Visit DemocracyNow.org HERE to view this segment.

Visit OhioCitizen.org HERE to read this blog post.

Visit ItsGettingHotInHere.org HERE to read this post.

The only thing worse than no climate and energy bill in 2009 is a bad climate and energy bill. No matter how well intentioned, the efforts in the U.S. House of Representatives to frame such a bill have gone from weak to worse – the now all-too-familiar Washington path for tough decision making.

It’s maddening to realize that the more things change in Congress, the more they remain the same. Democrats screamed bloody murder when Vice President Dick Cheney met secretly with representatives of the fossil fuel industry to craft US energy policy. Not to be outdone, Henry Waxman (D-CA), chair of the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) committed the same offense by embracing the utility/coal industry blueprint for climate policy, which is now nestled in Waxman’s so-called American Clean Energy and Security Act.

Is it really better for Americans if Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, exerts undue influence behind the scenes in calling the shots on energy policy instead of Exxon and Halliburton?

To be sure, there are pro-consumer provisions in the Waxman-Markey legislation. These include two mandates on utility companies. One is the mandate to force electric utilities to provide 25 percent of their power with renewable resources by 2025. The other is a similar mandate for energy efficiency investments amounting to 15 percent of their energy mix by 2020.

These are pro-consumer because energy efficiency and renewable energy investments, particularly when combined in one initiative, are cheaper than business as usual (BAU), meaning coal, nuclear and natural gas investments. Indeed, the savings of the modest mandates in Waxman-Markey could easily amount to well over $500 billion per year by 2030 compared to BAU.

Other than those two provisions, Congressmen Waxman and Markey should just change the name of this bill to the Utility & Coal Industry Profit Enhancement Act. The “cap and trade” provisions for dealing with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will only serve to enrich the utility industry and Wall Street hedge managers, while doing little or nothing to reduce carbon emissions. After the debacles in hedge funds and securitized mortgages, why would we create another financial system that is ripe for gaming and abuse?

Another self-serving utility provision promoted by Duke’s CEO in the Waxman-Markey draft legislation is the tax on ratepayers to pay for research and development of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). If anyone watched Rogers’ interview with 60 Minutes a few weeks ago, they saw how he admitted that he has not spent a dime on carbon capture and sequestration research & development. Why? He’s waiting for Waxman, Markey and their colleagues to force ratepayers to pay for it.

Adding insult to injury, the legislation has a so-called “moratorium” on coal-fired power plants that just so happens to exempt 45 plants in various stages of permitting or construction, including Duke Energy’s proposed plants in North Carolina and Indiana of course. Funny how that worked out in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhoods!

The bottom line is this: If you liked what happened with subprime mortgages, you will love carbon cap and trade. The Waxman/Markey legislation is another Wall Street boondoggle waiting to happen. Not only do utility companies get to make billions offcarbon allowances, but ratepayers will see their electric rates become even more volatile as hedge managers speculate on those allowances. And guess who gets to pony up for bail-outs when this whole Rube Goldberg contraption blows up?

There is only one solution to this mess: It’s time to dump the House climate and energy bill and start over. Focus on strong renewable and efficiency standards. Scrap the cap and trade and CCS boondoggle provisions in the legislation. These days, nothing in Washington happens until the “medicine” is comprised and watered down so much that it ends up being almost as bad as the illness that it purports to cure. Half measures on energy and climate won’t do. It’s time to start over and get it right.

Sixth Annual Dine Out for the Mountains
An Earth Day event to benefit Appalachian Voices

To celebrate Earth Day, numerous restaurants in western North Carolina will donate a portion of their proceeds on Wednesday, April 22, to help Appalachian Voices protect the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. You can support Appalachian Voices and our efforts to safeguard the southern mountains by Dining Out at one of these restaurants on April 22. For more information call 828-262-1500.

Participating Dine Out Restaurants

In Blowing Rock
Canyons
Six Pence Pub
Woodland’s Barbecue

In Boone
Boone Bagelry
Black Cat Burrito
CiCi’s Pizza
Coyote Kitchen
Dos Amigos
Joe’s Italian Kitchen
Makotos
Mellow Mushroom
Murphy’s
Our Daily Bread
Pepper’s
Red Onion Café
Reid’s Café

The Gamekeeper will be participating on April 23rd, as they are closed April 22.

