PayPal ordering for Still Moving Mountains: The Journey Home is now available.

Cost is $15 plus shippping. For bulk rates, please contact us.

Alternatively, you may contact us to request a CD and arrange payment.

Request alternative payment

Jeff Biggers wrote a stunning review of a great new CD that aims to raise awareness about mountaintop removal coal mining.

Ever miss the wondrous liner notes from your old LP’s?

An extraordinary new album, “Still Moving Mountains: The Journey Home,” just released with one of the finest showcases of musical talents from the Appalachian coalfields, has gone one step further: Accompanied by a multimedia website the album includes a map and search engine that allows listeners to see the setting of a song or mining and environmental issue, scroll through photographs, videos, and interviews, and learn ways to become involved in local coalfield citizens groups.

For producer Jen Osha, founder and director of Aurora Lights, the West Virginia-based nonprofit cultural organization formed to raise awareness of the impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining, the album also takes the next step in the coalfield justice movement by focusing on renewable energy and the preservation of the beauty of the Appalachian mountains and heritage.

This just might be the most powerful soundtrack and organizing tool for the coalfield justice and climate change movements today.

The direct link is here: www.auroralights.org/journey

Read the rest of the article over at Grist.org.

According to GreenBiz.com

The Sierra Club enjoyed a victory last week when a Utah-based utility announced it would walk away from plans to build a coal-fired generating unit in the state.

According to the environmental group’s tally, 100 coal plants have been foiled or abandoned since 2001, the beginning of an era it dubbed the “Coal Rush.”

The Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) announced Thursday it has given up plans to build an additional coal-fired unit. Its biggest customer — the city of Los Angeles — signaled its intent July 2 to phase out use of all coal-based electricity by 2020. IPA’s expansion project had effectively died in its original iteration when the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power pulled out of the deal in 2007, Reuters reported.

Visit GreenBiz.com to read the rest of the article.

Wonderful news: 2 new co-sponsors bring us up to a new record. See if your Representative is signed on — and ask them to join if they aren’t — and email them thanks if they are.

Our two new Reps:

Representative Marcia Fudge, 2nd term Democratic congresswoman from Ohio’s 11th district became the 154th (including Rep. Pallone) cosponsor of the Clean Water Protection Act. Ms. Fudge serves on the Education & Labor and Science & Technology committee’s. Rep. Fudge is the 30th member of the Congressional Black Caucus to become a cosponsor of the Clean Water Protection Act!

Rep. Lloyd Dogget (D-TX25) is serving his 8th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Dogget serves on the Budget & Ways and Means committee’s. He is the 155th cosponsor of the Clean Water Protection Act, and was also a cosponsor in the 110th congress.

Hats off to all of the folks out there that made this happen.

Read all about the Clean Water Protection Act on the iLoveMountains.org website

Read the post at ScSaysNo.com HERE.

Read the new report here and see https://www.kftc.org/our-work/stop-smith for more information.

MORE THAN 8,000 NEW CLEAN ENERGY JOBS POSSIBLE
IN KENTUCKY, ACCORDING TO NEW REPORT

Investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy show higher job potential than in new coal facilities.

A projected 8,750 new jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, spread out over 87 Kentucky counties, could be created in the next three years according to a new report by the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies. The job creation would be possible through investments by the East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) in such clean energy measures, rather than in its proposed Smith coal fired power plant.

“Economic modeling data show enormous potential for job creation in the areas of home weatherization, hydroelectric dams, solar hot water, heating, cooling and much more,” said David Eichenthal, President of the Ochs Center, a Chattanooga-based data analysis and policy research organization. “EKPC would be doing Kentuckians a great service by enabling such job growth while providing their members with clean, reliable electricity.”

Several Kentucky environmental and economic justice organizations and an increasing number of co-op utility members are encouraging EKPC to abandon its plans for the $766 million Smith plant and instead increase investments in energy efficiency programs and renewable energy such as from wind, solar and hydro sources. A study released in May by Synapse Energy Economy Inc. showed that diversification of EKPC’s energy sources will help protect co-op utility customers from higher costs of coal and coal burning facilities.

