongahela River TMDL Comments West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection 601 57th Street Charleston, WV 25304 E-mail: stephen.a.young(a)wv.gov The TMDLs will be available for review by close of business August 2, 2013 on DEP's webpage: www.dep.wv.gov/tmdl CDs may also be obtained by calling Steve Young at (304) 926-0495, TTY 711 (304) 558-2751. =========================================================== To view past notices of open public comment periods or to unsubscribe from this Mailing List, login at: http://apps.dep.wv.gov//MLists2/

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West Virginia Seeks "Reset" on Coal With EPA
by Frank Young 02 Aug '13

02 Aug '13

West Virginia Seeks "Reset" on Coal With EPA Greg Stotelmyer , Public News Service-WV http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/33778-1 Join the discussion: facebook.com/PublicNewsService <http://www.facebook.com/PublicNewsService> Twitter: @pns_news <http://twitter.com/#!/pns_news> @pns_WV <http://twitter.com/#!/pns_WV> Google+: plus.to/publicnewsservice <http://plus.google.com/106260479325451709866> (08/02/13) CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was briefed Thursday by a West Virginia delegation about the impact the agency's new policies could have on the state's coal industry. The Obama administration is moving to limit carbon emissions from new power plants. Politicians and industry leaders who attended the 45-minute meeting said EPA administrator Gina McCarthy was receptive to their concerns. "And, I really think that we are going to have the opportunity to hit the reset button and begin a dialogue that hopefully encourages coal to be a part of the president's energy plan going forward," said Tim Miley, the Democratic speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates. West Virginia is the third-largest energy producing state. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin also attended the meeting. He maintains the EPA's policies are overzealous and have led to the closing of coalmines and power plants. But environmental groups back the direction the EPA is heading. "We've never been entirely satisfied with the EPA," said John McFerrin, secretary of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. "But we're more satisfied now than at some times in the past. And, they certainly do not need to be reined in." U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia called the meeting a very respectful, direct and productive discussion about how the EPA's policies have hurt the coal industry. "If anything just trying to prohibit the use of the product we're depending on," he said. "That makes no sense whatsoever. And, I told them that the war on coal is not an optical illusion, it was real." Manchin said the delegation invited McCarthy, who is in her first week as administrator of the EPA, to come to West Virginia to see first hand the impact of the agency's decisions. McFerrin disagrees with how Manchin characterizes the situation. "By any meaningful definition, it isn't a war on coal," he said. "The proper way to look at it is, the dealings and industry that has gotten to do whatever it pleased for the last, oh, forever and if not getting to do everything that you want to do is your definition of war, then I suppose it is." Click <http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/33778-1> here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/33778-1 --- To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove(a)publicnewsservice.org <mailto:remove@publicnewsservice.org?subject=remove> and put the word "remove" in the subject line.

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WV NEWS SERVICE
by Frank Young 30 Jul '13