Contacts: Oliver Bernstein, Sierra Club, 512.477.2152
Kathy Selvage, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards 276.523.4380 or 276.328.1223

Appalachia, Virginia — In a victory for community members and for clean water, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revoke the “nationwide 21” mining permit for A&G Coal’s massive Ison Rock Ridge mountaintop removal coal mine in Southwest Virginia. The news comes only weeks after a delegation of Appalachian coalfield residents met with the EPA in Washington, D.C. urging the Agency to take quick action to protect their communities from the ravages of mountaintop removal coal mining. The bold move is the latest clear signal that the Obama Administration is taking action on mountaintop removal coal mining and supports clean energy solutions and green jobs. Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS), a community organization based in Wise County, Virgina, and the Sierra Club have worked for two years to oppose strip mining on Ison Rock Ridge.

“This is a great day! I am hopeful it means the beginning of the end of the wholesale destruction of the Appalachian mountains, its watersheds, its streams, its people, and its soul,” said Kathy Selvage, vice president of SAMS.

The Army Corps had been relying on a cookie-cutter “nationwide” permit for the Ison Rock Ridge mine, but the EPA cites Clean Water Act concerns in its recommendation that the Army Corps revoke the permit for this mine. By dumping its mining waste into valleys and waterways, the Ison Rock Ridge mountaintop removal coal mining operation would be extremely destructive. Residents are also concerned with the proximity of the proposed mine to their homes, as portions of the permit are within the corporate limits of the town of Appalachia and surround several other nearby communities.

“I’m so relieved and grateful the EPA has taken this action.” said Gary Bowman, whose home is only hundreds of feet away from a proposed sediment pond for the permit. “We were stuck between a rock and a hard place with this permit and are so happy that we will be able to stay in our home.”

The company that operates the Ison Rock Ridge site, A&G Coal, is known for its role in the August 20, 2004 tragedy in which a boulder from an A&G strip mine rolled down a hillside and crashed into a family’s Wise County home below, killing a sleeping three-year-old child in his bedroom.

“The days of reckless, unchecked destruction of Appalachian mountains are numbered,” said Mary Anne Hitt, Deputy Director of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign. “There is much more work to do, but President Obama’s EPA has taken bold action on mountaintop removal coal mining, and we applaud their intervention.”

The Ison Rock Ridge permit in Wise County, Virginia, covers nearly 1,300 acres and would destroy three miles of streams and fill nine lush valleys with more than 11 million cubic yards of rock and dirt. The massive mountaintop removal coal mine would surround the community of Derby, bringing destruction within a half mile of the historic district, eliminating the community’s tourism appeal. Other nearby affected communities include Andover, Inman, and Osaka and the Town of Appalachia.

“I’m walking on air,” said Derby resident Bob Mullins, who recently returned from a meeting with the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “I feel like we’ve finally accomplished something. This is a great victory to start with and now it’s time to get our friends and neighbors together to continue fighting for the cause and building this movement that is truly gaining momentum.”

Mountaintop removal mining is a destructive form of coal mining that has already contaminated or destroyed nearly 2,000 miles of streams. The mining poisons drinking water, lays waste to wildlife habitat, increases the risk of flooding and wipes out entire communities. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org/MTR or www.samsva.org.

Many thanks to the Charleston Gazette for their report. Below is an excerpt:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Blair Mountain — site of the historic 1921 coal-mining labor battle — has been named to the National Register of Historic Places, state officials and advocates for the designation said Monday.

The designation, made by the Keeper of the National Register, includes a 10-mile stretch of Logan County ridges where thousands of miners fought federal troops as part of a United Mine Workers organizing fight. The designation covers about 1,600 acres, along a fairly narrow strip that runs northwest from near the town of Blair.

Labor historians and environmental activists have sought the designation for years, with those efforts increasing more recently as part of the fight over mountaintop removal coal mining.

“This is a major victory,” said Bill Price, a Sierra Club staffer who worked on the project. “We are just thrilled at the Keeper’s decision and of the recognition it gives to labor history in Southern West Virginia.”

But the designation does not block mining, and according to state officials could not have been made unless land-owning companies in the area agreed to it.

