West Virginia Blue
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* There's a website for the March on Blair Mountain. Videos, pictures, and audio all available of this inspiring action.
* While most of the WV press hones its skills in the self-appointed craft of stenography, there is still one bright shining light pointing out there's multiple sides to every story. This introduction is a strong hint who:
The Gazette's late publisher, Ned Chilton, was know for his criticism of what he called West Virginia's "insipid press," local newspapers that didn't question the actions of local politicians and powerful institutions.
Here's some suggestions for Mike Ruben and friends... next time you write about WV energy, ask your sources what happens to coal-based energy production when cheap Appalachian coal runs out in 15-20 years? Ask them how much money is saved in reduced healthcare costs each time a coal-fired electrical plant closes. Ask them, when US demand for renewable energy is going up and demand for coal-based energy is going down, why should WV consumers have to pay more for coal-based energy?
* West Virginia gets a new district office for MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration). Here's hoping this means even safer mines, too.
About the film: DIRTY BUSINESS: "Clean Coal" and the Battle for Our Energy Future is a 90-minute documentary produced by the Center for Investigative Reporting that investigates the true cost of our dependence on coal for electricity in the age of climate change. It is the first major public media project to explain and demystify "clean coal" and to explore the extent to which increased energy efficiency and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar thermal power might make "clean coal" unnecessary and uneconomical. America burns more than a billion tons of coal a year-and coal-fired power plants are the single greatest source of the greenhouse gases. From West Virginia to China, the film reveals the true social and environmental costs of coal power and tells the stories of innovators pointing the way to an alternative energy future.
The film was written, produced and directed by Peter Bull and co-produced by Justin Weinstein, the team that produced the PBS FRONTLINE and CIR co-production, Hot Politics, about the politics of global warming. The narrator and editorial consultant on Dirty Business is Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal, the Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future and contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine (his latest article there being the one on Massey CEO Don Blankenship that some speculate helped lead to his resignation). Alex Gibney, producer/director of the 2008 Academy Award winning documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side, is consulting producer on DIRTY BUSINESS.
Acting Senate President Jeff Kessler is thinking outside the box about West Virginia's natural resources. Kessler's natural gas proposal would have the State hold back a quarter of the severance tax dollars stemming from the production of Marcellus Shale. This money would be placed into an interest-bearing special revenue account and could be used for the State's long term liabilities, economic diversification, and improvements to our crumbling infrastructure in the decades to come.
I think a candidate like Kessler is the State's best hope of bucking the trend of absentee robber barons exploiting the State for our natural resources. I hope they tax the hell out of this natural gas and increase the severance tax on coal as well. This is our land and we need to make sure that our resources are extracted in a way that do not destroy our communities; put our workers at risk; and once extracted, benefit our citizens for generations to come.
Here's something to keep an eye on as the West Virginia 2011 Gubernatorial Election heats up.
How many non-essential activities will Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, over-acting as Governor, take on? For example, how many non-essential appointments will he make and how many new positions will he create?
This week Tomblin has created a special new task force stacked with executives and lobbyists for chemical or energy companies-- Tomblin's new "Marcellus to Manufacturing Task Force". There is one token labor member and one token environmentalist assigned to this twelve member task force, but no one representing citizens at large or surface owner's rights.
If Tomblin was more confident of winning elections in May & October he could patiently wait for a term as a legitimate Gov., not an "acting as" one, until he installed his hand-picked favorites into multi-year positions.
This move looks like a desperate attempt to buy off some votes.
The FArCES of Coal:"With Our Head in the Sand, As Loud As We Can" Edition
Well, I'm not sure how it happened. But it seems like southern West Virginia has survived its first post-apocalyptic, economy-annihilating, way-of-life-ending weekend after EPA heroically vetoed Arch Coal's Spruce Mine permit last Thursday. As bad as Joe Manchin, Shelly Moore Capito, and the Friends of Coal said life was going to be after the veto, myself and most folks in West Virginia ended up having a pretty decent weekend, all things considered. Heck, we even learned that despite the snow many if not most nearby residents are celebrating EPA's veto of Spruce #1 mine.