30 Jul '13

For several years Public News Service (locally known as WV News service) has been a voice for progressive reporting of news. Its local affiliate- WV News Service (http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/state/WV ) - has financial support from WV Highlands Conservancy and other state organizations. And its West Virginia reporters are always on the lookout for and begging for the kinds of news articles that are of interest to you and me. Just click on the above link for a sample of the kinds of news coverage they offer. Let's try to make use of this valuable service. And it costs us nothing unless we decide to voluntarily offer fiscal support to WVNS. Frank Young _____ From: Public News Service [mailto:outreach@publicnewsservice.org] Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 1:23 PM To: fyoung(a)mountain.net Subject: "Mem-Ben-Ar" - Member Benefits Webinar! Latest Secret Treasures of your membership <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/rwcode/r.asp?HitID=1375204828850&EmID=90262149&StID =67860&SID=0&NID=1037064&Email=fyoung(a)mountain.net&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2 d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> <http://www.publicnewsservice.org/images/2011/logo.gif> Member Benefits Webinar <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cyLmdvdG9tZWV0aW5nLmNvbS9yZWdpc3 Rlci84NDQ1MDg3Mzg%3D&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Register Now <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5kaWdpZGF5LmNvbS9wdWJsaXNoZXJzL2 hvdy10b3AtcHVibGlzaGVycy1oYW5kbGUtc3BvbnNvcmVkLWNvbnRlbnQv&token=42ce7c9660a 9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> HuffPo charges $40,000 for one story, called " <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cDovL2Jsb2cucHVibGlzaDIuY29tLzIwMTMvMDcvMD cvZXhwbGFpbmluZy1uYXRpdmUtYWR2ZXJ0aXNpbmctdG8tcHVibGlzaGVycy8%3D&token=42ce7 c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> native advertising", where they will write up a story of your choosing and promote it on their web page for you. HuffPo is just one of the many online aggregators that take PNS stories! Find out more secret treasures of your membership! Mark your calendars for our upcoming member benefits webinar. <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cyLmdvdG9tZWV0aW5nLmNvbS9yZWdpc3 Rlci84NDQ1MDg3Mzg%3D&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Register today to take advantage - it's less than two weeks away! We value your membership - and you should, too! Make sure you are taking advantage of everything you can, and making the most of your membership. This webinar is a great tool for anyone involved with Public News Service, giving you tons of useful information and allowing you to ask any questions you might have about membership and social media. Some of the topics we will cover: * How your membership works, and the life of a story * Editorial tips from our regional producer, Deb Smith, on how to pitch a great story that gets better pick-up * What the media environment looks like today * How to use social media effectively to reach a wider audience, easily sharing news you support on issues you care about * Getting your pictures, graphics and videos into mainstream media The Member Benefits Webinar takes place <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cyLmdvdG9tZWV0aW5nLmNvbS9yZWdpc3 Rlci84NDQ1MDg3Mzg%3D&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Tuesday, August 13 at 2 EST/1 CST/12 MST/11 PST. Whether you are new to your organization, new to the News Service family, or have used us for years and want the latest updates, you won't want to miss out on this information packed session! Can't make this one? The webinars are bi-monthly, so click on a date below to register for a future session that works for your schedule (Sessions are the second Tuesday every other month, all sessions start at 2 EST/1 CST/12 MST/11 PST): We look forward to seeing you there! 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First Energy's plant closures-Pittsburgh Post-gazette
by James Kotcon 25 Jul '13

25 Jul '13

Yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a great story on what some are calling the FE fiscal train wreck. To summarize, FE is foundering in deregulated states, and is counting on the TrAILCo transmission line and the Harrison transfer to bail out the company. How do we use this? "Since FirstEnergy Corp. announced its $4.7 billion acquisition of Greensburg-based Allegheny Energy Inc. in February 2010, the Akron, Ohio-based buyer has said it will close seven of the 10 coal-fired power plants that it picked up in the purchase. FirstEnergy also is looking to sell two-thirds of its hydropower assets, much of which came from Allegheny Energy. So what was the company thinking?"Full story is at: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/firstenergys-plant-closure… JBK

2 1

Fwd: Final Draft of letter for First Energy stakeholder meeting
by James Kotcon 23 Jul '13

23 Jul '13

For those who want to know what we are for, in terms of EE, this excellent letter gives fairly specific details of what we want. I will be presenting this to the FE Stakeholder meeting tomorrow. It has my name on it, but Jeff Loiter and staff at Optimal Energy did all the technical writing, and I corrected some minor grammar. (I really like having staff!) I especially like all the commercial & industrial program suggestions for EE. The Sierra Club is not always known for being business-friendly, so this is a great twist to bring to the table. Enjoy. JBK P.S. I am not sure this is intended to be a public document yet, but once FE gets it in their hands, it is unlikely we will keep the genie in the bottle. >>> Mark Kresowik <mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org> 7/23/2013 3:49 PM >>> Attached is a final draft of the memo formatted as a letter from us to First Energy before the stakeholder meeting. Please review ASAP so Jim can print copies for the stakeholder meeting tomorrow. Zack, once we have sign off, can you also email a copy to Mr. Jack tonight? Mark

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Beginning to monetize the real value of PV in WV
by James Kotcon 23 Jul '13

23 Jul '13

A fascinating perspective on solar power in WV. Enjoy. JBK Beginning to monetize the real value of PV in WV ( http://groups.google.com/group/wva-sun/t/55155c416c8a8885 ) Bill Howley <billhowley(a)hughes.net> Jul 22 10:37AM -0400 I have attached a copy of a new study out of Carnegie Mellon that begins to monetize the impact of renewable power on the actual displacement of fossil fuel power in different parts of the US. PV is particularly valuable in the heavily coal dependent PJM and MISO regions. Because PV in WV directly displaces coal-fired power, the health benefits, expressed in the study in monetary terms are among the highest in the US. Here's an example from the report: Solar panels in Indiana, Ohio, or West Virginia achieve significant health and environmental benefits by displacing coal-fired generators. Despite a poor solar resource, a 1-kW PV panel in Ohio provides $105 in health and environmental benefits per year ($75/MWh)---15 times more than the same panel in Arizona. Remarkably, if the goal is to improve air quality and human health, Arizona and New Mexico are among the worst locations for solar. On the basis of this analysis, either a feed-in tariff or an SREC market that would provide PV producers with at least $75/MWh (one SREC) would be justified simply in terms of the health benefits we create for everyone in WV, including the rate payers that would be subsidizing the market or the FIT. Now we have a number to start with. There are some serious flaws in the study in its analysis of wind, but their PV analysis looks good. Here is my critique of the wind part of the study, as well as how the study was misinterpreted in the WaPo - http://calhounpowerline.com/2013/07/21/wapo-clueless-blogger-starts-well-en… -- *Bill Howley Research* -- PO Box 3 -- Chloe, WV 25235 -- 304-655-8255

