Thursday, December 15, 2005
A call for help from our neighborhood
As you may have noticed, I am trying to make this a bit of an "action" blog. I intend to include brief things anyone can do, in the hopes that some of the visitors will do them. Of course, everyone wants your time and energy, and you can't do everything others want you to do or you'll never have time for yourself or the things you consider important.
With that in mind, and realizing that everyone has limited patience, I will post no more than two "action agenda" items per day. Hopefully some of us will be able to take action on them.
Here's today's issue. Mountain top removal. Yes, it's exactly like it sounds. It's a hideous system designed to maximise profits for coal mining compaines and the people who own them, and is destroying much of the Appalachian Mountain's beauty and economic future. Here are the words from the mouths of the activists fighting this battle. I proudly put their information here, and ask all my readers to take a look and sign their petition, which is right here.
Here's the letter Chad, the treasurer of the West Virginia Green Party sent me. I thank him for it, and all Greens working on this issue. It is my mountains you are trying to save, regardless of where I live. And I appreciate it.
Gregg,
I don't know if you take requests, but would you consider posting the following letter on your blog? I'm hoping that other state Green parties and the national party will take a close look at the MTR issue and support the efforts of groups like Coal River Mountain Watch. Taking a collective stand here would really help our efforts in Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and West Virginia gain a foothold and some legitimacy in the central Appalachian region. They specifically asked the GPWV for our help.
The link to sign their petition is: here.
Thanks,
Chad Edwards
GPWV Treasurer
and blogger at Appalachian Greens
Dear Conscientious Citizens and Organizations,
Recent media reports promoting integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) coal power plants and coal fuel liquefaction as clean energy sources seriously undermine the movement in Appalachia to save our homes, communities, and environment from the ravages of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining. Even IGCC plants add pollutants and greenhouse gases rather than replacing older plants. Research funding for unproven, risky ideas such as carbon sequestration would be better spent on solar and wind solutions. But regardless of new coal plants’ methods, the nightmares created by MTR will haunt our homeland forever. There is no such thing as clean coal technology as long as coal is produced by raping the land and oppressing the people.
The MTR process begins with clear-cutting thousands of acres of some of the world’s most biologically diverse temperate hardwood forests. Much of the timber is either burned or buried. Then, tons of explosives, the same mix used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, are detonated to loosen the rock. Three million pounds per day are currently detonated in West Virginia alone. In a week’s time, this is nearly the same net explosive force used on Hiroshima. And this goes on week after week.
Then, the topsoil and rubble are dumped into nearby valleys. These valley fills have buried or negatively impacted over 1,200 miles of Appalachian streams so far. Valley fills often fail, causing damage to nearby homes and streams. The coal is extracted layer by layer, and then coal companies “reclaim” the land by coating it with a thin layer of topsoil substitute and nonnative grass seed. Over 600 square miles of West Virginia’s mountains have been leveled this way.
The barren land, devoid of trees, undergrowth, topsoil, and natural drainage, sheds rainwater to create catastrophic floods. A dozen people have been killed in recent years, and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged. West Virginia recently led the nation in FEMA relief, relief that rarely covers damages to homes and land. People whose families have lived in the same area for hundreds of years have been displaced, adding cultural devastation to the physical devastation.
The coal is prepared for market in processing plants that use a mysterious mix of chemicals to remove impurities. The washed-out heavy metals and cleaning compounds are stored in multibillion-gallon toxic waste ponds—sludge dams—placed precariously above homes, communities, and schools. One of these dams failed at Buffalo Creek, WV, in 1972, killing 125 people. Another failed in Kentucky in 2000, polluting over 100 miles of streams, killing 1.6 million fish, and destroying water supplies for 27,000 people. Over 150 of these dams threaten the residents of southern West Virginia, including the 230 students at Marsh Fork Elementary School attending class 400 yards from a seeping, 2.8 billion-gallon dam. These students also breathe coal dust from the coal silo loading trains 220 feet from their school. The list of problems goes on and on.
As friends and allies in the defense of Earth and all Humanity, we ask you to heed our call. All of us who care about the health of our children and our planet must identify, challenge, and eliminate the oxymoron "clean coal" when we see or hear it. We invite you to join our fight against those who plunder our planet and poison our children. Join us in fighting mountaintop removal, fighting dirty coal power plants, and supporting renewable energy. We look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Janice Nease
Executive Director
Coal River Mountain Watch
We the undersigned are opposed to the use of the term "Clean Coal" and opposed to destructive mining practices. We support truly renewable energy technologies because coal is so destructive in its mining, processing, and combustion.
