(via the Center for Biological Diversity and EEN. -jdub)

WASHINGTON- A broad coalition of more than 300 faith, human-rights, social justice, and environmental groups sent a letter to U.S. senators today calling for energy and climate legislation that is much stronger than the Waxman-Markey bill that passed the House of Representatives June 26. That bill contained massive giveaways to polluting special interests and would fail to ensure a rapid transition to clean energy.

The groups plan to hand deliver the letter to senators’ state offices next week as part of a larger, grassroots mobilization demonstrating far-reaching support for bold leadership in the fight to solve the climate crisis.

In the letter, the groups express “profound concern” about the House bill and ask senators to usher in “the transformational change and greenhouse emissions reductions required to avert catastrophic climate impacts.” The letter calls for legislation that:

* Reduces atmospheric CO2 concentrations to a safe level of below 350 parts per million;
* Maintains existing Clean Air Act protections against global warming pollution;
* Minimizes the use of offsets and other loopholes;
* Protects vulnerable populations and communities;
* Promotes abundant clean energy;
* Eliminates polluter giveaways; and
* Adheres to preexisting U.S. commitments to the rest of the world.

Comments from a few groups that signed the letter follow:

“We haven’t yet seen the bold leadership from Congress that’s required to solve the climate crisis,” said Church World Service Director of Education and Advocacy Rajyashri Waghray. “We’re sending this letter to demonstrate broad grassroots support for such leadership.”

“We have to have a stronger climate bill than the watered-down version that passed the House,” said San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society Conservation Chair Drew Feldmann.

“We’re organizing on the ground, in communities around/throughout the country, to mobilize the everyday people who will feel climate impacts, and to defeat the entrenched, polluting special interests in Washington and pass a truly strong bill in the Senate,” said Appalachian Voices Legislative Associate J.W. Randolph.

“The everyday people of America have been left out of the climate debate. We are building a grassroots movement that reflects the diversity of America, to mobilize everyday people who are experiencing the affects of climate change. We aim to defeat entrenched fossil fuel polluting special interests in Washington and pass a truly strong climate bill,” said Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

“There’s an impressive breadth of groups on this letter, and it demonstrates that the status quo isn’t acceptable. Congress must pass a bill that actually gives us a fighting chance of avoiding runaway global warming. There’s no other option,” said Tyson Slocum, who directs Public Citizen’s energy program.

The letter reads as follows…

—
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
Chairwoman, U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Hart Building 112
Washington, D.C. 20510

Cc: Members of the Senate and President Barack Obama

Dear Senator Boxer,

Thank you for your continued leadership on the climate crisis. The environmental, economic, and public health threats of global warming — both in the United States and around the world — require a strong climate bill. We are profoundly concerned that as currently written, H. R. 2454 (the American Clean Energy and Security Act or “ACES”) falls far short. We are writing on behalf of the millions of members our organizations represent to urge you to draft a companion bill that provides the transformational change and greenhouse emissions reductions required to avert catastrophic climate impacts.

The Senate bill must set an economy-wide cap on greenhouse emissions that is consistent with the best available science and that can be ratcheted down as necessary. Findings from the U.S. Global Change Research Center, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and many other institutions and scientists indicate that the atmospheric greenhouse gas stabilization target of 450 parts per million CO2eq is far too high to avoid the risk of catastrophic climate change. Leading scientists currently warn that CO2 must be reduced to no more than 350 parts per million. Yet the cap set by H. R. 2454 is insufficient even to achieve 450 parts per million CO2eq. The Senate bill must contain reduction targets consistent with the best available science, representing the U.S. fair global share of reductions within the world’s remaining carbon budget, and it must include immediate action on short-lived global warming pollutants, including black carbon and methane, to slow warming in the near term.

The Clean Air Act already provides many of the necessary tools to reduce greenhouse pollutants. Therefore, the Clean Air Act rollbacks in H. R. 2454 — which would actually reduce existing pollution control requirements, facilitate the construction of additional coal-fired power plants, and grandfather in unnecessary pollution from existing plants — must be removed. The critical safety net of the Clean Air Act must be retained, not discarded in favor of a new, untested system, placing all of our eggs in one precarious basket. Existing Clean Air Act authority should be strengthened by adding deadlines for the oldest and dirtiest coal-fired power plants to meet pollution reduction requirements or shut down.