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Life is Good
by Allan Tweddle 19 Jul '13

19 Jul '13

Jim Kudos for your editorial "Life is better". But if I may, I'd like to expand that to illustrate how government intervention through regulation has also improved our lives. First I should disclose that as a Canadian I was until my company transferred me to California, a member of the Progressive Conservative party there. While that party name may seem to be an oxymoron, the truth is it was a party dedicated to careful thoughtful progress while taking into consideration the lessons of the past, so “...we would not be doomed to repeat the mistakes!” That's a concept that the right wing in this country has abandoned...and sadly in Canada too. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and even Ronald Ragan are undoubtedly spinning in their graves at the obstructionist no progress attitude of the GOP today. But I digress. As an engineer who has been challenged by air quality issues and opportunities for the last 50 years, I have seen time and time again how regulatory agencies pushed the technology envelopes and demanded cleaner air even when B.A.C.T* was not good enough or the technology beyond it was seemingly possible. Let me give you some examples. (*Best Available Control Technology) My father when I was a teenager, had a Cadillac. That car when new had a 90 day 4000 mile warranty and was lucky to get a 11 or 12 miles to the gallon. The California Air Resources Board, (CARB is the State’s primary air regulatory agency for mobile sources), recognizing scientifically the serious smog conditions in Southern California in particular were caused primarily by automobile emissions, began in the late 50’s, early 60’s, a process of demanding through regulations an improved control of emissions in vehicles. That process for the last 45 years has brought us today to automobiles that are 98% cleaner than they were when they started in 1968. During those efforts, CARB realized that requiring clean emissions in new vehicles was not enough. They then demanded that the automobile companies design and build vehicles so that the emission performance would exist for the first hundred thousand miles of the vehicle's life...assuming proper maintenance. The automobile industry fought them every step of the way. What’s the result? today’s vehicles are cleaner, far more efficient, and much better made. My wife’s 2009 Cadillac today has a six-year 100,000 mile warranty and we regularly achieve an average of 26.4 miles to the gallon. That's progress! Let me give you another example. As an engineer I was retained by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in Los Angeles to examine the economic impact of a more Stringent rule that they were proposing to eliminate, not reduce, but eliminate all volatile organic compounds from coatings on furniture. That meant eliminating what for many years ago we all remember was the smell of drying paint. It was the evaporation of the volatile organic compounds on the manufacture of new furniture and painting of architectural elements, that was clearly in the science based opinion of SCAQMD, contributing to the smog of Southern California. The furniture industry in Southern California, which at the time was the second-largest concentration of furniture manufacturers in United States, screamed bloody murder. Jobs! Economic chaos! You've all heard the mantra. They argued that not only were no such coatings available at the time, (and they weren't), but that if the rule was implemented the entire industry would either die or leave Southern California and go to Mexico where no such rules existed. SCAQMD set a goal of implementing the rule five years hence from its announcement. So it was the regulators who press the technology which, within four years, was successful. Through innovation, pressured by regulatory demands for cleaner air, VOC free coatings were made available before the fifth year arrived and are now the standard for those coatings today. These are just two examples I offer to show how we have made major progress in cleaning up the air we breathe by regulatory agencies, in other words the government, pressing for "dramatic change" by pushing the technological envelopes. These were not market forces that brought these changes about, but Government regulators acting with scientific evidence and thoughtful legislative support from both progressive and conservative legislators who demanded that "Life should be better" in California. Today Obama's Pressure for "dramatic changes" in coal fired power plants is certainly and scientifically justified. As we see all around us in West Virginia the serious health damages that are caused to citizens everywhere, we must ask, no demand, that nothing less than zero emissions be tolerated. Alternative energy sources are dramatically lower in emissions. Why should we tolerate anything less...except to protect coal company profits. And in spite of the deniers, it is now quite clear, we are by our in action and a century of the escalating emission of greenhouse gases causing serious damage to our planet. Why should we tolerate anything less than clean air and a safe planet for our grandchildren. While there may be an ER for citizens whose health is compromised by air and water pollution, there is no ER for the planet! Yes, "Life will be better" when we stop killing each other and our planet. And the irony, which has been shown so many times before, and as I pointed out in the examples above, the economic opportunities and advantages of cleaning up our act are clearly available once we reintroduce and embrace the concept of being Progressive Conservatives. Allan

