Jun 30: 13 arrested in protest at Dominion today
 A protester rappels from the Belle Island Bridge as police wait for him on the ground. |
|---|
Jun 23: Protect the coast but not West Virginia?
CHARLESTON,
WV -- "The year was 1981 when Congress decided to save the U.S.
continental shelf by declaring a moratorium on offshore gas and oil
drilling and exploration... My mind wanders back to1981, and I must ask
why Congress really voted for the moratorium without thinking of the
other ecologically sensitive places it was giving tacit approval to
destroying for the sake of energy consumption. Places such as West
Virginia. There has been very little discussion given to the way
mountaintop removal mining is, in many ways, more certainly a
destructive force than drilling a few miles offshore from California or
Florida," Dave Peyton, Charleston Daily Mail.MORE ON MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL COAL MINING
Jun 19: New Yorkers weigh in on mountaintop removal coal mining; Festival set for July 11-13
NEW YORK, NY -- "NY Loves Mountains was created to educate New Yorkers about our connection to the devastation of one of America’s greatest natural resources, the Appalachian Mountains, by a form of coal mining called Mountain Top Removal (MTR). Our mission is: (1) To forge a movement of New Yorkers calling for our state to ban the purchase of MTR coal from Central Appalachia and replace that coal-generated energy with clean alternatives available to us through wind and solar power, (2) To support and promote the efforts of grassroots organizations to bring a clean energy economy to the communities of Appalachia, and to build a strong renewable energy infrastructure in New York, and (3) To create a dynamic network of artists from NY and Appalachia giving voice to Mountain Justice," New York Loves Mountains.
Jun 17: How clean coal cooks your brain
SEATTLE, WA -- "Several years ago, in Gillette, Wyoming, I fell into a long conversation with the vice-president of a large American coal company about coal's public image problem. Gillette is in the center of the Powder River Basin, the epicenter of the coal boom in America, where 60 foot seams of coal lay just below the surface. This vice president, who did not want his name to appear in print, was deeply concerned about coal's future and expressed frustration with environmental attacks on coal, suggesting that it was all a problem of perception: 'People don't like coal because it's black,' he told me. 'If it were white, all our problems would be solved.' Whenever one of those slick ads for 'clean coal' pops up on CNN, I think about that conversation in Gillette," Jeff Goodell, World Changing.
Jun 16: Nick von Stein, Congressional candidate, pledges to co-sponsor mountaintop removal ban
HAMILTON
-- "Nick von Stein, Democratic candidate for Congress from Ohio's 8th
District has pledged, if elected, to co-sponsor the Clean Water
Protection Act, an effective ban on mountaintop removal coal mining.
Von Stein is an U.S. Air Force veteran and a graduate student pursuing
his Master's degree in Political Science at Miami University in Oxford.
He is running against U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-West
Chester), who has represented the district since 1991. The 8th District
includes parts of Butler, Darke, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery and Preble
Counties. Current Ohio co-sponsors for the Clean Water Protection Act
include Cong. Betty Sutton, Dennis Kucinich, Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, and
Tim Ryan. Congressional candidates Mike Carroll and George Mays have
also pledged to co-sponsor the bill if elected," Paul Ryder, Organizing
Director, Ohio Citizen Action. Jun 12: EPA finds no mayflies near mining
Because Mayflies are very sensitive to pollution they are good indicators of impacts on aquatic life and overall water quality.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "Federal government scientists have found that mountaintop removal is eliminating mayflies in the creeks downstream from large mining operations, according to a new study being published later this year. The findings not only indicate mountaintop removal is harming aquatic bugs, but also show large-scale mining is damaging overall water quality downstream from valley fills. Two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency experts drew this conclusion as they continued research started as part of a broad federal study of mountaintop removal prompted by a citizen lawsuit," Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette.
Jun 11: Beyond Hell’s Gate
KAYFORD MOUNTAIN, WV -- "What is Hell’s Gate? It is a simple metal gate on Kayford Mountain that separates Larry Gibson’s property from an active mountaintop removal site. Once you pass Hell’s Gate it is like you are transported to an entirely different planet. Or, as the name would suggest, Hell on Earth," The Backwoods Drifter.
Jun 4: George Mays, Congressional candidate, pledges to co-sponsor mountaintop removal ban
NORWALK
-- "George Mays, candidate for Congress from Ohio's 5th District has
pledged, if elected, to co-sponsor the Clean Water Protection Act, an
effective ban on mountaintop coal removal. He wrote, 'I will gladly
co-sponsor this bill.' Mays, a small businessman in Norwalk, holds a
B.S. in psychology from Campbellsville College in Campbellsville,
Kentucky, and a Masters of Divinity from Ashland University. He is
running against first-term Congressman Bob Latta in the 16-county
Northwest Ohio district. Latta won a special election last December to
complete the term of U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor, who died Sept. 5, 2007.