The Senate bill should eliminate the many loopholes in H. R. 2454 and ensure the integrity of the pollution-reduction system. A top priority must be to eliminate or greatly limit and restrict offsets, which allow actual pollution from capped sources to increase, creating localized toxic hotspots in people of color and vulnerable communities; delay a shift to low carbon technologies in the United States; and increase the risks in carbon markets. In addition, the House provision prohibiting a full life-cycle analysis of biofuels must be reversed.

The Senate bill should protect low- and middle- income families. Regardless of the chosen mechanism, the setting of carbon prices must be transparent, stable, and predictable, while minimizing the ability of private entities to manipulate the carbon price. We do not believe the market mechanisms contained in the current cap-and-trade proposal achieve this. The Senate bill should ensure there are adequate protections from climate change for low-income families, vulnerable communities domestically and globally, and Native American and indigenous peoples, including protections and dividends for low-income consumers and adequate international
finance for adaptation. The Senate bill should provide for abundant clean energy. The Senate bill should provide mandates and
incentives for abundant clean energy sources such as low-impact solar, wind, and non-dam hydro, which do not add toxic burdens to communities and workers and do not require incineration technologies.

The Senate bill should eliminate polluter giveaways, including massive subsidies to coal and oil. Scarce government funding should not go to dangerous fossil fuel or nuclear industries or allow damaging practices such as mountaintop-removal mining. Instead, public money should go to investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the creation of green jobs.

The Senate bill should live up to the United States’ international obligations. For a fair global deal with meaningful global emissions reductions, the United States must both deeply reduce emissions domestically and provide adequate international climate finance for clean technology, adaptation, and support to stop deforestation. Fulfilling these commitments will be essential to securing an effective international agreement.

We recognize the massive political effort that is necessary to pass climate legislation, but a bill with inadequate targets, loophole-ridden mechanisms, rollbacks of our flagship environmental laws, and inadequate financing to help developing countries address climate change will move us in the wrong direction. We urge you to pass a strong climate bill consistent with the principles outlined above.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