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NYTimes.com: Pollution Leads to Drop in Life Span in Northern China, Research Finds
by william.depaulo 12 Jul '13

12 Jul '13

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Meshea Poore announces bid for Capito's seat
by James Kotcon 09 Jul '13

09 Jul '13

FYI. http://www.statejournal.com/story/22793964/kanawha-delegate-announces-bid-f… Also, a Gazette story this week suggested Glen Gainer was considering a run for McKinley's seat. Both would be outstanding candidates for us. JBK

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Re: [EC] Comments on air rules
by DSGJr＠aol.com 08 Jul '13

08 Jul '13

Great, Jim. Thanks for doing this. don garvin In a message dated 7/8/2013 9:04:15 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jkotcon(a)wvu.edu writes: Attached are my draft comments. Most of the rules changes are technical updates. The only one I am seriously concerned about is the loophole for facilities to meet the "condensable" PM standards in 45-CSR-14. Please let me know if you have any concerns about these, as they are due by close of business today. JBK

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Comments on air rules
by James Kotcon 08 Jul '13

08 Jul '13

Attached are my draft comments. Most of the rules changes are technical updates. The only one I am seriously concerned about is the loophole for facilities to meet the "condensable" PM standards in 45-CSR-14. Please let me know if you have any concerns about these, as they are due by close of business today. JBK

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Fwd: Boston Globe: Opposition to Fracking Increases in New England
by Paul Wilson 05 Jul '13

05 Jul '13

FYI, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "David Dow" <ddow420(a)comcast.net> Date: Jul 5, 2013 5:52 PM Subject: Boston Globe: Opposition to Fracking Increases in New England To: "Alison Robb" <nature(a)cape.com>, "Paul Wilson" <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com>, "Becky Bartovics" <bartovi(a)earthlink.net> Cc: Fracking opposition stepped up in N.E.<http://links.bostonglobe.com/t.do?id=553943:56920:AD07700B-551E-4EA9-9146-D…> Opposition to the drilling technique known as fracking is growing in New England as lawmakers consider banning it.<http://links.bostonglobe.com/t.do?id=553944:56920:AD07700B-551E-4EA9-9146-D…>

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Lawsuit challenges use of coal ash for remediating mine waste
by Frank Young 27 Jun '13

27 Jun '13

THE STATE JOURNAL Lawsuit tests use of coal ash for remediating mine waste Posted: Jun 26, 2013 2:50 PM EST Updated: Jun 26, 2013 2:57 PM EST By Pam Kasey Residents living near the LaBelle Refuse Site, a coal waste site located along the Monongahela River in southwestern Pennsylvania, are going to court over what they claim is illegal disposal of coal ash and treatment of coal mine waste. The Citizens Coal Council, a national alliance of citizens' groups, filed a <http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports/documents/2013_06_26_FIN AL_CCC%20Canestrale%20Complaint.pdf> legal complaint against Matt Canestrale Contracting Inc. on June 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Attorneys from the Environmental Integrity Project, Public Justice, and Goldberg, Persky & White P.C. representing CCC announced the lawsuit. Canestrale disposes of more than 100,000 tons per year of coal combustion residuals, or CCRs - commonly known as coal ash - from FirstEnergy's Mitchell plant and GenOn Energy's Elrama plant at an old, <https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Luzerne+Township,+PA&hl=en&ll=39.999479,-79. 970083&spn=0.032481,0.084543&sll=41.286062,-75.893555&sspn=4.077969,10.82153 3&oq=Luzerne+township,+PA&hnear=Luzerne,+Fayette,+Pennsylvania&t=h&z=14> unlined coal waste disposal site at LaBelle, Pa., on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh. It's an activity FirstEnergy calls a " <https://www.firstenergycorp.com/content/fecorp/newsroom/news_releases/first energy-announces-plans-to-beneficially-use-scrubber-materia.html> coal mine reclamation project" and CCC's attorneys call a "coal ash mine dump" - a difference of language that points to a gap, a still ill-formed gray area, in the ongoing dialogue about the disposition of CCRs. Electric utilities and coal producers like to mix alkaline coal ash with acidic coal mine refuse as a mine remediation technique. Both industries claim it's a mutually beneficial arrangement that makes good use of what otherwise would be alkaline power plant waste to solidify and neutralize coal refuse that otherwise would create acidic, polluting runoff and leachate. But citizens' and environmental groups point to evidence that the acidic and alkaline materials don't neutralize each other and the coal ash doesn't solidify, and that adding coal ash to coal refuse only increases the leaching of toxic substances. But there's not yet any clear regulatory guidance. The Environmental Protection Agency encourages beneficial re-use of any waste product for substances that are judged to be safe. For CCRs, that can mean, for example, re-use in cement block or in drywall. For CCRs that aren't re-used, the agency currently is in a long-delayed process of determining whether those that are disposed of should be regulated as hazardous waste or as household waste. But even that won't address the question of their use for coal mine reclamation. That is expected to be addressed by the federal Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement, possibly not until after the EPA's delayed rules are finalized. "One of the goals of this suit is to illustrate that we do need a good rule from OSM," said Public Justice attorney Richard Webster. The June 26 complaint alleges that Canestrale is violating the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and state laws designed to protect rivers and streams as well as laws that reduce fugitive particulate matter pollution. The refuse site is polluting local streams with high levels of sulfate, iron, manganese and other salts that damage fish and other aquatic life, according to suit. It also is leaking aluminum, manganese, sulfates and total dissolved solids into groundwater at levels that are above Pennsylvania drinking water standards. Fugitive particulate matter also blows from trucks hauling coal ash without required covers, the suit states. Concerns about pollution caused by the refuse site prevent local residents from hunting, fishing and engaging in outdoor recreation along the Monongahela River and its tributaries near the dump, the groups say. Canestrale currently is seeking the site's third permit renewal since it opened in 1998, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. And when FirstEnergy committed earlier this year to close its Little Blue Run coal ash impoundment at the West Virginia-Pennsylvania border by 2017, it announced that it would shift the disposal of 3 million tons per year of power plant scrubber waste to the LaBelle Refuse Site. The arrangement would have to be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the company said at the time.

