FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2008
2:00 PM

CONTACT: National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)
Andrea Keller Helsel, National Parks Conservation Association,
202.454.3332
 
 
National Parks Conservation Association Names 10 National Parks Most Threatened by New Coal-Fired Power Plants
Parks Group Calls on Administration to Abandon Effort to Permit More Power Plant Pollution Near National Parks By Weakening Clean Air Regulations
 
WASHINGTON, DC - May 15 - The nation’s leading voice for the national parks, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), today called on the Administration to halt its efforts to rollback clean air protections for national parks, citing 10 national parks at risk from pollution from new coal-fired power plants.

“Americans expect and deserve clean air when they visit our national parks,” said NPCA Clean Air and Climate Programs Director Mark Wenzler. “Instead of opening the door to more pollution in national parks such as Shenandoah, Great Basin, and Zion, the Administration should be working to secure a legacy that preserves America’s national treasures for our children and grandchildren.”

NPCA’s new report, Dark Horizons, identifies the 10 national parks most at risk from pollution from new coal-fired power plants as Shenandoah (Va.), Great Smoky Mountains (Tenn./ N.C.), Mammoth Cave (Ky.), Theodore Roosevelt (N.D.), Mesa Verde (Co.), Capitol Reef (Utah), Zion (Utah), Great Basin (Nev.), Wind Cave (S.D.), and Badlands (S.D.).

NPCA is calling on the Administration to halt its efforts to weaken clean air protections for national parks. Despite objections from its own scientists and the National Park Service, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing to finalize a rule that weakens pollution standards and makes it easier to build new coal-fired power plants near national parks. NPCA warns that national parks such as Shenandoah will suffer greater pollution, and wildlife and scenic views in national parks such as Great Basin, which is largely unaffected by air pollution, will be harmed.

Echoing NPCA’s concerns, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA-30th), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has written several letters to EPA Administrator Johnson about this rulemaking and its potential affect on national parks, calling for it to be withdrawn.

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Kansas Governor Vetoes Plan For Coal Power Plants
by Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON - In a big win for environmentalists, the Democratic governor of Kansas on Friday vetoed legislation that would have allowed a huge coal-fired power plant to expand in the state and spew 11 million more tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year.0324 09

The bill, approved by the Republican-dominated Kansas legislature, would have allowed Sunflower Electric Power Corp to add two 700-megawatt units at a facility in western Kansas.

Under the bill, lawmakers sought to strip the authority of the Kansas health and environment secretary, who turned down the $3.6 billion project last year because it would have produced more carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.

However, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed the bill, saying federal regulations of greenhouse gas emissions emitted by coal-powered electric generating plants will likely be implemented in the next several years.

“We know that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change,” Sebelius said in a statement. “As an agricultural state, Kansas is particularly vulnerable. Therefore, reducing pollutants benefits our state not only in the short term — but also for generations of Kansans to come.”

Environmental groups hope Kansas will influence more states to reject new coal-fired power plants.

Sunflower said it was disappointed by the governor’s decision. “If not resolved, this veto will unnecessarily raise electric rates for Kansas families and punish our Kansas workers and industries,” Sunflower President Earl Watkins said.

“We are experiencing significant growth on the Sunflower system and we must add new coal generation to support our existing natural gas and wind generation assets,” he said.

Sunflower represents six electric cooperatives, among 66 electric cooperatives and 10 Kansas cities that will own power produced by the coal-fired units.

In addition to the veto, Sebelius issued an executive order creating an energy and environmental policy advisory group make recommendations to the governor on how to reduce Kansas’ greenhouse gas emissions. She named Jack Pelton, chairman of Cessna Aircraft Co, to head the advisory group.

Additional reporting by Carey Gillam; Editing by Bill Trott

© 2008 Reuters

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Continue Reading »

August 13, 2007

More photos available at Asheville Indymedia

***5 arrested protesting Bank of America’s investments in coal and climate change***

As a culmination of the Southeast Convergence for Climate Action, activists took a bold direct action against Bank of America over concerns regarding their investment throughout the coal cycle and their promotion of climate injustice. Although there was much speculation regarding a protest action at the Progress Energy Skyland coal-fired power plant, protestors surprised the downtown office of Bank of America.

Two activists locked down inside the main lobby and other activists blockaded the entrance to the downtown branch of Bank of America. The protest included a large, lively group of concerned citizens dressed as canaries and polar bears. Activists carried signs and banners that read: “Bank of America Stop Funding Climate Change,” “Bank of America Stop Mountaintop Removal,” “No Coal, No Nukes, No Kidding” “Bank of America Climate Criminal.” Continue Reading »

Google Earth Highlights Destruction
By BetaNews Staff, BetaNews
March 12, 2007, 12:48 PM
[original article]

While Google Earth has primarily been touted for its uncanny ability to take users on a tour of the world’s most beautiful sights right from their desktop, a new feature added Monday highlights the immense destruction human beings leave in their wake.