“We already know that energy efficiency and clean renewable energy are good for our health, good for the environment and make good economic sense,” said Elizabeth Crowe with the Kentucky Environmental Foundation. “When you add in data on new clean energy jobs and economic growth throughout the region and compare it all to the risks of a new coal burning power plant, the choice is clear: EKPC should abandon its plans for the Smith plant and instead invest in clean energy.”

Key findings in the Ochs Center report include:

• There is potential of 8,750 new jobs from clean energy and efficiency programs throughout the EKPC service area over a three year period;
• Investments in efficiency and renewable energy would have a total economic impact of more than $1.7 billion on the region’s economy; and
• Clean energy jobs could be realized much more quickly than jobs from the Smith plant, since plant construction may be years away.

Besides creating a greater number of sorely-needed jobs, the energy efficiency and renewable energy portfolio in the Ochs Center report has a projected cost of $62.10 per megawatt hour, compared to most recent cost estimate for the Smith plant of $74.73 per megawatt hour.

“Kentucky is fertile ground for new jobs in the area of renewable energy,” said Andy McDonald of the Kentucky Solar Partnership. “There are a lot of people already trained in solar hot water installation, and many more people all over the state who are interested in being trained and put to work. These are safe, solid, community-based jobs that can’t be shipped overseas, and that help people save money by conserving electricity.”

McDonald said that renewable energy and energy efficiency projects are not just concentrated in one place as with power plants. “EKPC could be a catalyst for creating green jobs all over the state, benefiting their members and the communities in which they serve,” he said.

“I have serious concerns about the proposed Smith 1 Power Plant and believe there’s an alternative that will be better for the environment, less costly to co-op members, and far more beneficial economically,” said Rachel Harrod, a long-time resident of Owen County and a member of the Owen Electric Co-op. “I can’t tell you how significant this would be to an area that has lost much of its agricultural base in recent years. The jobs generated by a clean energy portfolio would be a welcome boost to our local economy,” she said.

Harrod continued, “If EKPC indeed wishes to do what’s best for the region it serves, it will abandon plans for the new Smith Power Plant and proceed with the sustainable, clean energy approach.”

As reported by the The Associated Press in the Huntington Herald-Dispatch:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Dismissing a recent state study as inadequate, activists who oppose the underground injection of coal slurry told lawmakers Wednesay the practice should be banned outright as a precaution.

They also want a state health department study on the health effects of the practice to start by gathering new data from residents who live near sites where coal waste is injected underground.

Members of the Sludge Safety Project told a water resources interim committee that until the health effects, if any, of coal slurry are known, the practice should be considered unsafe.

“We don’t know the full impact of slurry, but we ask our legislators to use the precautionary principle,” said Boone County resident Maria Lambert.

Last month, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman told lawmakers that the agency will start requiring coal companies that use underground injection to dispose of coal waste at 13 sites around the state to start monitoring for potential pollution problems.

Following the completion earlier this year of a DEP report on coal slurry, the agency also instituted a moratorium on slurry injection at new mines.

Members of the group, which includes environmentalists, ex-miners and residents of areas near injection sites, said that report doesn’t answer essential questions about how coal waste effects ground water supplies.

“They did not complete the mandate given to them by the Legislature,” said Joe Stanley, a former miner who lives in Wayne County.

The agency said it wants to give time for all the report’s recommendations to be implemented before considering any changes of course.

“We appreciate the feedback from the citizens who spoke today, and as we implement recommendations that were made in the study in the coming months, we will certainly take into consideration the comments made by the group today,” DEP spokeswoman Kathy Cosco said.

The group also aired concerns about a second phase of the study given to the state Department of Health and Human Resources. The DHHR study is intended to find if coal slurry has any effects on human health.

