Coal Ash: A National Problem Needs a National Solution

Earthjustice    Sierra Club
Tennessee Coal Ash Spill:
" Largest Environmental Disaster
of it's kind in the United States"

Dec. 22, 2008 a dike holding back
decades worth of coal ash failed
at the Kingston Fossil Plant in
Harriman, Tn., flooding the
surrounding area with more than
one billion gallons of toxic coal
ash, or enough to flood 3,000
acres 1 ft. deep. Testing of sur-
rounding water bodies showed
extremely dangerous levels of
arsenic mercury and other toxins.
600+ Coal Ash sites Nationwide,
but no Federal Regulation.
Nobody's looking, Whee!
http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/downloads/2009-07-coal-ash.pdf

This Land's Coal's Land.....

Mountain Top Removal
Displaces Destroys and
Scars
Planet Green
Not that there is mountain top
removal going on in Texas,
this slideshow is a wake-up
call in visual. Industry will
gladly forget the future for
a 'fast' buck now. 
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/travel-outdoors/coal-country-mountaintop-slideshow.html

Louisiana Well Blowout Forces Hundreds From Homes

Pro Publica.... Abrahm Lustgarten
Hundreds of people have been
evacuated from their homes in rural
western Louisiana after a natural
gas well blowout contaminated a
drinking water aquifer there Monday.

" It's dangerous to drink the water.
You can't bathe in it, you can't wash
your clothes. You basically cannot
use the water at all,' said the spokes-
woman Cindy Chadwick.

It is not clear what other contaminants
are in the water, other than methane
gas, Exco officials told news outlets.
MORE: http://www.propublica.org/feature/louisiana-well-blowout-forces-hundreds-from-homes

New EPA boss says tougher ozone standards inescapable

Greg Harman   The San Antonio Current
" I think the standard is going to
be what  medical evidence tells
us it should be," said Al Armendariz
Regional Director of EPA, before
addressing a gathering at Blue Star
hosted by the Greater Edwards
Aquifer Alliance.
"What that really means to me is,
we've got to go after the largest
sources of pollution. When you
look across the region, those
largest sources are primarily the
large utilities, big industry, and
mobile sources-things like cars
and trucks and construction
equipment."
......policy changes that reduced
outdoor ozone air pollution
during the 1996 Olympics in
Atlanta, GA were associated
with up to a 42% reduction
in pediatric asthma events
especially for poor children.
Read more >  http://www.sacurrent.com/blog/queblog.asp?perm=70262

The Week's Highlights In Good Ol' Fashioned Corporate Villainy

Cross-posted from Treehugger

The Greedy Coal Company that
Overlooks It's Employees Safety
for Profit
29 employees were killed in an
explosion. Company's boss Don
Blankenship found safety concerns
to be a nuisance.

The Shipping Company that Took
a Shortcut through the Barrier
Reef-and Crashed
Coal- carrying vessel smashed into
part of the Great Barrier Reef.

Oil Company Revealed to Spend
Millions to Confuse Public About
Science
$50 million dollars into funding

public campaigns designed  to

confuse the public about climate

science. Good ol' Koch Industries.

Biggest Private Company in the

World Didn't Pay Federal Taxes

in 2009

ExxonMobil doesn't pay any

federal income taxes.

18,000 Gallon Oil Spill in Wildlife 

Refuge

Chevron's oil pipeline ruptured,

spewing crude into a pristine

wildlife refuge.http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/week-highlights-old-fashioned-corporate-villainy.php 

Chronic Illness Liknked To Coal-Mining Pollution Study Shows

Science Daily
  "Residents of coal mining com-
munities have long complained
of impaired health," Michael Hendryx
Ph.D, associate director of the WVU
Institute for Health Policy Research
in WVU's Community Medicine
department, said. "This study sub-
stantiates their claims. Those
residents are at an increased risk
of developing chronic heart, lung
and kidney diseases."
. have a 70% increased risk for de-
veloping kidney disease
. a 64% increased risk  for developing
chronic obstructive pulmonary dis-
ease(COPD) such as emphysema.
. are 30% more likely to report
high blood pressure  (hypertension).
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326201751.htm

EPA Broadens Study of Fracking Industry Ire Boils

The EPA begins public hearings in Washington
today about it's study of hydraulic fracturing,
which could sway Congress on whether or
not to repeal an exemption for the process
in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
   By Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, Guest
Writer, 4-07-10.
  The Oil & Gas Industry strongly opposes
this new approach. Plans for the study have
attracted international attention and have
been the focus of intense debate among law-
makers and the Oil & Gas industry. The
findings could affect Congress' decision
whether to repeal an exemption that shields
the fracturing process from federal legis-
lation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Industry received a get-out-of-jail-free
exemption from the Bush administation
that allows them to keep fracking formulas
secret and  propriatary.http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/as_epa_broadens_study_of_fracking_industry_ire_boils/C35/L35/

DON'T LET TEXAS BECOME RADIOACTIVE WASTE DUMP

One of our most active members
e-mailed me about this, reading
a second time, I noticed the date,
early December. This is enough
to get me spiting mad.  How about
you?
All of the State TCEQ scientists
who worked on the permit for the west
Texas dump site, owned by Waste
Control Specialists (WCS), de-
termined the site to be inadequate
because of the possible radioactive
contamination of our aquifers and
groundwater. Corruption and politics
led to the permitting of the site
anyways, ignoring the entire TCEQ
technical team's recommendation against
issuing the permit. 3 TCEQ employees
quit over the decision.http://texasvox.org/2009/12/07/don%E2%80%99t-let-texas-become-the-nation%E2%80%99s-radioactive-waste-dumping-ground/
Go to this link to take action! Tell
the Compact Commission you do
not want Texas to become the
nation's radioactive waste dumping
ground. http://texasvox.org/2010/04/02/prevent-texas-from-becoming-the-nations-radioactive-waste-dump/
In addition to e-mailed comments:
Austin hearing, also one in Anderson
County.

COAL FIRED PLANTS GULP 1.5 TRILLION GALLONS

Of water, and we're left to drink the

dirty backwash. "We can't escape".

Even as a growing number of coal

burning power plants around the

nation have moved to reduce their

air emissions,many of them are

creating another problem: water 

pollution. Read  more:    http://www.alternet.org/story/146148/coal-fired_plants_gulp_1.5_trillion_gallons_of_water_and_we%27re_left_to_drink_the_dirty_backwash