Getting The Coal Truth From Tennessee Is Hard To Do

This past week has been extremely rough in the area of Central Tennessee affected by the dam break that was holding back a large amount of coal sludge. Initial reports said that only a few homes were damaged and that the analysis of the sludge was not harmful where it spread. No big deal right? Wrong. A coal fired power plant's byproducts are a serious issue and finding out what truly happened is essential here.

From The NY Times:

Authority officials initially said that about 1.7 million cubic yards of wet coal ash had spilled when the earthen retaining wall of an ash pond breached, but on Thursday they released the results of an aerial survey that showed the actual amount was 5.4 million cubic yards, or enough to flood more than 3,000 acres one foot deep. The amount now said to have been spilled is larger than the amount the Authority initially said was in the pond, 2.6 million cubic yards.

Of course, the T.V.A. was quick to dismiss the potential bad news:

“You’re not going to be endangered by touching the ash material,” said Barbara Martocci, a spokeswoman for the T.V.A. “You’d have to eat it. You have to get it in your body.”

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation also released a statement saying there was no indication of risk unless the ash was ingested.

Yet, they forget to play things out. No one is going to literally pick up pieces of ash and eat them as you'd pick berries in the forest. The problems from disasters like this are mostly in the future and residents are pissed that not much is really being done.

“We’re terribly frustrated,” said Donald Smith, 58, a laboratory facilities manager who lives in the affected area. “It seems like T.V.A. is just throwing darts at the problem, and they don’t have a clue how to really fix it.

“It was nice that they came by to talk to us. They’re making an effort. But what upsets me is they didn’t have a plan in place. Why hadn’t anybody thought, ‘What happens if this thing bursts?’ ”

Well Donald, coming up with a plan would have expended time and energy, something the Authority obviously didn't care for. They did have things ready to save valuable materials (see the article for the stuff on bowling balls for example) and were ready to work furiously to re-open the roads and especially railways that bring the coal to the plant to be processed.

In this age of government where the system has been purposefully broken by conservative ideology, it is only natural that the Authority is following the lead of the federal (and state) government. Looking after the moneyed interests always comes first before the safety and health of people affected by man-made tragedies such as this.

The Arrogance Of Peabody Energy And The Tragedy Of Coal

Coal has been around for quite a while now, but in the beginning it's use was nearly insignificant. After nearly 200 years since the dawn of the industrial age though, it is well past the time to leave the rest of the coal in the ground and not burn it up in the atmosphere. What we know now and the technology and potential for clean energy is here, yet coal is still being used in abundance.

Coal is the worst pollutant on the planet and still, not much is getting done to abate the practice of scraping it from the Earth and heating our planet with the gases it emits when consumed. So why is it still making companies like Peabody Energy fistfuls of money?

From USA Today:

In the USA, Peabody is perhaps the staunchest opponent of stringent regulations to cap greenhouse gas emissions even as stalwarts such as ExxonMobil and American Electric Power have softened their stances.

A bill to curb global-warming gases fizzled in Congress in June, partly because of opposition from Peabody and the coal industry. It would have forced utilities and others to buy permits to emit carbon, passing the costs to consumers and boosting electric rates up to 45% by 2020.

About 30 coal-fired power plants are under construction around the country, the most in a generation. Peabody, along with partners, is building a $3 billion, 1,600-megawatt coal generator in Illinois, the biggest U.S. coal plant in 25 years.

Polluters like Peabody and their operators like CEO Gregory Boyce thrive on destroying our planet. They talk about how plentiful coal is and how the market needs more energy, but really, all they care about is profit. Seeing the price of coal go up puts a sparkle in their eyes. CEO Boyce claims that stopping our use of coal is akin to "shooting ourselves in the foot" but that is merely a scare tactic. Clean energy is the way to go, Boyce and his cohorts need to be placed on the way out.

Senator Reid Takes On Dirty Coal

No matter what someone tries to tell you about "clean" coal, it is a dirty, filthy and unhealthy material from deep under the ground that pollutes the environment when used as energy. You can't just scrub it in a bathtub, ask any scientist (that isn't paid by the coal industry) and they will tell you that no matter what you do, coal will still do environmental damage. The myth that it is safer than 150 years ago is blatantly misleading and our Majority Leader in the Senate stated the obvious on Fox Business News.

From Politico:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn't necessarily known as a multimedia sensation, but thanks to his "coal makes us sick" comment, Reid has rocketed to the top of YouTube.

This video of Reid on Fox Business Network now sits atop YouTube's "most viewed" list, with nearly 215,000 views, thanks in large part to a link on the Drudge Report.

Senate Republicans are sending around the video as part of an effort to make Democrats appear out of touch on the need to produce more energy and drill more oil wells. But Reid may get the last laugh, since he controls the Senate schedule and may force the GOP to take some difficult votes on energy policy in the coming weeks.

The only thing that Reid is out of touch on with this issue is the interests of the coal industry. Reid is right that coal is a sickening fuel source. Now you can laugh along with the Republicans who support "clean" coal or you can check out the facts on the matter. Personally, I'm going with the latter.

Sebelius Scores A Major Victory Against Coal Power

Who doesn't love a piece of good news here and there? Happy stories are even sweeter when they come from unlikely places and if it concerns the environment, seeing something out of Kansas is definitely a great sign of things to come. The hat tip goes to their incredible Governor Kathleen Sebelius, for standing up against the coal lobby and the majority of Republicans in the State House that were in the pockets of those who profit from that dirty black crap that comes out of the ground.

From The Kansas City Star:

TOPEKA | Opponents of two power plants proposed for western Kansas won a stunning victory Thursday that they hope signals the end of a six-month war over coal.

The Kansas House failed Thursday night to muster the 84 votes needed to defy Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and approve the plants over her veto. The vote was 80-45.

But plant supporters said they would keep trying until the legislative session ends.

“We’ll do something. We’re not through,” said House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, a major backer of Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s project. Asked if Thursday’s vote was the last on the issue, the Ingalls Republican said, “Not hardly.”

Plant opponents called the vote historic, saying it may go down as a turning point in which Kansas becomes a leader in the movement away from old energy sources toward sustainable, environmentally friendly technologies and energy efficiency. They hoped Thursday’s vote was decisive.

I hope so too. We all know that with the money and power behind coal and all unrenewable resources, this won't knock them down in one punch. However if this attitude shown by Kansans holds steady, in the long run the environment and that of which our children and children's children will live in, things are looking on the up and up.

The most important side-story in all of this was how the veto override failed. The overwhelmingly Republican institution lost a few key votes from their own caucus thanks in part to constituents that pressured their lawmakers to side with them and not the coal industry. When citizens speak loudly and consistently, their representatives do hear them.