Which leads me to wonder...has anyone ever been so loud and proud about shoving their head in the sand and ignoring the cries of their constituents and colleagues, the consensus of scientists, and the pleading of health professionals as loudly as Joe Manchin and Nick Rahall? Senator Manchin certainly hasn't had a very positive first few weeks in the United States Senate. In fact, despite not taking too many big votes, he has found that his actions have already left him with a lot to apologize for. He set another high bar last week when EPA announced its decision on Spruce. Not only was his rhetoric irresponsible, but his information is just plain incorrect - particularly in asserting that EPA was "retroactively" vetoing this permit.
First of all, if you do your research (as Ken Ward does) you know that EPA never signed off on the Spruce Mine Permit. GOT THAT? EPA has raised concerns since the very beginning about this permit, and when Arch Coal was pressed to address those concerns, what did Arch Coal do for the people of Appalachia? They walked away.
Despite EPA's willingness to consider alternatives, the company did not offer any new proposed mining configurations in response to EPA's concerns based on science and the law.
SNL Financial goes into further detail about a meeting between top EPA officials and Arch Coal from November 16th,2010:
"The permittee also indicated that other approaches previously discussed, such as 'sequencing' or 'phasing' of valley fills, remained unacceptable to Arch Coal, Inc., due primarily to economic considerations," EPA said. "In the meeting, the permittee did not propose new or additional corrective actions for EPA's consideration."
"This transaction gives us a direct stake in participating in the growth of U.S. coal exports off the West Coast," said Steven Leer, Arch's chairman and CEO. "With our superior operating position in the Powder River Basin and Western bituminous region, we have the capability to service growing coal demand in Asia, the world's largest and fastest-growing coal market. We believe this first project - along with others in the pipeline - will provide Arch with more exposure to the seaborne thermal market and will further unlock the value inherent in our western coal assets.".
Efficiency Coalition Follows Success
at PSC by Mike Harman
Energy Efficient West Virginia (EEWV) formed its roots at the WV Public Service Commission (PSC) in March, 2009 as Appalachian Power Company was calling for a 43% increase in rates. WV-CAG responded to my appeal that energy efficiency and demand-side management incentives could be introduced in the rate case, based on feedback from Billy Jack Gregg, a former PSC consumer advocate.
According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, the amount of energy that could be saved by WV utilities was in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 percent of total energy sales. These figures are based on experience in a number of states with comprehensive programs and incentives to help residents as well as business and industrial customers save energy and save money.
Very capable legal representation was secured from Tom Rodd, of the Calwell Law Practice, and CAG filed a series of interventions over the next 15 months involving the two electric power giants. In each case, the PSC sided with us and ordered the companies to produce programs to help their customers achieve a modest level of energy savings.
This is a historic first for our state - the first time electric utilities have had to put resources into encouraging their customers to save energy, not use more of it!
These start-up programs will be helpful, but much more could be done with a stronger public policy and greater public support. This is the mission of EEWV-- to promote energy efficiency in every way, through policy analysis, public education, grassroots organizing, and networking with businesses, academics, and public officials. In West Virginia the climate is ripe for moving this particular agenda forward. EEWV is now meeting regularly and on the road to a more efficient energy future. Stay tuned!
Based on the Appalachian Regional Commission report, and other indicators, West Virginia has major potential to save energy at a cost-effective rate of only one to three cents per kilowatt hour, compared to a cost of future generation capacity at over ten cents.
Lighting is still the "low-hanging fruit," meaning that residents and businesses can more easily and quickly save energy through lighting upgrades than from any other measure. West Virginia has a higher than average proportion of industrial customers than most other states, and residential and business building stock is generally older and less efficient than that of other states.
While the WV PSC has shown a good level of interest in energy efficiency and demand-side management (EE/DSM), it is usually necessary to have strong enabling legislation that requires specific energy savings targets over time. West Virginia does not yet have such laws.
A big thank you to all those involved with EEWV. Energy efficiency is a crucially important step for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and a long overdue path for West Virginia utilities.
The is indeed an area where the West Virginia legislature can and should take further action.
Some of my colleagues have been making the case in recent days that there were worse environmental offenders than Massey Energy in 2010. Sure, BP was responsible for the worst accidental oil spill in history. And yes, Koch Industries funds climate denial groups in an attempt to mislead the American people. But I think Massey Energy and its CEO, Don Blankenship, are the absolute worst. Between their disregard for safety and environmental standards, their denial of climate science and their destructive coal mining practices, Massey Energy and Blankenship clearly deserve your support in Repower America's 2010 Snake Oil Awards.
Congress is heading back home for the August recess this week. Apparently our Senators need to rest after they failed to take up both a clean energy and climate bill and an oil spill bill.
Legislative inaction must be more tiring than I realized.
Still, I don't view this month as a cooling off period. If anything, it's time to turn up the heat.
Over the next few weeks, Senators will be holding "town hall meetings" in their states. Last year, these meetings came to define the health care debate. This year, they could help us reshape America's energy policy.
If you are like me and you are still stunned that the Senate refused to pass a bill that would have created nearly 2 million new American jobs, put our nation at the forefront of the clean energy market and helped end our addiction to oil, then go to a town hall meeting and tell your lawmakers what you think.
Tell them that it is in America's best interest to embrace clean energy now.
And while you are at it, please tell them to block attempts by some Senators to weaken the Clean Air Act-the 40-year-old law that has saved hundreds of thousands of lives-in an effort to further delay reductions in global warming pollution.
Some naysayers claim that voting on visionary legislation is a risky proposition when we are this close to an election. They are wrong, and history proves it.
As I wrote in a recent blog post, 13 of the most powerful environmental laws were passed during the fall of an election year or in the lame duck sessions following elections.
We can pass comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this fall, but only if we demand it of our lawmakers.
Use this August to make your voices heard. You can find your Senators' schedules by checking their Senate websites, as well as their candidate websites - Republican or Democratic.
Yesterday, the NRDC Action Fund launched a campaign featuring a powerful new ad by renowned environmental activist and celebrated actor, Edward James Olmos. In the video, which you can view here, Olmos explains what makes people - himself included - "locos" when it comes to U.S. energy and environmental policy. Now, as the Senate moves towards a possible debate on energy and climate legislation, we need to let everyone hear Olmos' message.
Hi, I'm Edward James Olmos. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I guess that's what makes Americans "locos." We keep yelling "drill baby drill" and expecting things to turn out ok. But the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is nothing new. The oil industry has been poisoning our oceans and wilderness for decades. It's time to regain our sanity. America doesn't want more oil disasters. We need safe, clean and renewable energy now. Think about it.
Sadly, Olmos' definition of "insanity" is exactly what we've been doing for decades in this country -- maintaining policies that keep us "addicted" to fossil fuels instead of moving towards a clean, prosperous, and sustainable economy.
As we all know, dirty, outdated energy sources have caused serious harm to our economy, to our national security, and of course - as the horrible Gulf oil disaster illustrates - to our environment. In 2008 alone, the U.S. spent nearly $400 billion, about half the entire U.S. trade deficit, importing foreign oil. Even worse, much of that $400 billion went to countries (and non-state actors) that don't have our best interests at heart.
As if all that's not bad enough, our addiction to oil and other fossil fuels also has resulted in tremendous environmental devastation, ranging from melting polar ice caps to record heat waves to oil-covered pelicans and dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico.
As Edward James Olmos says, it's enough to drive us all "locos."
Fortunately, there's a better way.
If you believe, as we passionately do, that it's time to kick our addiction to the dirty fuels of the past, then please help us get that message out there. Help us air Edward James Olmos' ad on TV in states with U.S. Senators who we believe can be persuaded to vote for comprehensive, clean energy and climate legislation. If we can convince our politicians to do their jobs and to pass comprehensive, clean energy and climate legislation this year, we will be on a path to a brighter, healthier future.
The good news is Don Blankenship may finally be on his way to Federal Court.
The bad news... it's for the wrong reason.
The Charleston Daily Mail's Ry Rivard reports that Massey Energy is suing the U.S. Mine Health and Safety Administration (MSHA) for allegedly violating due process rights because they feel there is not an adequate process to challenge MSHA decisions.
The suit does not mention the Upper Big Branch (UBB) disaster specifically, but references issues related to mine ventilation, which are at the forefront of the ongoing UBB investigation.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming weeks. It seems like Massey is using the courts as part of its public relations strategy and attempting to shift the debate from their culpability to some complexities about regulations.
It reminds me of the advice my departed grandfather used to offer, "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."