Gillmor, who was 68 when he died, had represented the district for
nearly 20 years. Current Ohio co-sponsors for the Clean Water
Protection Act include Cong. Betty Sutton, Dennis Kucinich, Stephanie
Tubbs-Jones, and Tim Ryan. 4th District Congressional candidate Mike
Carroll has also pledged to co-sponsor the bill if elected," Paul
Ryder, Organizing Director, Ohio Citizen Action. Jun 2: Congressional candidate Mike Carroll pledges to co-sponsor ban on mountaintop removal
MANSFIELD
-- "On Saturday, Mike
Carroll, candidate for Congress from Ohio's 4th District,
pledged, if elected, to co-sponsor the Clean Water Protection Act, an
effective ban on mountaintop coal removal. In a message to Sandy
Buchanan, Executive Director of Ohio Citizen Action, Carroll wrote, 'I
will indeed co-sponsor this legislation when I am elected.' Carroll has
been a steelworker at AK Steel in Mansfield for 24 years. He is running
against first-term Congressman Jim Jordan in the district that
stretches from Lima to Mansfield. District 4 was represented by Mike
Oxley from 1981 to 2007," Ohio Citizen Action. May 28: Bill aims to outlaw coal mined by removing mountaintops
Utilities say move would boost costs
North Carolina state
Rep. Pricey Harrison proposed the bill. |
May 21: Obama's coal stance, in Kentucky and beyond
KENTUCKY
-- "Obama won back some support from coal interests in 2006 when he
joined up with Sen. Jim Bunning, the Kentucky Republican, to push huge
subsidies for developing liquefied coal as an alternate transportation
fuel. If realized, the technology would greatly increase demand for
coal in Illinois and elsewhere, but environmentalists are dead set
against it, saying it would produce even more climate change-causing
greenhouse gas emissions than using petroleum in cars... Under fire
from environmentalists, Obama a year ago backed away from his alliance
with Bunning, voting against a large package of subsidies for the
technology and for a more limited package that was opposed by the coal
industry; in the end, neither passed," Alec MacGillis, Washington
Post. MORE ON COAL
May 20: The mountain that lost its top
It's the one environmental crime that no US politician will confront -– the destruction of Kentucky's mountains
LONDON, United Kingdom -- "At 29, Ms Blanton developed cancer, which she survived. But many of her friends and neighbours from Harlan County died young, and she has dedicated the past two decades of her life to helping those threatened by coal-mining interests and getting the word out to an uninterested American public about the ecological devastation which is taking place in Appalachia. 'For the last 100 years Kentucky has provided the coal that fuelled America's growth and wealth,' she said. 'But our wages are low and our schools and hospitals are lousy. This is one of the poorest places in America and I often think that it is deliberately so, so that they can do whatever they want to this polluted community,'" Leonard Doyle, The Independent.
Apr 28: Mine's selenium deforms fish, expert says
 Larva shows a deformed spine in an S-shape, typical of scoliosis. |
|---|
Apr 25: Three companies agree to limit mountaintop mining
HUNTINGTON, WV -- "A trio of coal companies has agreed to temporarily limit operations at three mountaintop removal mines opposed by environmentalists. The deal struck Wednesday settles the latest round in a long-running battle pitting the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and several other groups against the Army Corps of Engineers and coal mine operators. OVEC won a court ruling in March 2007 that the corps violated federal law by issuing valley fill permits for mountaintop removal mines without conducting extensive environmental reviews. OVEC contends three Clean Water Act permits the corps issued in March "suffer from the same defects" cited by U.S. District Judge Chuck Chambers in 2007 when he rescinded permits issued for four Massey Energy Co. mines. Chambers followed that decision up in June with a ruling that using settling ponds to remove sediment from streams at mountaintop removal coal mines violates the Clean Water Act," Tim Huber, Forbes. Published April 23.
CHARLESTON, WV -- Coal operators agree to limit valley fills, Ken Ward Jr., The Charleston Gazette. Published April 24.
Mar 25: WVU study: Coal counties have higher disease rates
CHARLESTON, WV -- "West
Virginians who live in the state's coal counties are more likely to
have heart attacks, lung disease and diabetes, according to a new West
Virginia University study. Higher levels of coal production are
associated with higher rates of a variety of lung, heart and other
illnesses among residents, according to the study. Based on phone
interviews with nearly 16,500 residents, the study may be the first of
its kind to examine health effects of living in U.S. coal-mining
communities. Researchers used county-by-county coal production figures
to compare whether residents living in areas with more mining suffered
from higher rates of illnesses typically linked to coal-related
pollution," Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette.
Feb 28: Mountaintop revival
Local evangelical Christians join environmentalists in an unlikely union to fight mountaintop removal mining in Tennessee
KNOXVILLE,
TN -- "Pat Hudson gathers with a small group of Christian church
leaders on a ridge overlooking a flattened mountain that was once
higher than where they stand. On this trip to a 'sacrifice zone' in the
heart of Kentucky coal country, they have heard the dire statistics and
the bleak stories of the area families whose faucets run with poison
water, whose children suffer from breathing disorders, and whose homes
no one will buy. But it is looking down on the moonscape that once was
a lush Appalachian mountain that brings on anguish and tears, as
unavoidable as if standing before the open casket at the funeral of a
beautiful child," Rick Held, Metro Pulse.
Dec 26, 2007: Coal's ascent is igniting a debate
West Virginians split over costs, benefits
Maria Gunnoe has been fighting to stop mountaintop-removal coal mining since her farm was flooded in June 2003. "Clean coal is a complete and total lie," said Gunnoe, who has reportedly received death threats. (Antrim Caskey/Boston Globe)
TWILIGHT, WV -- "On one side: environmentalists who want to sharply curtail coal use because of carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming and mining operations they say destroy the nature of a land and its people. On the other side: the coal industry and those who seek America's independence from foreign oil, who argue that technology can create 'clean coal' by burying the emissions in underground caverns. But almost no one in Washington - and none of the Democratic or Republican presidential candidates - has mentioned what increased dependence on inexpensive, plentiful coal means for the people living amid the excavations," John Donnelly, Boston Globe.
As of September 2, Ohio Citizen
Action members have sent 28,512 messages and
petition signatures urging presidential and congressional candidates to
ban mountaintop removal coal mining.
For more information: