Five reasons to NOT support Mark Obenshain

Mark Obenshain has not been a very good senator and he would be an even worse attorney general. Here are the top 5 reasons you should NOT vote for Mark Obenshain on November 5:

1. Mark Obenshain supported legislation that would force a woman who had suffered an emotionally devastating miscarriage to report it to police. He eventually withdrew the bill citing "flaws" but that doesn't excuse his basic premise that government should actively intrude in women's personal lives.
2. Mark Obenshain has pushed for voter ID laws that obviously target minorities and poor and would make voting more difficult for thousands of Virginians.
3. Mark Obenshain supported a personhood bill that, if enacted, potentially would ban some forms of birth control.
4. Mark Obenshain did not support the transportation bill that eventually passed with bipartisan support and the signature of a Republican governor. In short, Mr. Obenshain voted against jobs and improving the Commonwealth's economic climate.
5. Mark Obenshain has received big bucks from oil, coal, and natural gas companies. If you care about issues like clean water and clean air then Obenshain's friends who favor mountain top removal coal mining, fracking, and uranium mining in Virginia should scare the bejesus out of you.

Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain - twin sons of different mothers. The former is a far right extremist with a mean-spirit scowl. The latter is a far right extremist with a fake smile. Don't be fooled. If Obenshain is elected the Office of the Attorney General will become ground zero for rolling back women's rights, for diminishing our democracy, and for degrading our environment.

Report: Coal Has Negative Impact on VA Budget

A recent report, The Impact of Coal on the Virginia State Budget released by Downstream Strategies, takes an in-depth look the costs and benefits of the coal industry in the Commonwealth. While coal plays a fairly small role in the overall Virginia economy, it does contribute revenues and provide jobs in the southwestern part of the state, primarily in Wise and Buchanan counties. Coal production in the state peaked in 1990 when it represented about 4.5% of the total U.S. output. Since then Virginia's contribution has declined to 2.2% of national output mostly because of a reduction in underground mining. Destructive mountaintop removal coal mining, which is cheaper and requires fewer employees, has increased 23% since 1990 but has declined some in recent years.

So, what is the impact of the coal industry on Virginia's budget? Downstream Strategies' report concludes:

Overall, when taking all revenues and expenditures into account, we estimate that the total net impact of the coal industry on the Virginia state budget in Fiscal Year 2009 amounted to a net cost to the Commonwealth of $21.9 million.

Of course, this net cost to the Commonwealth's budget does not factor in the lasting impact and damage to the environment and our health caused by mountaintop removal coal mining and of the degradation of air and water quality caused by burning coal to generate electricity.

During this session of the General Assembly lawmakers should eliminate tax and other budgetary provisions that make a shrinking coal industry a drain on state finances and concurrently legislators must move Virginia ahead in renewable wind and solar energy. My hopes are not high - typically in Richmond more effort is spent looking backwards rather than forwards - a view promoted by lobbyists of King Coal and Dominion Resources.

Cypress Creek coal-plant on hold... hopefully forever

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) announced in a press release that it has suspended plans for a coal-fired plant known as Cypress Creek near Dendron in Surry County, Virginia. The announcement is a victory for cleaner air and water, especially in the Tidewater region of the commonwealth. ODEC cited more stringent EPA regulations and market conditions as driving the decision, but a broad coalition of groups, including Wise Energy for Virginia, had built a strong case that harm to air quality and water quality from the 1,5000 megawatt plant would outweigh any possible benefits. Less demand for coal also means less destruction from mountaintop removal coal mining.

ODEC supplies power to 11 electric cooperatives including Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. This bird attended the SVEC annual meeting where ODEC's CEO, Jack Reasor, said the company would not be moving forward on Cypress Creek and looking at alternative sources. Coarse Cracked Corn had previously commented on the $6 billion threat to the environment here and here and is proud to have been a tiny "cluck, cluck" in the coalition of groups, local governments, and citizens in Hampton Roads that helped to put this toxic stew on the back burner.