…

350.org
Acterra
ActionAid USA
Alameda Creek Alliance
Amazon Watch
American Center for Life Cycle Assessment Institute for Environmental Research & Education
Animal Welfare Institute
Animas Valley Institute
Anza Water Conservation Association
Appalachian Voices
Arizona Wilderness Coalition
Atlanta Mentorship Program for Sustainability
Audubon South Carolina
Battle Creek Alliance
Bedford Global Warming Coalition
Berkeley Partners for Parks
BioTour
Blanket the Globe
Borneo Project
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Interfaith Power and Light
California Native Plant Society
Californians for Western Wilderness
Calumet Project
Canary Coalition
Caney Fork Headwaters Association
Carolina Biodiesel, LLC
Carolinas Clean Air Coalition
Carolinas Clean Air Coalition
Caribbean Conservation Corporation
Cascadia Wildlands
Center for a Sustainable Coast
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Native Ecosystems
Center of Concern
Center on Race Poverty and the Environment
Central California Environmental Justice Network
Central New Mexico Audubon Society
Chalice Farm and Sustainable Living Center
Champaign County Audubon Society
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Church World Service
Citizens Against Ruining the Environment
Citizens for Quality Environment
CitizensforSanity.Com, Inc.
Citizens for Sludge-Free Land
Citizens League for Environmental Action Now (CLEAN)
Citizens United for Resources and Environment (CURE)
Clarksville Warioto Chapter of Audubon
Clean Air Watch
Clean Coast
Climate Law & Policy Project
Coastside Habitat Coalition
Coastwalk California
Colorado Grizzly Project
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Committee for a Better Alpaugh
Communities for a Better Environment
Community Coalition for Environmental Justice of Seattle WA
Community Conservation
Community Environmental Council
Community Water Center
Concerned Arizona Science Educators
Conservation Northwest
CORALations
Corporate Ethics International
CREDO
Cumberland Countians for Peace & Justice
Deer Creek Valley Natural Resources Conservation Association
Delaware Audubon Society
Desert Fishes Council
Dogwood Alliance
Don’t Waste Arizona, Inc.
Earth Day Los Angeles
Earth Island Institute
EARTHWORKS
Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch
Eco-Eating
EcoEquity
Eco-Justice Collaborative
EcoLaw Massachusetts
Education for Global Warming Solutions
Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society
Endangered Habitats League
Endangered Small Animal Conservation Fund
Environmental Alliance of North Florida
Energy Alliance of Puerto Rico
Environmental Defenders of McHenry County
Environmental Defense Center
Environmental Health Group
Environmental Law Society, University of Michigan Law School
Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)
Environmental Studies Program Prescott College
Fairmont, Minnesota Peace Group
Faiths United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE)
Florida League of Conservation Voters
Floridians Against Incincerators In Disguise
Focus the Nation
ForestEthics
Forests of the World, LLC
Franciscan Sisters of Mary
Fresno Metro Ministry
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Northern San Jacinto Valley
Friends of the Owls
Friends of the River
Friends of the Santa Clara River
Friends of Whithaven Park
Fund for Wild Nature
Gallaudet Swim Club
Gila Conservation Coalition
Gila Regional Information Project
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
Global Community Monitor
Global Exchange
Global Green USA
Global Justice Ecology Project
Global Warming Education Network
Golden Gate Audubon
Grand Canyon Trust
Grand Canyon Wildlands Council
Great Old Broads for Wilderness
Green Delaware
Green Peace Corps
Green Press Initiative
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice
Greenpeace
Greenwood Earth Alliance
Gulf Restoration Network
Halifax River Audubon
Haverhill Environmental League
Heartwood
Help Our Polluted Environment (HOPE) in Taylor County, FL
High Road for Human Rights
Hilltown Anti-Herbicide Coalition
Honor the Earth
Huachuca Audubon Society
Humboldt Baykeeper
HOPE TO ACTION: Women for a Greener Planet
Independent Environmental Conservation & Activism Network
Indigenous Environmental Network
Interfaith Council for the Protection of Animals and Nature
International Center for Technology Assessment
International Forum on Globalization
International Rivers
nternational Society for the Preservation of the Tropical Rainforest
International Tribal Association
Jewish Vegetarians of North America
KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance
Kalmiopsis Audubon Society
Kentucky Heartwood
Kentucky Mountain Justice
Kickapoo Peace Circle
Kids vs. Global Warming
Klamath Forest Alliance
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
Klickitat Valley Cyclists
Kodiak Audubon
KyotoUSA
Lake Merritt Institute
Leadership Team of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, MO
Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition
Life of the Land (Hawai`i)
Local Clean Energy Alliance
Lutheran Peace Group – Jemez Springs, NM
Martha’s Vineyard Peace Council
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities
Massachusetts Power Shift