With that in mind, and realizing that everyone has limited patience, I will post no more than two "action agenda" items per day. Hopefully some of us will be able to take action on them.
Here's today's issue. Mountain top removal. Yes, it's exactly like it sounds. It's a hideous system designed to maximise profits for coal mining compaines and the people who own them, and is destroying much of the Appalachian Mountain's beauty and economic future. Here are the words from the mouths of the activists fighting this battle. I proudly put their information here, and ask all my readers to take a look and sign their petition, which is right here.
Here's the letter Chad, the treasurer of the West Virginia Green Party sent me. I thank him for it, and all Greens working on this issue. It is my mountains you are trying to save, regardless of where I live. And I appreciate it.
Gregg,
I don't know if you take requests, but would you consider posting the following letter on your blog? I'm hoping that other state Green parties and the national party will take a close look at the MTR issue and support the efforts of groups like Coal River Mountain Watch. Taking a collective stand here would really help our efforts in Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and West Virginia gain a foothold and some legitimacy in the central Appalachian region. They specifically asked the GPWV for our help.
The link to sign their petition is: here.
Thanks,
Chad Edwards
GPWV Treasurer
and blogger at Appalachian Greens
Dear Conscientious Citizens and Organizations,
Recent media reports promoting integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) coal power plants and coal fuel liquefaction as clean energy sources seriously undermine the movement in Appalachia to save our homes, communities, and environment from the ravages of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining. Even IGCC plants add pollutants and greenhouse gases rather than replacing older plants. Research funding for unproven, risky ideas such as carbon sequestration would be better spent on solar and wind solutions. But regardless of new coal plants’ methods, the nightmares created by MTR will haunt our homeland forever. There is no such thing as clean coal technology as long as coal is produced by raping the land and oppressing the people.
The MTR process begins with clear-cutting thousands of acres of some of the world’s most biologically diverse temperate hardwood forests. Much of the timber is either burned or buried. Then, tons of explosives, the same mix used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, are detonated to loosen the rock. Three million pounds per day are currently detonated in West Virginia alone. In a week’s time, this is nearly the same net explosive force used on Hiroshima. And this goes on week after week.
Then, the topsoil and rubble are dumped into nearby valleys. These valley fills have buried or negatively impacted over 1,200 miles of Appalachian streams so far. Valley fills often fail, causing damage to nearby homes and streams. The coal is extracted layer by layer, and then coal companies “reclaim” the land by coating it with a thin layer of topsoil substitute and nonnative grass seed. Over 600 square miles of West Virginia’s mountains have been leveled this way.
The barren land, devoid of trees, undergrowth, topsoil, and natural drainage, sheds rainwater to create catastrophic floods. A dozen people have been killed in recent years, and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged. West Virginia recently led the nation in FEMA relief, relief that rarely covers damages to homes and land. People whose families have lived in the same area for hundreds of years have been displaced, adding cultural devastation to the physical devastation.
The coal is prepared for market in processing plants that use a mysterious mix of chemicals to remove impurities. The washed-out heavy metals and cleaning compounds are stored in multibillion-gallon toxic waste ponds—sludge dams—placed precariously above homes, communities, and schools. One of these dams failed at Buffalo Creek, WV, in 1972, killing 125 people. Another failed in Kentucky in 2000, polluting over 100 miles of streams, killing 1.6 million fish, and destroying water supplies for 27,000 people. Over 150 of these dams threaten the residents of southern West Virginia, including the 230 students at Marsh Fork Elementary School attending class 400 yards from a seeping, 2.8 billion-gallon dam. These students also breathe coal dust from the coal silo loading trains 220 feet from their school. The list of problems goes on and on.
As friends and allies in the defense of Earth and all Humanity, we ask you to heed our call. All of us who care about the health of our children and our planet must identify, challenge, and eliminate the oxymoron "clean coal" when we see or hear it. We invite you to join our fight against those who plunder our planet and poison our children. Join us in fighting mountaintop removal, fighting dirty coal power plants, and supporting renewable energy. We look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Janice Nease
Executive Director
Coal River Mountain Watch
We the undersigned are opposed to the use of the term "Clean Coal" and opposed to destructive mining practices. We support truly renewable energy technologies because coal is so destructive in its mining, processing, and combustion.
// posted by Gregg Jocoy @ 10:30 AM 
