ilovemountains.org

What's not to love about mountains? Not only are they breathtaking to look at, their geography makes our region unique and they provide habitat for wildlife, recreational opportunities, and countless resources that are important to our economy.

The folks over at ilovemountains.org definitely love themselves some mountains. So much so that they are doing everything they can to protect mountains that are at risk of being levelled in coal producing areas. Nothing against coal production-coal is one of those important resources we need-but there is a problem with certain methods of how it is extracted.

You guessed where I am going with this, right? Yep, Mountain Top Removal. Well, the ilovemountains.org website has a handy-dandy tool designed to encourage electricity conservation by showing on a zip-code basis where YOUR electricity originates.

They have linked research of MTR sites, coal burning power plants, and your power meter to show directly how our electricity consumption is linked to resource extraction in the mountains.

Go ahead, we'll wait while you check it out: http://www.ilovemountains.org/myconnection/

"Clean coal" is a buzz word on the lips of many people these days. You hear it in Congress, read about it in newspapers, and you've probably even seen commercials about it on television. Those of us from coal producing areas know coal isn't and can never be truly "clean". Ever. Somewhere, a price is paid whether it is at the mine, the prep plant, or the power plant. Contrary to what the fancy commercials want us to believe, coal is inherently a dirty product from start to finish. And it's important that the public gets the real story.

Coal is and will remain a vital part of our economy until a suitable alternative is found. Because of that, it will continue to have impacts, both positive and negative, on the communities where it is produced. Consumers can lessen the impact of coal by turning off a light, turning off the television (or computer when not reading Hillbilly Savants!), or adjusting the thermostat a few degrees to save energy.

Here are some websites with similar information on energy consumption:

U.S. Department of Energy, Lawrence Berkley Lab Home Energy Saver - Designed to help consumers identify the best ways to save energy (and money) in their homes.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Personal Emissions Calculator - Short survey to estimate your personal greenhouse gas emissions.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Power Profiler - shows on a zip-code basis the energy mix (coal, nuclear, hydro, etc..) of your utility company

And to part, here's a video produced by ilovemountains.org on MTR and energy consumption in America featuring Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson:

MORE ON THE DOMINION POWER PLANT PROPOSED FOR WISE COUNTY, VIRGINIA

Today I received an email message from John Bolton, M.D., a Southwest Virginia expatriate living in California. Much of his family remains in the St. Paul/Castlewood community which straddles the border between Wise and Russell Counties. I have reprinted below what Dr. Bolton has to say about the electric plant which Dominion Power proposes to build in Wise County. I welcome any opinions or insights about this hugely important issue, which will affect the region for generations to come.

April


The rape of Appalachia began in the late 1800's when wealthy entrepreneurs bought up the area's mineral rights for 25 cents or less per acre. This was possible after they had bribed the state legislatures to authorize the new "broad form" deed which allowed the mineral rights to be sold separately from the surface rights. It was only after this that the railroads were built, and the mining of Appalachian coal began.

The shaft mines employed thousands of miners and brought prosperity to the area, a prosperity which peaked in the 1950's. One after the other, the shaft mines began closing. Today, only a few remain active. Now, strip mining and mountain top removal mining allow wholesale destruction of the environment while employing only a handful of workers to harvest the exposed coal seams.

Unless citizens protest, the rape of the land will continue with unchecked strip mining, little or no restoration of stripped areas, mountain top destruction, holler fills, polluted water, and polluted air. My hometown of St. Paul, VA, could be be choked by rock and coal dust from thousands of trucks carrying waste coal from the old shaft mine gob piles in Russell County through the center of the town to the Virginia City plant two miles away.

If you think that having a coal fired power plant next door to your town will be an asset, drive up to what is left of the community of South Clinchfield,VA, in the shadow of AEP's Clinch River (Carbo) plant. Talk to the residents as I have. Listen to their stories of fumes from the smokestack flooding down to ground level when a cool night brings a temperature inversion. Hear how dust from the trucks coats the skin of their infants and blackens their bath water as if they had been working in the mines. Does it also fill their lungs? Sadly, only time will tell. I do not think that "black lung" benefits will be available to neighborhood children or adults who will be forced breathe rock and coal dust from the waste coal trucks. Add to this the fumes from a coal fired power plant and confine them in the small bowl that contains the town of St Paul. This could be a true witch's brew.

Please sign this petition and pass the link along to family and friends. We need to work together to save the air, water, and land of the Appalachian Mountains. http://www.samsva.org/?page_id

Thanks,
John Bolton, MD

OSM Proposes Weakening MTR Rule

MTR Valley Fill, Massey Energy Corp,

Lyburn, WV

The Office on Surface Mining has proposed a new rule to weaken regulations regarding stream buffer zones at Mountaintop Removal mining sites.

The current rule requires mining operations to obtain a variance showing no impact to water quality or quantity for activities within 100 feet of a stream, but the rule is often disregarded with MTR valley fills. The rule change proposed by OSM would lift the buffer zone protection altogether.

A recent survey conducted by the non-partisan Opinion Research Corporation found that two-thirds of Americans oppose the administration's proposed rule. More details on the survey can be found at: http://www.700mountains.org/release091307.cfm

OSM is required to receive public comment on the rule change through October 23. Comments can be submitted to the Federal Register at: http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=OSM-2007-0007

Documents on the rule change can be found on the OSM website: http://www.osmre.gov/

Related Media:

http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/News/2007091423

http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/158147.html

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/BUSINESS/708250406

http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/news.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2007-08-19-0010.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/24/AR2007082401206.html

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_65215.shtml

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/331392_mining13.html

Industries pony up for lawmakers on energy panels

Electric utilities, oil companies, automakers and mining interests donated nearly $4 million during the first half of 2007 to lawmakers in the three House and Senate committees responsible for writing energy legislation, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Looks like Big Energy, Big Oil, and King Coal continue to hold court. Read on:

http://www.earthportal.org/news/?p=409