Medical Mission Sisters, Alliance for Justice
Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office
Mercury Free Wisconsin
Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network
Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance
Montana Rivers
Monteverde Conservation League US
Morning Sun Foundation
Mountain Meadows Conservancy
Musicians United to Sustain the Environment
National Catholic Rural Life Conference
National Center for Conservation Science and Policy
National Gray Panthers
Native Alerts
Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center
Nature in the City
NC WARN: North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network
Near West Citizens for Peace and Justice
Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, Inc.
Network Alliance of Congregations Caring for Earth (NACCE)
Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility United Church of Christ
Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
New Mexico Wilderness Alliance
No Impact Project
No New Nukes
North Suburban Peace Initiative (NSPI)
Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC)
Northern Climate Change Network
Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment
Northwest Ecological Research Institute
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, NY
Nuclear Energy Information Service
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Nuclear Watch South
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Office of Justice, Peace, & Integrity of Creation for the School Sisters of Notre Dame, St. Louis Province
Oil Change International
Oil Independent Berkeley
Olympia Climate Action
Orangetown Environmental Committee
Oregon Environmental Council
Oregon Natural Desert Association
Oregon Wild
Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way)
Pacific Environment
Pacifica Climate Committee
Peaceful Uprising
Portland Audubon
Post Carbon Institute
PREACT McLeod
Project Coyote
Public Citizen
Puerto Rico Ornithological Society
Rainforest Action Network
Redwood Alliance Climate Action Project
Renewable Energy Office for Cornwall
Residents for a Livable Moreno Valley
Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL)
Resource Renewal Institute
Restore Sharp Park
Rising Tide North America
Rivers Unlimited
Romm ‘n’ Legions
Rural Coalition
Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN)
San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society
San Francisco Baykeeper
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
Santa Fe Forest Watch
Save Union County
SaveNature.Org
Sciencecorps
Sea Turtle Restoration Project
Sequoia Audubon Society
Shalom Center
Sirius Ecovillage Community and Sustainable Living Education Center
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Central Leadership
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Associates
Siskiyou Project
Sky Island Alliance
Slow Food USA
Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians
Sojourners
Solar Cookers International
Soroptimist International of Goldendale
South Carolina Coastal Conservation League
Southern Energy Network
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Stand Up/Save Lives Campaign
Stewards of the Earth
Sustainable Arizona
Sustainable Energy & Economy Network
Sustainable Futures Society
Sustainable Sanctuary Coalition of Greater Kansas City
Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light
Texas Climate Emergency Campaign
The Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
The Association of Irritated Residents (AIR)
The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL)
The Enviro Show, WXOJ
The Forest Foundation, Inc
The Sunshine Environment Link
The TriCounty Watchdogs
Tikkun-Network of Spiritual Progressives
Tortoise Reserve
Tri-Valley CAREs
Tucson Audubon
Tuolumne River Trust
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Union County Peace Council
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of California
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Florida
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland
Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth
Unitarian Universalist Massachusetts Action Network
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
Unitarian Universalists of Goldendale
Unitarian Universalists United Nations Office
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
University of Denver Environmental Law Clinic
Ursuline Sisters of the Roman Union, Central Province
Ursulines of Tildonk for Justice and Peace
Valley Watch
Vast Horizons
Veg Climate Alliance
Via Media USA, an Episcopal Church organization
Waterkeeper Alliance
Watershed Management Group
Washington State Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice
WCL Program on International and Comparative Environmental Law
West Coast Climate Equity
Western Nebraska Resources Council
Western North Carolina Physicians for Social Responsibility
Western Wildlife Conservancy
Wild Equity Institute
WildEarth Guardians
Wildlife Center of Virginia
Williamsburg Climate Action Network
Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Women, Food and Agriculture Network
Women’s Voices for the Earth
www.SafeEnergyAnalyst.org
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

