The disaster in Tennessee has finally woken up many Americans to what some of us have been screaming about for decades. Not only has it come on the heels of one of the most extensive and expensive media campaigns the coal industry has ever unleashed (the "clean" coal campaign - an attempt to convince America that the dirtiest form of power generation can be "clean"), but this environmental mess has reminded us all that it's not just the coal plants themselves that are a disaster. From every moment of its inception coal is a dirty, nasty and awful idea.
Miners are still contracting and dying from black lung disease, and as we saw last year mine collapses are not a thing of the past either. On top of that, the unions that once protected some miners are being destroyed by the coal companies. All this despite the fact that fewer and fewer miners work underground. The shafts have been replaced by huge earth movers and thousands upon thousands of pounds of dynamite. Instead of sending men underground to mine the coal, we are now sending the ground away - usually to fill the irreplaceably, biologically diverse valleys and streams of the Applachian Forest.
Then come the slurry damns, the transport of the coal, and finally the burning - which releases a plethora of nasty toxins and pollutants far too long for this blog post. Hopefully the sliver lining in this toxic sludge cloud will be that America will finally wake up and smell what's been burning for the past century - and finally do something about putting the fire out. The world, much less America, can't take any more "clean" coal, no matter how it's spun or marketed.
Just as I was getting into the holiday spirit, Stephen Johnson has to hit us with this.
In case you're not quite as obsessed with carbon dioxide regulation and coal plants as we are here at Coal Block, let me provide a little background. In November the EPA's governance board ruled that its regional office had been too hasty in approving a new coal-fired power plant in Bonanza, Utah because the plant didn't include carbon dioxide emissions or control techniques in their permit application. The Sierra Club helped secure this victory by filing a suit against Utah's Desert Power Electric Cooperative for not controlling carbon dioxide. Their argument was based upon the landmark Massachusetts v EPA case, which required the agency to regulate CO2 as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
The Bonanza decision was, in a word, wicked awesome (okay, two words). It gave environmentalists a great new tool for stopping coal-fired power plants and signalled a sea change in the government's willingness to take action over carbon dioxide emissions. So the fact that the EPA is now telling permitters that they cannot consider greenhouse gas emissions when processing applications is a major kick in the pants. It could mean slated plants that wouldn't have been approved could get the green light during these last weeks of the Bush administration. In a New York Times article, Vickie Patton, from the Environmental Defense Fund estimates that as many as 8,000 megawatts of new coal-fired power plants could skate through as a result of this ruling.
Yesterday, someone scaled two 10 foot razor-wire, electrified fences and broke into the Kingsnorth power station in Kent, England. They proceeded to the main turbine hall and shut down one of the 500MW boilers. Emily Highmore, a spokeswoman for E.On (the company which owns Kingsnorth), said:
"He could have killed himself. We do not have a problem with public protest but this was reckless. Whoever it was has crossed a line they should not have gone over. Power stations are dangerous places."
Yes power stations are dangerous places. I've known people who've worked in them and have told me of instances of people getting hurt or killed (often through negligence or incompetence). But what does that have to do with what this individual did? Were they unaware of the danger of what they were doing? I don't think so. They climbed two electrified, razor-wire fences, so they were apparently prepared for considerable danger. They were probably also quite aware of the danger inside the plant as well as the repercussions should they be caught. That such an action is dangerous goes without saying, it's not what's important. What is important is that they did what they did in spite of the danger and because it was necessary.
On Tuesday, November 25, Governor Perry held a press conference where he called on the EPA to consider the economic implications on Texas of regulating CO2 as a pollutant. According to EPA's website:
CAA (Clean Air Act) Section 317 clearly states that the EIA (Economic Impact Analysis) shall not “be construed to alter the basis on which a standard or regulation is promulgated ... preclude the Administrator from carrying out his responsibility ... to protect public health and welfare, or ... require any judicial review” (CAA §312[e]). Thus, an EIA is used to inform the regulatory process, but its findings are not strictly binding on the actions the Agency can take.
While Governor Perry is certainly entitled to deliberate on and be concerned with economic implications for the state of Texas, it is not his place to make requests (or demands) of the U.S. EPA. The "E" in EPA stands for Environment, not Economy: their priority is supposed to be protecting the environment, and through that, public health - not the special interests of an industry-owned mouthpiece.