The Interior Department is writing new regulations for mountaintop-removal coal mining that would expand protection for waterways and require the restoration of dynamited areas.
Christopher Holmes, spokesman for Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, said the agency is rewriting its "stream protection rule" to boost environmental safeguards.
The proposal being drafted, Holmes said, would:
* Establish a clear standard for restoring dynamited mountaintops. The 1977 Surface Mining Reclamation and Control Act requires that mountaintops be restored to their "approximate original contour," but defining the term has been left to individual states.
* Yank the right of state regulators to grant exceptions to the contour-restoration requirement. Federal authorities currently allow states to set their own standards for granting exemptions, and state standards vary widely.
* Set a federal definition for "material damage" to watersheds beyond permitting areas. The surface-mining law prohibits mountaintop-removal mines and other above-ground coal operations from damaging watersheds outside areas covered by mining permits, but the requirement has been difficult to enforce because "material damage" has never been defined.
* Require companies applying for mining permits to collect more information on the environmental health of watersheds where they intend to work and to monitor conditions during and after mining. Mines that inflict environmental damages beyond what is permitted would be required to change their operations or close.
* Clarify that seasonal streams and temporary streams are covered by the regulations, even when the streambed is dry.
The changes under consideration would apply to new applications for surface coal mining permits and would not apply to existing coal mines, Holmes said.
This is just one step in a long process as the new stream protection rule writing is on-going and far from final. The Office of Surface Mining is still working on the assessment of the proposal's environmental impact. OSM officials will be meeting with folks in impacted states over the next month for a round of feedback on the proposed rule changes.
The proposed rule is due for publication in February, 2011. Then a lengthy public review process occurs with a final rule update not due to go into effect until 2012.
The head of British Petroleum doesn't think much about coal:
The United States isn't going to get "beyond petroleum" anytime soon, but the chief executive of oil giant BP says it's time for the nation to start thinking beyond coal.
The nation should not be trying to save coal jobs at the expense of cleaner fuel industries, Tony Hayward, head of BP PLC, told a Washington think tank audience yesterday, adding that there is no reason to keep building coal-burning power plants here.
"We've got to find a better way to create jobs than preserving coal jobs," Hayward told his audience at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Hayward's comments reflect an increasingly bitter political rift between two of the largest elements of the country's energy industry - coal and natural gas.
Gas executives are irritated that authors of the House climate bill last year built significant protections into the legislation to protect coal industry jobs and coal-state lawmakers. If lawmakers want to cut carbon emissions, they say, they should look more to natural gas, which emits about half as much carbon as coal. They say gas should be the "bridge fuel" to a low-carbon future or, even better, a permanent fixture of a diverse approach to lowering emissions.
"The coal sector was disproportionately favored in the first go at this," Hayward said. "It's about creating jobs."
BP is one of the world's largest producers and refiners of oil and gas. But it has little or no stake in coal, a fact that the coal industry highlights in challenging Hayward's assertions.
I had the pleasure of attending the West Virginia Young Democrats State convention last weekend in Shepherdstown. The Environmental Caucus met, which got a lot of people renewing their thoughts about Mountain Top Removal (for brevity MTR). MTR has unfortunately plagued this state for a number of years, so I though that naturally there would be a general consensus that it was indeed a bad thing. For the most part I was right, but the idea was met with some opposition.
When expressing their dismay about MTR, one young fellow persisted to defend its importance to the state saying "we should all just accept it as a part of our state and the state's economy as a whole
Personally, I oppose MTR. It wreaks havoc across the state and is an environmental nightmare. Just ask the distinguished environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about it. He has visited the state on numerous occasions, championing the expulsion of MTR as a way of mining.
I realized after this brief encounter with an opposing view in the Democratic party arena, that maybe there isn't unanimous dissent of this mining method. I, however, still oppose MTR on the grounds of what it is doing to the state.
Today a mixed bag of WV state senators sponsored legislation to create a governor's commission to "Seize the Future of Energy for America." What could have been a step forward for america's energy independence and West Virginia's economy looks to be just another give-away to the extraction industry.
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Here's something to keep an eye on as the West Virginia 2011 Gubernatorial Election heats up.
Which leads me to wonder...has anyone ever been so loud and proud about shoving their head in the sand and ignoring 
First of all, if you do your research (as Ken Ward does) you know that