For the study, the DHHR has contracted with West Virginia University to produce a report by the end of the year. The contract requires WVU to seek data from a diverse array of sources, and the activists want the Legislature to ensure those sources include studies of people who work with coal slurry and live near injection sites.

Ben Stout, a biologist at Wheeling Jesuit University who has been studying slurry injection for four years, told the lawmakers that health researchers should start with workers at coal preparation plants, who have years of exposure to slurry, and then move on to residents.

“We believe the DEP is putting us all at risk by pretending they’re regulating coal slurry,” Lambert said.

Coal slurry is a byproduct of cleaning coal after it is mined.

For decades, coal companies in Appalachia have injected slurry into mined out deep mines as a cheap alternative to building massive dams or to filtration and drying systems. In theory, solids settle to the bottom of pools inside sealed mine voids, and all the waste stays put, with little risk to groundwater below.

The industry defends the practice as safe. But critics say the earth continues to shift and crack long after mining has ended, whether through natural settling or human activity such as nearby blasting. They say that lets slurry migrate.

Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston Gazette reports on his Coal Tattoo blog:

Tomorrow’s edition of the Federal Register (available here by the magic of the Internet) will include this notice from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, making good on part of the Obama administration’s plans for dealing with mountaintop removal coal mining.

As outlined last month, the Corps is proposing to eliminate the use of its streamlined permit process — in this case Nationwide Permit 21, or NWP 21 — for the approval of surface coal mining in Appalachia.

But the new Federal Register notice includes at least one twist that has critics of the Corps (and of mountaintop removal) a little concerned … I’ll get to that in a minute.

I’ve mentioned before that a federal judge already has told the government to stop using this streamlined permit procedure, at least in Southern West Virginia, where most mountaintop removal mining is taking place. Oddly, the Obama administration, while saying it wants to do away with NWP 21 for this kind of mining, also filed a notice that it would appeal that court decision.

…

Tomorrow’s notice kicks off a 30-day comment period on the Corps’ proposals.

The notice includes a very straightforward statement from the federal government about the impacts of mountaintop removal that have environmental regulators concerned:

Read the entire article on Coal Tattoo.

Sit down on a porch with someone from the American South and you’ll learn why the region is renowned for its storytelling tradition. In the book Something’s Rising: Appalachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal (University Press of Kentucky), authors Silas House and Jason Howard tell the story of mountaintop removal coal mining through the voices of 12 Appalachians who’ve been directly affected by this devastating practice. Each subject is introduced by a vivid profile, and then House and Howard get out of the way and let them speak. Studs Terkel, no slouch himself in the oral history realm, has called Something’s Rising “oral history at its best,” and I have to concur: Although I was familiar with the mountaintop removal issue, these personal accounts brought it home for me in an incredibly powerful new way. I recently spoke with House and Howard about their book, the growing movement against mountaintop removal, and the outlook for the future.

Read the entire conversation on the Utne website.

Appalachian Voices applauds moving NC towards wind energy and supports action by the North Carolina Senate to pass Senate Bill 1068.

The original version of this bill, developed by the hard work of the Wind Technical Advisory Group, attempted to design a permitting regime that would allow for the responsible development of wind in NC while preserving the state’s mountain views, its forests and wildlife, its sounds and coastlines.

Appalachian State University’s
Broyhill Inn Wind Turbine

Wind is an emission-free renewable source of energy that can be developed in an environmentally responsible manner, reducing our dependence on dirty forms of energy, such as coal, while preserving NC’s mountains and coast. As Senate Bill 1068 states, wind is critical to fulfilling the goals of the state’s renewable energy standard.

While not perfect, the original draft of the bill was, we believe, a good first step towards responsible wind energy development in NC.

However, the anticipated amendments in the Senate Finance Committee will effectively ban any large-scale wind development in the mountains of NC.

We view this as a step in the wrong direction. We’re eager to work with mountain legislators on a bill that will both address their concerns and move the state forward on developing wind energy.

Ask your Senators to support the original version of Senate 1068 by sending them an email today at:
https://aire-nc.org/s1068

According to the Society of Environmental Journalists:

EPA released an update of its National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment on June 24, 2009.