Environmental advocacy group Appalachian Voices has joined to Google to deliver a special interactive layer for Google Earth that tells the stories of over 470 mountains that have been destroyed from coal mining, and its impact on nearby ecosystems. Separately, the World Wildlife Fund has added the ability to visit its 150 project sites using Google Earth.

INSTRUCTIONS on How to See Mountain Memorial in Google Earth’s “Featured Content” Menu
Once you have Google Earth open on your computer, open the “featured content” folder in the “layers” menu at the bottom left portion of your screen. The first item inside the “featured content” menu is called “Global Awareness.” Open that folder and you will see a folder called “Appalachian Mountaintop Removal” with a little blue and white flag icon net to it. Check the box next to this folder to turn on the layer and then double-click the icon to be taken to the memorial. Clicking on “User’s Guide” will help you make the most of your visit to the National Memorial for the Mountains.

CALL TO ACTION FOR MARSH FORK ELEMENTARY!

Gather at the Liberty Bell, north side of WV Capitol Building in Charleston, Friday, March 16, 2007, at 10:30.
The WV Surface Mine Board on Tuesday, March 13, overturned a WV Dept of Environmental Protection ruling and granted Massey Energy’s application to build a second coal silo beside Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial, WV.  By Massey’s own determination, the second silo will add tons of coal dust to the air the kids breathe.

The children of Marsh Fork Elementary need a new school in their community now more than ever!  They are already breathing coal dust that includes toxic chemicals, and it will only get worse with an additional coal silo within 300 feet of the school

TAKE ACTION ON FRIDAY MARCH 16
* Come to Charleston WV meet at the Liberty Bell at 10:30 a.m. on Friday for a rally for a new school.  Bring a friend or two or 10!
* if you can’t come, then:

Call Governor Manchin’s office: 1-888-438-2731 (toll free) or 1-304-558-2000.
Send a FAX 1-304-342-7025

Email the Governor’s office: Governor@WVGov.org.

TALKING POINTS
* The kids at Marsh Fork Elementary need a new school in their own community now more than ever.

* Every child deserves a safe and healthy school in their own community.

* Forget a new silo - build the kids a new school!
* Massey’s own air quality permit predicts an increase in the amount of coal dust (3.49 tons per year) emitted by operating a second silo.

*Neither the state Department of Education nor the US Environmental Protection Agency determined coal dust levels in the school.  The EPA’s test was not done during normal operation of the coal plant.

*The state has the money for a new school and the Raleigh County Board of Education is willing to accept it.

*The sludge dam just 400 yards above the school holds 20 times the volume of the Buffalo Creek sludge dam disaster that killed 125 people in 1972.

More Background

Marsh Fork Elementary School sits just 225 feet from a coal loading silo that releases chemical-laden coal dust and 400 yards from a 385 foot tall leaking sludge dam with a nearly 3 billion gallon capacity. Independent studies have shown the school to be full of coal dust.

Massey Energy who owns the coal processing facility has been attempting to build a second coal processing plant near the school for years, but community opposition, action and research led the Department of Environmental Protection to reject Massey’s permit request for the second silo.

On Tuesday March 13 the state Surface Mine Board overturned the Department of Environmental Protection order that blocked the silo.
Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/ypx39z

Community members have been working for years on getting a new school for the children that attend Marsh Fork Elementary in their community so that they don’t have to breathe coal dust and toxic chemicals daily.  The grandfather of a recent Marsh Fork graduate walked from West Virginia to DC to raise support for a new school and to meet with Senator Byrd to request a new school in the community.  And elementary students around the world have written letters to Governor Manchin and collected pennies to help build a new school.

Find out more here:
surprise delivery of letters to Governor Manchin: http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/1033
Governor avoids meeting with children: http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/1010
Pennies of Promise launch with deliver of pennies to the capitol: http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/322
Ed’s walk from WV to DC: http://duke.securenet-server.net/~mnoerpel/pennies/blog.php

Across the United States, more than 150 new coal-fired power plants are in the process of being applied for, planned and constructed. Where are they?

The US Department of Energy has issued a “Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants” report that provides a comprehensive map and list of 159 new coal plants that are under consideration.

Another list, put together by the Sierra Club and re-posted below, contains detailed information about more than 80 of the proposed new coal plants.

According to the DOE report, the number of proposed new coal plants in different regions of the US are: 26 in the Northwest (AK, ID, MT, WA, WY); 19 in the Southwest (AZ, CO, NM. NV, UT); 24 in the Great Plains (KS, ND, OK, TX, SD); 42 in the Midwest (IA, IL, IN, MI, MO, OH, MN, WI); 30 in the Southeast (AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, VA, WV); and 11 in the Northeast (DE, MD, NY, PA). Continue Reading »