Those of us who care about the environment need to keep minding the kitchen because the toxic stew isn't totally off the stove - ODEC spokesman, David Huggins, indicated work may resume in a couple years depending on the outcome of an appeal to the Supreme Court over the EPA's carbon emissions standards.

Glen Besa, director of the Virginia Chapter Sierra Club, called on ODEC to invest in "efficiency, wind and solar power now." For its part, ODEC says it is exploring "alternative sources of power supply" but that could mean more natural gas and hydrofracking. As citizens we need to keep the pressure on the General Assembly and utilities to put in place meaningful laws and policies to encourage efficiency and renewable energy. Virginia could look to forward-looking states where a variety of incentives make solar and wind energy affordable now.

Morgan Griffith comes out against cleaner air

 Yesterday, Representative Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) opened fire on President Obama's administration because of new greenhouse emissions limits announced by the Environmental Protection Agency. Playing the fear card and reciting the GOP's well-honed anti-EPA screeds, Griffith stated, "In my opinion, these new regulations make it crystal clear that the Obama Administration wants to end the use of coal in our country. This is a very sad day for coal employers, coal employees, and coal customers... I believe this new rule will undoubtedly lead to higher energy prices for the average American family and the average American business. If the President has his way, coal will be out of business in America."

Well, Representative Griffith how about a few facts about the true costs of coal:

• Virginia's coal-fired plants have earned the commonwealth a dubious ranking of 6th in the nation for health impacts on residents, including nearly 650 premature deaths and almost 900 additional heart attacks per year;
• The Asthma and Allergy Foundation has "awarded" Richmond the dubious distinction of Top Asthma Capitol in the U.S. for the second year in a row;
• Coal-fired plants pass on health related costs to everyone who lives in the state - to the tune of about 3.2 cents per kwh;
• Mountaintop removal coal mining is a job-killer that destroys the ecology of the Appalachian mountains - so far 67 mountains have been blown apart, over 156,000 acres of forest clearcut, and 151 miles of streams contaminated and destroyed.

Dominion Resources, Appalachian Power, and other Virginia utilities could create energy and jobs by moving towards wind and solar power. Solar alone could provide nearly 20% of the state's electricity. Dominion is making a serious play to monopolize how and when off-shore wind power comes online. Dominion will use it deep pockets and friends in high places to block smaller wind energy companies and the proposed giant transmission cable that would service the off-shore turbines. Typical of Dominion, they want a monopoly and they are willing to use powerful political connections to get it... do they also want to drag their feet on clean energy while keeping others out of the business? Under the leadership of Tom Farrell, Dominion Resources has done just that. Should we trust Dominion, and Dominion alone, to move Virginia forward or will misplaced trust consign the commonwealth to perpetual first place in pollution caused asthma and to last place in clean, renewable energy?

Coal Country on Planet Green

Coal Country is the best film on mountaintop removal to date. Unlike the other films, it shows the reality of being a coal miner working in the industry that demands the worst destruction of mountains in human history. The interviews with miners, one owner, and opponents are touching and revealing.

~Steve Fesenmaier, Appalachian filmographer and Charleston Gazette film reviewer

Coal Country airs on Planet Green on Saturday, March 13 at 10:00 PM. Invite a friend. Set your DVR. Catch it on rebroadcast. Whatever you do, watch Coal Country. Fight to stop mountaintop removal coal mining! Check out the Coal Country trailer~

Oxymoron

America's greatest oxymoron: Clean Coal. They think Americans are morons and will buy that lie.

Coal Country

We usually don't think of the Shenandoah Valley as being part of coal county. But, there is some coal in our mountains and "Nationwide Permit 21," which governs mountaintop removal coal mining, extends into areas generally seen as part of the Valley - all the way to Rockbridge and Bath counties. With that in mind and with the knowledge that mountaintop removal coal mining and the effects of pollution from burning coal impacts us all, the Shenandoah Chapter of the Virginia Sierra Club is hosting a screening of Coal Country followed by a discussion.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 7:00 PM

Clementine Cafe, 153 S. Main St., Harrisonburg

Coal Country takes a dramatic look at modern coal mining. We get to know working miners along with activists who are battling coal companies in Appalachia. We hear from miners and coal company officials, who are concerned about jobs and the economy and believe they are acting responsibly in bringing power to the American people. Both sides in this conflict claim that history is on their side. Families have lived in the region for generations, and most have ancestors who worked in the mines. Everyone shares a deep love for the land, but MTR (Mountain Top Removal mining which has leveled over 500 Appalachian mountains) is tearing them apart. We need to understand the promises of “cheap energy” and “clean coal.” Are they achievable? At what cost? Are there alternatives to our energy future?