He claims that if the EPA does decide to regulate CO2 as a pollutant that Texas will shoulder a disproportionate burden relative to the other states in this country because of the large amount of industry and other CO2 producing sources in this state. Yes, that’s so unfair. Heaven forbid that industry in this state will finally have to start taking responsibility for their actions. We can’t have accountability now, can we? That just wouldn’t be fair (I know sarcasm doesn’t translate well in text, so hopefully I’m laying it on thick enough). It was the decision of Texas leaders in the past to allow such industries to operate unrestrained and unchecked, so I fail to see the “unfairness” of possible repercussions.
To regulate or not to regulate: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous CO2 emitters, Or to take arms against a sea of polluters, And by regulating end them? To die: to change; Evermore; and by a change to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand unnatural toxins That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to change; To change: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that dream of death what changes may come When we have shuffled off this pollutive industry, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of conscious consumption;
The “Sparkling City by the Sea” has been losing its sparkle through the years, as more and more refineries pollute its air and water. Now a new threat looms to increase the pollution that is damaging and degrading what should be the glistening jewel of the Texas Gulf Coast.
A by-product of the refining industry is petroleum-coke (or pet-coke). It is the toxic-filled waste that is left over after the refining industry gets all it wants out of crude oil. The Las Brisas Energy Center is a proposed facility that will burn this waste in what is, basically, a coal plant on the shores of Nueces Bay.
I attended a public meeting held by the TCEQ on Tuesday that allowed for comments and questions to be asked of the TCEQ and representatives of Las Brisas. Many concerns were raised by concerned citizens and few, if any, of the questions were answered satisfactorily.
The main proponents of the facility seemed to be, as usual, those who were happy at the proposed jobs this facility would create. One of the points I brought up was how green jobs (jobs from energy efficiency programs and from renewable energy generation) would provide far more employment opportunities for the area: permanent jobs (as opposed to temporary construction jobs) which couldn’t be outsourced.
Last Thursday in Hope, Arkansas there were two meetings. One was widely attended, the other was not… mostly because hardly anyone had heard of it.
They hadn’t heard of it because it snuck in under the wire, with barely (if at all) the proper notices and alerts. It was a quorum court meeting, and on the agenda was a motion to approve a bond issuance “not to exceed” $185,000,000. Aside from one dissenting voice of sanity, the motion was passed.
It was passed without allowing anyone to comment, and upon only one reading.
Hempstead County and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation are now investors in the Turk Coal Plant, meaning residents and taxpayers are now on the hook for nearly 200 million dollars.
Why do they need this public backing?Coal’s dirty little secret is that it is on the way out, and everybody knows this.Power plants are constructed with a budget to pay off the cost of the plant over 20 or 30 years.Coal will soon become so economically unviable that these plants will be forced to close, leaving taxpayers and bondholders to pick up the check. How incredibly irresponsible.
The big coal interests have a favored saying: “There is no silver bullet.” This old adage suggests there is no single solution to the growing energy needs and concerns of this country. While this is obviously true, the only solution (or “silver bullet”) that these charlatans ever talk about is “clean” coal. Ironically enough, “clean” coal is a fantasy notion as mythical as the werewolves and other monsters silver bullets were reputed to destroy.
For those unfamiliar with monster lore and mythology, silver bullets were capable of destroying everything from werewolves to vampires – creatures that had no other weakness or vulnerability. This metaphor is quite fitting to our dilemma of increasing energy demand while preserving the ecosystem, for it is a dilemma that seems insurmountable and unsolvable. Our civilization is built upon electricity and the idea of continuing our lifestyles without it is unfathomable to many Americans. But, as with the legendary monsters of old, a silver bullet does exist to address and conquer this problem – at least metaphorically.
It is not wind power, or solar power, or even energy efficiency, nor is it some yet-to-be-discovered technology that we hang unreasonable hopes upon. It is a mindset. A way of viewing the world free from the burdensome fear and closed-mindedness of the energy industry’s status quo. The simple knowledge, which has been known for decades, that we don’t need fossil fuels to generate our power. That the wasteful practices of our society can be ceased and a new era of responsible consumerism (in all regards, not just with energy) can be envisioned and achieved.
Those were the words of Tom Mullikin (lawyer and nationally known speaker) at a talk he gave sponsored by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce to a “crowded hall full of business and political leaders from across the state,” as printed in the Wichita Eagle. Mr. Mullikin went on to talk about how local efforts to curb the effects of coal plants on the environment are useless, listing “facts” about how man-made emissions only comprise 5.5 percent of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and that "Kansas homes, factories, cars, livestock and power plants… contribute just 0.013 percent of all greenhouse gases floating in the world's atmosphere."