The results indicate that almost every person in the US lives in an area where the cancer risk exceeds 10 in 1 million after a lifetime of exposure to selected air toxics, well in excess of EPA’s general target of 1 in 1 million. For 2 million people, the risk is far worse, exceeding 100 in 1 million. The average risk is 36 in 1 million.

For noncancer respiratory risks, nearly everyone in the country lives in an area where the hazard index was higher than EPA’s target of 1.0, and the index was 10 or higher for more than 22 million people. The news was better for noncancer neurological risks, but about 350,000 people still live in areas exceeding the EPA target hazard index of 1.0.

For all three types of health effects evaluated, there are large risk differences between census tracts, between counties, between states, and between regions.

Visit SEJ’s website to read the entire article.

The following email was sent to the 36,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here.

Dear Mountain Lover,

“Mountaintop removal coal mining is the worst environmental tragedy in American history. When will the Obama administration finally stop this Appalachian apocalypse?“

So began an op-ed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Friday’s edition of The Washington Post. As Mr. Kennedy noted:

“Mining syndicates are detonating 2,500 tons of explosives each day — the equivalent of a Hiroshima bomb weekly — to blow up Appalachia’s mountains and extract sub-surface coal seams….

“On this continent, only Appalachia’s rich woodlands survived the Pleistocene ice ages that turned the rest of North America into a treeless tundra. King Coal is now accomplishing what the glaciers could not — obliterating the hemisphere’s oldest, most biologically dense and diverse forests.”

So when will the Obama administration and Congress take action to stop mountaintop removal coal mining?

The answer may be this: only when enough people demand it.

That’s why we’re asking you to visit your members of Congress this August — and to tell them that now is the time to stop mountaintop removal coal mining.

Learn more about visiting your representative.

Every August, Congress goes into recess, with many members returning home to hear from their constituents.

With your help, we can make sure your members of Congress learn about the destruction of mountaintop removal coal mining – and hear from constituents like you that itís time to end “this Appalachian apocalypse.”

Dedicating just an hour or two of your time this August will make a tremendous difference in ending mountaintop removal coal mining.

Click here to sign up for an in-district visit with your representative.

Thank you for taking action.

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org

written by By Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – Printed in the Washington Post on Friday, July 3, 2009

Mountaintop removal coal mining is the worst environmental tragedy in American history. When will the Obama administration finally stop this Appalachian apocalypse?

If ever an issue deserved President Obama’s promise of change, this is it. Mining syndicates are detonating 2,500 tons of explosives each day — the equivalent of a Hiroshima bomb weekly — to blow up Appalachia’s mountains and extract sub-surface coal seams. They have demolished 500 mountains — encompassing about a million acres — buried hundreds of valley streams under tons of rubble, poisoned and uprooted countless communities, and caused widespread contamination to the region’s air and water. On this continent, only Appalachia’s rich woodlands survived the Pleistocene ice ages that turned the rest of North America into a treeless tundra. King Coal is now accomplishing what the glaciers could not — obliterating the hemisphere’s oldest, most biologically dense and diverse forests. Highly mechanized processes allow giant machines to flatten in months mountains older than the Himalayas — while employing fewer workers for far less time than other types of mining. The coal industry’s promise to restore the desolate wastelands is a cruel joke, and the industry’s fallback position, that the flattened landscapes will provide space for economic development, is the weak punchline. America adores its Adirondacks and reveres the Rockies, while the Appalachian Mountains — with their impoverished and alienated population — are dismantled by coal moguls who dominate state politics and have little to prevent them from blasting the physical landscape to smithereens.

Obama promised science-based policies that would save what remains of Appalachia, but last month senior administration officials finally weighed in with a mixture of strong words and weak action that broke hearts across the region. The modest measures federal bureaucrats promised amount to little more than a tepid pledge of better enforcement of existing laws.

. . . and it continues on the Washington Post website.