This Time in South Carolina
—

Today rate-payers and oxygen users can breathe a little easier, as the Santee Cooper company nixed its plans to build another coal plant in the state.

A committee of the state-owned utility voted this morning to suspend an effort to secure permits for the $2.2 billion plant in Florence County along the Great Pee Dee River. The full Santee Cooper board is expected to ratify the vote at noon today.

The agency’s action makes it unlikely the plant will ever be built, said Santee Cooper board Chairman O.L. Thompson.

South Carolina is one of the top 10 users of mountaintop removal coal. Its also pays the second highest price for coal in the US, behind New Jersey.
There are currently 12 coal-fired power plants in the state. The website SCsaysNO.com has more info on the impacts that this plant would have had on the health, economy, and environment.

Another shiny coal industry front group. How authentic.
…

The coal industry PR generators must be running low on fuel, because they have been misfiring repeatedly over the course of the Summer, and it looks like they may have another false start with “FACES” (Federation for American Coal, Energy, and Security).

Who are they? Well nobody knows. Kate Sheppard at Grist asks, “who are the faces behind FACES of coal?”

Grist tried to find out more about FACES, as the website does not list members or funders. The only contact information listed is an email address, and our email inquiry bounced back.

Are there any actual faces behind FACES?

What are they saying? Definitely nothing new. Do their claims actually hold water? A quick look through their website basically shows a bunch of direct links to and quotes from the National Mining Association, so I decided to look at some of FACES’ “facts” to see if they stand up. The coal industry has paid Tennessee a lot of attention by publicly avoiding the state, and its my home state. So lets look at the “Faces of Coal” “US Coal and Tennessee” fact sheet.

Coal supplies half the electricity consumed by Americans.

False. Coal used to supply half the electricity consumed by Americans. Electric generation from coal is down to 42.6% in May of this year. That is a significant amount of energy, but its by no statistical stretch of the imagination “half.” The more inclusive “year-to-date” number for Jan-May 2009 puts coal down at about 45.4% of our electricity production and dropping.

Tennessee produced 2.3 million tons of coal in 2008.

True. However, this amounts to a 12% drop from the previous year, and totals just 0.19% of US coal production in 2008.

Tennessee powers Tennessee – Sixty-four percent of Tennessee’s electricity is generated from coal.

False and probably no longer true. As of 2007, zero percent of Tennessee’s electricity generation is generated from Tennessee coal. Coal consumption in Tennessee for 2009 is down 20% compared to the same time period in 2008, so I can’t imagine they could prove that 64% of TN electricity still comes from coal.
.

In 2007, coal mining in Tennessee generated about $2.9 billion in output.

This is a “National Mining Association” number. The most recent study (Hendryx, WVU) shows that coal contributes to about $8 billion in benefits to the Appalachian region. But it also notes that the costs to the region because of coal mining are around $50 billion, for a net loss of about $42 billion dollars annually. A study by MACED looked at inputs and outputs to the Kentucky state budget from coal mining. The study concludes that it actually costs the state a net loss of -$115 million dollars every year to keep mining coal.

Any more?

Tennessee families depend on coal mining for good jobs. – Coal mining provides jobs for the long-term.

Coal provides a few jobs in Tennessee, but they are definitely not long term. Again, the real picture is much more complicated than that. In reality, Tennessee has lost 75% of the mining jobs it had just 25 years ago.

Mining in Tennessee supports over 21,000 jobs, paying hundreds of millions of dollars in annual wages. – In Eastern Tennessee alone, coal mining employs more than 1,000 people.

If by “eastern Tennessee”, they mean “central” Tennessee (there’s no coal in the Smokies), then they are talking about ALL the coal mining jobs in Tennessee. Thats like saying that “there are hundreds of miles of ocean-front property in eastern North Carolina alone, and thats just at the beach!”

Coal mining jobs are well paid. The average wage for a coal worker in Tennessee is about $61,000, more than 10 percent higher than the average wage for jobs in other industries in the state.

Coal mining jobs may be well paid, but that’s not really the point. Brittany Spears is well paid, but that doesn’t mean I think what she is doing is beneficial to my community. As pointed by MACED for Kentucky, the results of coal-mining operations on the state budget of Tennessee are minimal at best and potentially negative. Coal mining is a relatively small industry in Tennessee, generating $67 million compared with tourism’s $14.2 billion. And the counties that have higher instances of mining have lower socioeconomic status, higher unemployment, and higher mortality than surrounding counties in Appalachia, as pointed out by Hendryx.

Tennessee invests in protecting the environment. Tennessee coal invests millions of dollars in coal mine land restoration, or reclamation, projects.

Reclamation is a critical part of the mining process. Commercial development, economic development, or even reforestation is better than just blasting apart a mountain, declaring bankruptcy, and bolting. The fact that Tennessee coal invests millions to reclaim the land they’ve destroyed is a good thing, but it definitely isn’t sufficient, and it definitely isn’t an improvement over what was there before. There is an abundance of “flat land” already available. In fact, around 1 million undeveloped acres of it which has been wrought by MTR. So, please feel free to build yourself a golf course on a mountain that is already destroyed and stop blowing up new mountains.

But I don’t think we should expect that much. According to the 2003 DEIS, less than 2-3% of land that is mountaintop removal mined is recovered in some kind of economic or commercial development

2003 EPA EIS, Appendix G, Land Use Assesment, page 43:

Given current and foreseeable future land use demands, it is unlikely that any more than 2 to 3% of the future post-mining land uses will be developed land uses such as housing, commercial, industrial, or public facility development.
…
Potential permanent impacts will likely include some resident population relocation due to close proximities of people and potential future mining.