This is not the first time I’ve heard these statements about percentages, and they are irrelevant. It is not the overall percentage of greenhouse gases represented by human activity that matters – what matters is how much the overall amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases, and 5.5% is a significant amount. Just think of blood alcohol levels, or a glass of water filled to the brim – one more drop will make it overflow.
I'll be heading back to Austin soon where we hope to regroup and move on to the next steps in our efforts to stop coal plants. All in all I consider this Arkansas trip to be a large success. We had 77 people come out for the screening in Fayetteville and had over 150 in Little Rock. Many Arkansans are eager to unite and stop these coal plants in order to promote and move towards renewable energy generation.
Here in Hope, however, my spirits were a bit lower. We distributed thousands of fliers at the Watermelon Festival in the “hope” of drawing people out to the screening and getting folks involved in the fight. We were unsuccessful, however, and the only folks who showed up to the screening were the local hunting club guys who had been fighting this plant since the beginning. We were unable to get any new local interest in opposing the plant.
It is in these local towns, closest to the plants, where the hardest fight lies. Many, if not most, of the locals see the plant as an economic boon, since the few of them who get jobs with the company are usually getting the best job they’ve ever had. Concerns about public health, environmental degradation, and long-term economical impacts are ignored or justified in the light of some industry, any industry, willing to invest in the local community.
As Upton Sinclair said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon him not understanding it." This was true a hundred years ago, and it is still true today – both for men and women. And as long as the majority of people in this country are kept beneath a yoke of low wages and corporate consumerism, the will of the people to acknowledge, much less fight, the ills of our age will be greatly weakened.
This is not just an American dilemma, consider this Chinese coal plant situation:
The companies who build these plants know this. This is why they choose economically challenged or depressed sites and communities for their projects. It is also why it is so important to find those few locals who are willing and eager to speak against the crowd and stand up for their health, the environment, and a stable and sound energy future.
With that thought in mind we are networking the few dedicated souls in Hope with the rest of the great volunteers throughout Arkansas in our efforts to stop these coal plants. With the momentum we’ve gathered I think we have a great chance of achieving the change we seek.
As with Pandora, all it takes is a faint glimmer of Hope.
Thunderstorms are something I’ve always found enjoyable. Serpentining through the Ozarks on a two lane highway in the middle of a thunderstorm is about as good as it gets. But there is another kind of storm brewing in this state, one which has thunderheads made of soot instead of rain. This storm will wreck untold havoc unless we stop it at its source: the coal plants.
Two days ago we had a very successful screening of Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Now we are on our way to Little Rock to show the film again, and excite the capitol’s populous into joining the fight to preserve our climate.
Yesterday in Fayetteville we had the first public meeting regarding the two coal plants proposed in the region. Many of the people who attended the screening the day before were there, along with the mayor of Fayetteville, Dan Coody. Amongst others who joined us was Dr. Bells who drove up from Ft. Smith. He expressed great concern over the health effects of these coal plants, and demonstrated that this is an issue that effects all Arkansans.
The meeting last night showed a great willingness by the people of Fayetteville to organize and unite not only against these coal plants, but to encourage and promote a new energy future no longer based on the archaic burning of fossil fuels. Many alternatives exist to give us cheaper and cleaner methods of energy generation. The threat to global climate change from these proposed plants is bad enough, but the threat to public health and local economies posed by coal plants makes the unnecessary risk of these plants much worse.
The people of Fayetteville are ready and willing to stand up and demand a better solution to our energy needs. Hopefully the residents of Little Rock will join the fight with as much vigor and enthusiasm as the citizens of Fayetteville.
Coal Blog
Yesterday, someone scaled two 10 foot razor-wire, electrified fences and broke into the Kingsnorth power station in Kent, England. They proceeded to the main turbine hall and shut down one of the 500MW boilers. Emily Highmore, a spokeswoman for E.On (the company which owns Kingsnorth), 
And his nose where it doesn't belong. 
The big coal interests have a favored saying: “There is no silver bullet.” This old adage suggests there is no single solution to the growing energy needs and concerns of this country. While this is obviously true, the only solution (or “silver bullet”) that these charlatans ever talk about is “clean” coal. Ironically enough, “clean” coal is a fantasy notion as mythical as the werewolves and other monsters silver bullets were reputed to destroy. 
has been known for decades, that we don’t need fossil fuels to generate our power. That the wasteful practices of our society can be ceased and a new era of responsible consumerism (in all regards, not just with energy) can be envisioned and achieved. 