“It’s an honorary listing, principally, that recognizes the area’s historical significance,” said Susan Pierce, director of historic preservation for the state Division of Culture and History.

For more information, read the entire article and visit the Coal Tattoo Blog.

Visit Earthbeat Radio HERE to check out JW’s interview.

Mountaintop removal mining has DEFINITELY been in the public eye this past week. If you haven’t heard the news, check fellow blogger Ken Ward Jr.’s wrap-up of media coverage of the EPA decision to further review three mountaintop removal mining permits, Appalachian Voices’ Director of Programs Matthew Wasson’s analysis of the “blow-back” from mining interests, and our coverage of the introduction of a new Senate bill to end mountaintop removal.

Not only were papers across the region following these stories, editorials were popping up like daisies… overwhelming calling for an end to mountaintop removal. Want to check them out? You can… with the Editorial Run-down!!

New York Times “Appalachia’s Agony” March 16, 2009
Roanoke Times “Mountaintop Removal Gets More Scrutiny” March 29,2009
Chattanooga Free Press “Mountaintop Removal Brake” March 29, 2009
Virginian-Pilot “End the Scourge of Mountaintop Mining” March 30, 2009
Asheville Citizen Times “Time to Write the Obituary for this Mining Practice” March 27, 2009

Better Know a CWPA Sponsor: Dale Kildee (D-MI-05) has represented Michigan on the state or federal level since 1964 and has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1974. Hailing from the industrial town of Flint, Michigan, Congressman Kildee is intimately acquainted with the boom and bust economics of single industry regions. We thank him for his support of the people and resources of Appalachia!

Better Know a CWPA Target: Vern Ehlers (R-MI-03) is currently serving his eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He sits on the Transportation & Infrastructure committee, the committee to which our bill has been assigned, so his support is crucial in getting the bill heard and passed through committee so it can be passed on the House floor! Ehlers has a strong history of supporting water quality in the Great Lakes, which border his state, and recognizes water as a valuable natural resource that needs to be protected! Ehlers also advocates for alternative energy and increased energy efficiency… he owns and drives a hybrid! We hope that Ehlers can see the connections between these interests and the needs of the region of Appalachia to protect our natural resources, water, and our need to create a sustainable energy future all across the nation, because right now Appalachia is paying an extraordinarily high price for America’s energy.

March 26th, 2009 – The following email was sent to the 35,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here.

 Sen. Alexander      Sen. Cardin

Now we’ve got momentum — and we need you to act.

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was reviewing hundreds of mountaintop removal coal mining permits.

We wrote to ask you to thank the administration for taking this bold stance against the devastation of mountaintop removal coal mining, and asked you to help make the EPA’s decision permanent by telling the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Clean Water Protection Act.

And yesterday, for the first time ever, a companion bill to the Clean Water Protection Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate.

Two U.S. senators from coal producing states — Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) — introduced the Appalachia Restoration Act (S 696), which would amend the Clean Water Act to prevent the dumping of toxic mining waste from mountaintop removal coal mining into headwater streams and rivers.

Can you contract your Senators today, and urge them to support (co-sponsor?) the Appalachia Restoration Act?

https://ilovemountains.org/action/write_your_senators

In introducing the legislation, Senator Cardin said: “My goal is to put a stop to one of the most destructive mining practices that has already destroyed some of America’s most beautiful and ecologically significant regions. This legislation will put a stop to the smothering of our nation’s streams and water systems and will restore the Clean Water Act to its original intent.”

“It is not necessary to destroy our mountaintops in order to have enough coal,” said Senator Alexander. “Millions of tourists spend tens of millions of dollars in Tennessee every year to enjoy the natural beauty of our mountains – a beauty that, for me, and I believe for most Tennesseans, makes us proud to live here.”

Senator Alexander has it right. This is not an either/or choice — it’s about saving the environment and creating new jobs.

Please, contact your Senator today and urge them to support this important bipartisan bill:

https://ilovemountains.org/action/write_your_senators

With your help, the Clean Water Protection Act can pass the House and Senate this year — and put a permanent end to the worst practices of mountaintop removal coal mining.

Thank you for taking action.

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org

PS Please forward this email to your friends and family, and ask them to take action by contacting their Senators today!