So is reclamation important? Absolutely. But is the coal industry doing enough of it? Well…I’d say 97% no.

Mountaintop mining is a sophisticated mining technique that is the safest way…

Baloney. Coal mining is a dangerous job, and mountaintop removal mining transfers the dangers inherent in mining coal from the professional miner onto the surrounding communities. Secondly, there is not a lot of proof that surface mining is that much safer to the workers than underground mining. In 2008, according to MSHA, coal’s “non-fatal days lost” because of injury are almost even between surface and underground mining. 218 of 394, or 55% are from underground mining. 176 of 394, or 45%, are from surface mining. As the overburden ratio increases, and Btu decreases, surface miners are having to move larger amounts of earth to provide us the same amount of energy, increasing the dangers inherent in the operation. I the last few years, according to MSHA, surface mining fatalities have been increasing as a percentage vs underground mining and on-site fatalities.

But this is my favorite from “FACES”:

… and at times the only way – to mine coal near the surface in rugged terrain. It improves productivity and protects the environment.

Top officials at Patriot Coal are saying that “we can mine it underground.”

According to the Energy Information Administration, the estimated recoverable reserves in Appalachia are mostly classified as “underground” rather than “surface” mineable coal. Although in reality these are not mutually exclusive classifications, its still important to show that we can get at most of the coal by other ways than blowing the tops off of the mountains.

West Virginia: 87% underground, 13% surface.
Kentucky: 49% underground, 51% surface
Tennessee: 61% underground, 39% surface
Virginia: 78% underground, 22% underground

Yeah, FACES comes from a world where blowing up mountains and dumping the waste into streams (which even officials in the WVDEP are now saying harms water quality) is environmental “protection.” Sigh…

How I long to have their powers of denial (and their industrial allies’ money!)

And you’re probably not invited.
…

On September 7th, a bunch of celebrities are throwing a party with Massey Energy to wrap themselves in the flag and put on a big event called the “Friends of America Rally.” The featured guests are Ted Nugent from Detroit, Sean Hannity from New York City, Hank Williams Jr. from Shreveport, LA, and a country singer named John Rich from west Texas, and they are coming to West Virginia to talk about how great and patriotic coal is (and I guess that means mountaintop removal to.)

I wanted to write a post about how ridiculous they all are and the ridiculous things they have all done and said. But, the truth is that all their quotes and actions are very well-documented. After reading more about these individuals and what they’ve accomplished, what they’ve been through, and what they’ve attempted to contribute to society in their own ways (and let me just say that Sean Hannity is on very thin ice here), I am fine to say that we just aren’t going to agree on most things. People can disagree without being disagreeable. We aren’t going to see eye to eye on most things that have to do with coal, energy, economic development, or the way that the government interacts with ecosystems and communities. And thats cool. We can disagree. This is America.

And thats the point.

Has the political conversation weakened so much in this country that those of us working tirelessly to raise our families and protect our homes are somehow not “Friends of America” because we believe in protecting our drinking water from coal waste? Are we not American because we believe that science shows us we have to take action on climate change? Do we sympathize with terrorists if we don’t support one candidate or the other? Mountaintop removal is SUPER AMERICAN and Lamar Alexander is not? C’mon, stop living in a cartoon!

America is much more than just the way we choose to grow our economy or the way we choose to treat coal waste. Whatever Ted Nugent has to say on the 7th, let him say it. Our forefathers created a place where free speech is allowed. However, criticisms of Ted Nugent aside, can’t he please stop acting like anybody who disagrees with him is somehow less than a “Friend of America”? If we’re not a “Friend of America” what are we? Just an acquaintance? Are we an enemy? No, we just have different beliefs. Last time I checked, thats still allowed.