Sneak peek at Coal Country (2:26):

Tearing the mountains down

Last week I traveled with the Sierra Club and other concerned groups and individuals to Wise County, VA to attend a public hearing conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers on "Nationwide Permit 21." I readily admit I knew virtually nothing about NWP 21 just seven days ago. But, I was generally familiar with mountaintop removal coal mining that I'd seen firsthand on visits to southwest Virginia and Kentucky over the past two decades.

The hearing was held at Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, VA. Local police were out in force in the parking lot and outside the hearing room (didn't see any inside).

In case you are not familiar with mountaintop removal coal mining, it involves blowing up the tops of mountains to reach seams of coal. Millions of tons of waste rock and debris is then dumped into the valleys below, causing permanent damage to the ecosystem and totally covering small springs and streams that are the headwaters of our great rives. This destructive mining technique, has damaged or destroyed nearly 2,000 miles of streams and threatens to destroy 1.4 million acres of land by 2020. The mountaintop removal coal mining poisons drinking water, lays waste to wildlife habitat, increases the risk of flooding, and even wipes out entire villages in the hollows of Appalachia.

Photo from Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards.

Photo taken October 16, 2009 near Appalachia in Wise County, VA. Fog shrouded much of the area making good photos difficult.

There was some "friendly" conversation between folks on each side of the issue. But, make no mistake, the hearing was filled with tension and attempts by some pro-coal folks to shout down the opposition. That tension was most keenly felt by opponents of mountaintop removal who live every day with harassment and shunning. The room, which held 428 was packed and perhaps that many more waited outside. Some on the pro-coal side chanted "tea Party" and talk radio antigovernment rhetoric. There was even a whack job lawyer who reminded me of Francis Chester.

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards is among a coalition of groups trying to end this destructive practice.

So, what was this hearing all about?

Currently NWP 21 authorizes "discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States associated with surface coal mining and reclamation operations provided the activities are already authorized...." In short, it provides a blank check authorization for such mountaintop removal coal mining. It is set to expire in March of 2012.

In June of 2009 the Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding that would implement further environmental protections for mountaintop removal coal mining in six states including Virginia. The Virginia counties affected include the well-known mining areas of southwest Virginia and extend northward to Bath, Highland, and Rockbridge counties.

One major impact of changing NWP 21 would be that each mountaintop removal site would have to receive individual authorization, including an opportunity for public comment. Compared to the current rubber stamp process, this would give the Corps far more information upon which to base their analysis of the environmental impacts of a new or expanded site.

I was struck by the fact that currently individual permits are not required for mountaintop coal mining that can take off up to 1,000 feet of a mountain over hundreds of acres in the ecologically diverse Appalachian Mountains. And most of that mountaintop ends up filling valleys, hollows, creeks, and springs that sustain our lives in so many ways.

Then I remembered that a neighbor who wants to erect a residential windmill has to go through a permitting process including a public hearing. Yes, we have private property rights, but it is critical that the use of one's property does not adversely affect his neighbors. This windmill won't tear up the land, won't spoil the water, and other than visual impact will have little effect on neighbors. Yet, a coal company can blow of the top of mountain without even having a public hearing.

To comment on NWP 21 and stop the rubber stamp permits to coal companies and the raping of our mountains and valleys, visit the Sierra Club. For more information on mountaintop removal coal mining check out these groups who are fighting for us every day.

• Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
• Sierra Club
• Southern Environmental Law Center
• Appalachian Voices
• iLoveMountains.org