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The Coal Lobby's Fight for Survival
by James Kotcon 27 Jun '13

27 Jun '13

>From the National Journal. Full story at: http://news.yahoo.com/coal-lobbys-fight-survival-060025322.html "The coal industry hopes that even if U.S. coal production shuts down, it could find salvation in overseas markets, by exporting coal to China and Europe. But Obama put the kibosh on that this week, too. He called on all world governments to end public funding for coal-fired power plants—a move the U.S. can enforce through its influence in organizations like the World Bank. "That definitely sent a signal that the U.S. doesn't support coal in the world," said Jennifer Morgan, an analyst with the World Resources Institute, a think tank." In the coming weeks, the {Coal Lobby} will roll out a new public-relations and lobbying blitz aimed at resetting its message and defusing antagonism with the administration. Instead of saturating Fox News with "war on coal" ads, the group will send Duncan on cable news and the editorial-board circuit to talk about coal's role in the economy and how to create a "path forward" for with new technology. Anyone want to speculate on what the efforts on coal exports will do? I have not followed that aspect of Obama's Climate Action Plan. And the key pitch of the story is that the Coal lobby will have to surrender the "War on Coal" rhetoric, and ask the Obama Administration for help, or it won't survive at all. Jim Kotcon

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Fwd: [CONS-EQST-WATER-FORUM] Study: Drinking Water Contamination Linked to Fracking, Horizontal Drilling | Common Dreams
by Paul Wilson 27 Jun '13

27 Jun '13

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: David Dow <ddow420(a)comcast.net> Date: Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 9:54 AM Subject: Fwd: [CONS-EQST-WATER-FORUM] Study: Drinking Water Contamination Linked to Fracking, Horizontal Drilling | Common Dreams To: Alison Robb <nature(a)cape.com>, Paul Wilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com>, Becky Bartovics <bartovi(a)earthlink.net> fyi Begin forwarded message: *From: *John S Glenn <Johnsglenn(a)hotmail.com> *Date: *June 26, 2013 9:17:37 AM EDT *To: *CONS-EQST-WATER-FORUM(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG *Subject: **[CONS-EQST-WATER-FORUM] Study: Drinking Water Contamination Linked to Fracking, Horizontal Drilling | Common Dreams* * * *http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/06/25-4*<http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/06/25-4> Well, We all knew that years ago; what happens henceforth? Just guess. <snip> Published on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 by Common Dreams Study: Drinking Water Contamination Linked to Fracking, Horizontal Drilling Concentrations of methane in drinking water near gas wells six times higher than levels farther away - Andrea Germanos, staff writer <snip - more > John S Glenn 214 N 17th Street Fernandina Beach, FL 32034-2608 Home: 904-261-9468 Skype: 904-572-1812 Cell: 904-583-4128 OnStar 904-652-6897 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-EQST-WATER-FORUM list, send any message to: CONS-EQST-WATER-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/ -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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President's Climate Action Plan
by James Kotcon 25 Jun '13