The fact that coal-mining benefits a few people is absolutely, undeniably true. I’m with Jeff Goodell in that there should be a giant monument to coal in every city square in America so that people recognize the importance coal has played in powering American military and industry for the last 100 years. But coal is undeniably hurting people to. Coal-mining (especially mountaintop removal) is hurting our economy, our mountains our communities, and public health. The use of coal and other fossil fuels is leading to catastrophic climate change. For the coal industry and their allies to simply deny reality and to paint anyone who would like to see incremental alterations of the coal industry “anti-American” is just pathetic. Tactics like this won’t work, and its why the fossil fuel industries are having to forge their own support. Sean Hannity, look at the obvious issues that come with coal-mining and help be a part of the solution. The denial, the condescension, and the overheated rhetoric don’t give me much hope that thats going to happen soon. Fortunately, we live in a country that accepts and welcomes most of us. So I’m going to have to continue flying my flag, loving my country, and doing my best to make it a better place in my own way.

And if I wanted to live in a cartoon, I would say Ted Nugent has a tiny flag, and mine hangs out with a Saturn Rocket.

Polluting Industries Forging Support Suprise!, Still?, Again!?!. Wow.

And its not just us craaaaaaaazy environmentalists:

Thanks to our friends at Public Citizen!

No, not that kind of spring.

I got so excited to see this headline “WV Town to Get Clean Water by spring.” See, I thought to myself, there still are still amazing clean spring-water sources left in some parts of Appalachia. But it turns out that they’re aren’t talking about a “spring” of flowing water, but instead the installation of Prenter’s new water system…in March of 2010.

Don’t you think a more appropriate headline would have been “WV Town to go 8 More Months without Clean Drinking Water“:

Gov. Joe Manchin will be on hand Tuesday as West Virginia American Water breaks ground for a new line that is expected to supply 155 households by March.
…
Residents of Prenter and Seth are suing eight coal companies they believe poisoned their wells by pumping coal slurry into old underground mines. They claim cracks in the earth allowed the slurry to migrate and pollute the aquifer.

For months, many residents have been hauling clean water home from a pay station at a church. Others rely on free fill-ups of the 50-gallon barrels at their homes.

Update: For more info on Prenter, see Sludge Safety Project, or Ken Ward’s Coal Tattoo blog, which have covered the issue for a long time.

Water filter in Prenter:

Or this penny which has been exposed to the water:

The coal industry and their associated front groups like to claim that coal provides more than half of our electricity. This was once true, but has not been the case for several years. As we’ve reported throughout the year, the importance of coal in our national electricity generation is declining at a pretty remarkable rate. EIA just released their numbers for May 2009, and once again coal is down. The year to date numbers are staggering. From January-May 2009, coal produced just 45.4% of our electricity, and the monthly numbers are getting lower and lower. In the most recent recorded month (May) coal was down to 42.6% of electricity generation.

Big Coal wants us to believe that without burning more and more coal, our economy will shrink and we might even freeze in the dark. But a close look at our energy picture tells a very different story: yes, we still burn a lot of coal, but we can burn less of it all the time while cleaner energy sources that provide even more jobs take its place.

Not only CAN we transition to a clean energy future, but it’s already starting to happen. The reason coal is on the decline – even before carbon regulations – is that it simply can no longer compete with cleaner energy sources like wind power and natural gas. For an encouraging contrast, let’s take a look at the increasing power of wind:

We noted recently that Nancy Sutley, President Obama’s Chair for the Council on Environmental Quality, recognized that there are significant impacts from mountaintop removal (you’ve got to start somewhere right?). Sutley also said that stricter oversight of mountaintop removal may or may not result in fewer mountaintop removal projects. Well, EPA chief Lisa Jackson, is now dropping hints that EPA may be stepping up to use their veto power to protect America’s waterways.

From the St. Petersburg Times:

Question: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issues more permits for wetlands destruction in Florida than any other state. The EPA has the power under the Clean Water Act to veto those permits, but hasn’t blocked a single permit in Florida since 1988. It has used its veto power nationwide only 12 times since 1972. Now that you’re in charge, will the EPA become more aggressive about using its veto power to protect wetlands — not just in Florida but in places like West Virginia, where the Corps is allowing coal companies to slice the tops off mountains?