25 Jun '13

>From the White House web page. The graphics are short on details, but he seems to have hit many of the key elements. http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan JBK

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Fwd: CONFERENCE CALL TUES (Jun 25): Obama Climate Plan and the Sierra Club
by Jim Sconyers 24 Jun '13

24 Jun '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Julia Reitan" <julia.reitan(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Jun 24, 2013 4:07 PM Subject: CONFERENCE CALL TUES (Jun 25): Obama Climate Plan and the Sierra Club To: <CCL-CHAPTER-CHAIRS(a)lists.sierraclub.org> TO: Chapter Staff and Volunteer Leaders FR: Office of Chapter Support: Julia Reitan, Gwyn Jones, Greg Casini Please join the call if you can! Obama Climate Plan and the Sierra Club Please join us at 9pm EST, 6pm PST Tuesday evening for a call with Michael Brune to report on the President's Climate Change Plan announcement and the Club's response. Mary Anne Hitt, Beyond Coal Campaign Director, will also discuss details of the anticipated announcement on power plant standards. There will be Q&A with Michael Brune and Mary Anne Hitt for questions submitted in advance or during the call via email. If you have specific questions please email them to michael.bosse(a)sierraclub.org ahead of or during the call. Please share this invitation with other members and supporters of the Sierra Club. Tuesday 9pm EST, 6pm PST 1-866-501-6174 2000001# -- Julia Reitan Director, Office of Chapter Support Sierra Club 85 Second St, 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 415-977-5597 julia.reitan(a)sierraclub.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CCL-CHAPTER-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CCL-CHAPTER-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

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Fwd: [Coal Volunteers List] WEBINAR: Help Stop Toxic Water Pollution from Power Plants!
by Paul Wilson 18 Jun '13

18 Jun '13

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Becki Clayborn <becki.clayborn(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Mon, Jun 17, 2013 at 4:29 PM Subject: [Coal Volunteers List] WEBINAR: Help Stop Toxic Water Pollution from Power Plants! To: #Coal-Volunteers <coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org> Help Stop Toxic Water Pollution from Power Plants! Join us for a Webinar on Thursday June 27th at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 6pm MT / 5pm PT <https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/160279351> EPA has proposed a rule that could end the dumping of toxic water pollution from coal power plants! Coal power plants are the source of nearly three-quarters of the toxic water pollution in this country, dumping millions of pounds of poisons into the water each year (ie: arsenic, selenium, boron, cadmium, mercury and lead) which in turn can affect our drinking water, fishing areas and local rivers and streams. The water pollution standards for coal plants are 31 years old, and 4 out of 5 plants lack any limits on the toxic metals they emit. This EPA rule is about to change that. This summer we will focus much of our field work on showing strong support for this standard to reduce toxic water pollution from coal plants. Our successful demonstration of public support for water standards on coal fired power plants will protect our communities from dangerous chemicals that can lead to birth defects, cancer and even death. To learn more about the toxic water pollution standard for power plants, and the activities that will help build support across the nation, please join us for this webinar on June 27 at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 6pm MT / 5pm PT. Speakers will cover the details of the rule; how the rule will affect power plants, examples of activities and events in the works for the summer, and the next steps to take locally. There will also be a Q&A session at the end of the call. This call will be recorded for future viewing. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/160279351 *Title:* Help Stop Toxic Water Pollution from Power Plants! *Date:* Thursday, June 27, 2013 * Time:* 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM EDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. *System Requirements* PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server Mac®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer Mobile attendees Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet -- Becki Clayborn Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Internal Capacities and Communications Coordinator Chicago, IL 312-251-1680 630-881-3480 (cell) -- To access the Beyond Coal Campaign Resource Portal, go to: https://sites.google.com/a/sierraclub.org/beyond-coal-resource-portal/ To sign up for this list, email becki.clayborn(a)sierraclub.org with the subject and message "SUBSCRIBE #coal-volunteer" --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "#Coal-Volunteers" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coal-volunteers-list+unsubscribe(a)sierraclub.org. To post to this group, send email to coal-volunteers-list(a)sierraclub.org. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Fwd: FW: DEP Public Notice - 2014 Proposed Legislative Rules Hearing Scheduled
by James Kotcon 14 Jun '13

14 Jun '13

>>> Angie Rosser <arosser(a)wvrivers.org> 6/13/2013 6:04 PM >>> Triennial Review Public Hearing on July 15, 6:00pm. Comment period ends July 29th. Next step: Angie will pull together draft comments and will circulate those next week for group review and editing. =========================================================== The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has scheduled public hearings for its 2014 proposed legislative rules for the Division of Water and Waste and Voluntary Remediation and Development Program. All three hearings will take place at the DEP’s Charleston headquarters, 601 57th Street S.E., Charleston, WV 25304. Oral and written comments will be limited to the proposed revisions and will be made a part of the rulemaking record. Copies of the rules are available from the Secretary of State’s office or from the DEP at www.dep.wv.gov/pio/Pages/Rules.aspx. You may also obtain printed copies of the information by calling the phone numbers listed below. Written comments may be submitted to the Public Information Office at the above address. Comments may also be e-mailed to DEP.Comments(a)wv.gov. The hearing date, location and time for all three rules are the same. The public record will be opened, comments will be taken, the record closed and then the next rule will follow. Division of Water and Waste Management 47CSR2 – Requirement governing Water Quality Standards The comment period for this rule ends July 29, 2013. 47CSR5A – Rules for Individual Certification of Activities Requiring a Federal Permit The comment period for this rule will end at the conclusion of the hearing. The public hearing for these rules will begin at 6 p.m., Monday, July 15 in the Coopers Rock Training Room. For more information on the Water and Waste Management Rules call 304-926-0495. Division of Land Restoration 60CSR30 – Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Rule The public hearing will begin at 6 p.m., Monday, July 15 in the Coopers Rock Training Room. The comment period will end at the conclusion of the hearing. For more information on the Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment rule call 304-926-0455.

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grad ass't. position Marcellus/birds
by Frank Young 10 Jun '13

10 Jun '13

Subject grad ass't. position Marcellus/birds http://www.osnabirds.org/Jobs/Ph-D--GRADUATE-ASSISTANTSHIP.aspx -- Cynthia D. Ellis RR 1 Box 163 Red House, WV 25168 304 586-4135 304 206-0083 cdellis(a)wildblue.net Thousands have lived without love---not one without water. ~W.H. Auden __._,_.___ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WVHCBOARD/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJwOWtxcTAyBF9TAzk3M zU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEwODEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEbXNnSWQDMjEzMzUEc2VjA2Z0c gRzbGsDcnBseQRzdGltZQMxMzcwOTEwNzgy?act=reply&messageNum=21335> Reply via web post <mailto:cdellis@wildblue.net?subject=Re%3A%20grad%20ass%27t%2E%20position%20 Marcellus%2Fbirds> Reply to sender <mailto:WVHCBOARD@yahoogroups.com?subject=Re%3A%20grad%20ass%27t%2E%20positi on%20Marcellus%2Fbirds> Reply to group <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WVHCBOARD/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJkbWNwOTIzBF9TAzk3M zU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEwODEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDbnRwYwRzd GltZQMxMzcwOTEwNzgy> Start a New Topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WVHCBOARD/message/21335;_ylc=X3oDMTM1YjY5ZnBy BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEwODEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEbXNnSWQDMjEzMzUE c2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDdnRwYwRzdGltZQMxMzcwOTEwNzgyBHRwY0lkAzIxMzM1> Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WVHCBOARD;_ylc=X3oDMTJkN2txYWNwBF9TAzk3MzU5Nz E0BGdycElkAzEwODEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEc2VjA3Z0bARzbGsDdmdocARzdGltZQ MxMzcwOTEwNzgy> Visit Your Group Working since 1967 for the conservation and wise management of West Virginia's natural resources <http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJjZDZtYmt0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEwO DEwOARncnBzcElkAzE3MDUwNjQxNzcEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDZ2ZwBHN0aW1lAzEzNzA5MTA3ODI-> Yahoo! Groups Switch to: <mailto:WVHCBOARD-traditional@yahoogroups.com?subject=Change%20Delivery%20Fo rmat:%20Traditional> Text-Only, <mailto:WVHCBOARD-digest@yahoogroups.com?subject=Email%20Delivery:%20Digest> Daily Digest . <mailto:WVHCBOARD-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe . <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Use . <mailto:ygroupsnotifications@yahoogroups.com?subject=Feedback%20on%20the%20r edesigned%20individual%20mail%20v1> Send us Feedback . <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=108108/grpspId=1705064177/msgId= 21335/stime=1370910782> __,_._,___

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from today's Washington Post: Utilities, solar advocates battle over future rates
by Paul Wilson 10 Jun '13

10 Jun '13

*NATION* *Utilities, solar advocates battle over future rates<http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/8VXTM7/S3JJQR/ZZER1R/5OLO03/26HKVE/6…> * Distributed generation threatens century-old business model of electricity providers. ( by Lenny Bernstein , The Washington Post) -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Fwd: Webinar: Grid Integration of Wind Energy
by Paul Wilson 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: UCS Science Network <sciencenetwork(a)ucsusa.org> Date: Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 5:51 PM Subject: Webinar: Grid Integration of Wind Energy To: pjgrunt(a)gmail.com [image: UCS Science Network] *Webinar on Wind Energy* Join UCS on June 19 for a webinar exploring the tools available for accommodating more wind energy while ensuring a reliable electricity supply. *Register for the Webinar Today<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=_KsYanSjl5Pq-3QnEDlmyw> * Related Links Ramping Up Renewables: Energy You Can Count On<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=y1SM6SifswZ0ou4XVJYMNw> Renewable Electricity Standards Deliver Economic Benefits<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=65Ri8EnQBDTu7UkP4NxR8Q> Renewables are Ramping Up to Notable Levels in the U.S.<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=MPszWD1UgIWQGo4m1wt64g> Tell A Colleague Please encourage your colleagues to sign up<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=uhsTGkiXrCY9ZWYiNM1Gng>and help increase our effectiveness in creating a healthy environment and a safer world. CLICK HERE<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=zvmTRz_yz39ESyFh-cqadg> . WEBINAR INVITATION June 19: Grid Integration of Wind Energy Dear Paul, In 2012, wind energy was the number one source of new electricity generating capacity in the U.S., beating out natural gas. Nine states now generate more than 10 percent of their electricity from wind. But what happens when the wind doesn’t blow? Join Steve Clemmer, director of energy research for the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Michael Milligan, principle researcher for the Transmission and Grid Integration Group at the National Renewable Energy Lab, for a Wind Powering America webinar exploring the tools available today for accommodating more wind energy while ensuring a reliable electricity supply. *Webinar: Grid Integration of Wind Energy<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=EX1zhLTT8mXy4F-OhUjvjA> * *Date:* Wednesday, June 19 *Time:* 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT *Register for the webinar today.<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=TmDie0w7oQ0MUTijMVjFqw> * Sincerely, [image: David Anderson] Dave Anderson Outreach Coordinator Climate & Energy Program Union of Concerned Scientists The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future. UCS is a 501(c)(3) organization. All gifts are tax deductible. You can be confident your donations to UCS are spent wisely. <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=2O8cwVtVjwRl8GlHeq4hYA> Union of Concerned Scientists 2 Brattle Square Cambridge, MA 02138-3780 Phone: 800-666-8276<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=DhaoB8xevi2snvyPkbgVVA> Fax: 617-864-9405 <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=ARFSTJ6FFHVIyx_hjbnqzA> *ucsaction(a)ucsusa.org* <ucsaction(a)ucsusa.org> *www.ucsusa.org* <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=OX60MbzjKo9gg8PrPIpptQ> *About UCS* <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=BeMrGyOAfvwSSmLIhW0V3Q> | *Take Action* <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=4-R0Phh5P9c2z2rDoUFHqA> | *Donate * <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=nptdGl3ZURNO3SWSsqqmpQ> | *Contact Us*<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=n5_hmq_KAOLP2gpazWzkkQ>| *Privacy Policy* <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=i7wR3ih823423A5n1TpOjQ>| *Unsubscribe*<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/CO?i=WjTv4khtNRgrpTJ5_Pmx9CsZvLQX0lez&cid=178…>| *Update Your Profile*<http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=_j4JvKF6esfqL7B-Me0vKw> © Union of Concerned Scientists. All rights reserved. [image: powered by CONVIO] <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=RKir5KPFraKFF3NY3b4OuA> nonprofit software <http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=q7SxseaUTPNR7sDAmScJ1Q> -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Fwd: AlterNet: Sandra Steingraber on Pro-fracking Greens
by Paul Wilson 09 Jun '13

09 Jun '13

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: David Dow <ddow420(a)comcast.net> Date: Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 6:56 PM Subjec Pro-Fracking Greens Called Out in Ecologist Sandra Steingraber's New Manifesto <http://act.alternet.org/go/34336?t=17&akid=10540.278737.KYAI4r> By Jeff Biggers, YES! Magazine In a statement, ecologist Sandra Steingraber denounced Illinois’ new fracking regulations and described the need for a movement dedicated to abolishing fracking nationwide. READ MORE»<http://act.alternet.org/go/34336?t=18&akid=10540.278737.KYAI4r> -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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