Lisa Jackson: That whole process had become a bit toothless. I asked my staff what they did, and they said, “We made our concerns known to the Corps and we didn’t hear back.”

(The corps and the public should know that, instead of just expressing objections, the EPA will once again use its veto power.) We’re likely going to get to the point where we don’t agree and we have to veto. The Corps of Engineers understands when the EPA has concerns, it’s going to raise them. We’re going to do our jobs.

I’ll believe it when I see it, but that is encouraging news. The EPA has initiated their veto authority under section 404(c) provisions of the Clean Water Act very rarely, historically speaking. Recently, they have used veto authority in Appalachia on the Big Branch mine in KY.

Hope.

Having had their astroturfing forgery exposed, this week coal industry front group ACCCE is taking an uber-REAL super-grassrootsy approach to showing us their grassrootability, via Twitter. And this time, rather than making stuff up about random minority groups, womens’ organizations, or seniors, they’re saying that they are promoting coal for…the firefighters? Wait a second, I meant the…tanners?

Their strategy, it seems, is to basically going to any farmers market or county fair and trying to get pictures of “real” people holding up their silly shirts.

For a coal industry group with a long history of fraud, from posing as an environmental organization not affiliated with industry, to knowingly influencing Congressional votes with forged letters, and claiming to be promoting “clean energy” ACCCE has a LOT of tweeting to do before it ever gets its credibility back.

Its just impossible to sell such a stupid idea that continuing to blow up mountains and dump the waste in the valleys is anything but dirty, destructive, and economically unsustainable. CO2 regulation and investment in efficiency will not only be beneficial to coalfield communities, but it may lead to lower electricity prices. Even China is now backing away from CCS technology because it is too expensive.

But the fraud marches on…

…

…

TPM has much more on ACCCE’s long history of fraud and forgery over at the TPMMuckraker.

(Please forgive any misspellings or grammatical errors from this post. Its just SO dern hard to spell without any flat land and my keyboard getting all tilty all the time. – jdub)

Rachel Maddow had another hard-hitting piece on the ACCCE “Unnatural Mail Enhancement” forgery case last night, along with a very special guest, Congressman Frank J. Pallone (NJ-06).

And Maddow was quick to let ACCCE spokesman Joe Lucas have it, for his ridiculous comments to “The Guardian” yesterday, claiming that the people of eastern Kentucky just need a liiiiiiiitle more flatland if they really want to prosper:

Also, [the coal lobbyists are] doing media interviews, including what I honestly believe is the most jaw dropping argument I have seen anyone make about an American political issue all year with a straight face. His name is Joe Lucas, he is a spokesman for the coal industry group that we’re talking about and he told the Guardian newspaper that “I can take you to places in Eastern KY where community services were hampered because of a lack of flat space, to build factories, to build hospitals, even to build schools. In many places, mountaintop-mining if done responsibly allows for land to be developed for community space.

Lets say for just one minute that Joe Lucas really does have a deep burning passion for flattened land. Well, he is in LUCK! Mountaintop removal mining has destroyed nearly 1.3 million acres of some of the most beautiful, biodiverse, and ecologically valuable land this country has to offer. However, according to the EPA’s 2003 draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), right there, clear as day in appendix G, chapter “Land Use Assesment,” page 43, it says:

it is unlikely that any more than 2 to 3% of the future post-mining land uses will be developed land uses such as housing, commercial, industrial, or public facility development.

Math isn’t my strong suit, but since less than 3% of MTR land is developed, I’d say that leaves about 1 million acres of land (an area about the size of Delaware) that has already been flattened, where Mr. Lucas and his cronies at ACCCE are welcome to build whatever kind of private airport or golf course they like for their own personal use.

Now we can go into how many buildings have had structural failures after being built on mountaintop removal mined land, or the penitentiary built on an MTR site bear Big Sandy which has become the most expensive federal prison ever built because it continually sinks into the unsettled earth. Or we could talk about economic success in other mountainous parts of the country. As Senator Lamar Alexander points out, millions of people come to Tennessee every year to see the natural beauty of Tennessee, which is beautiful (naturally). The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has over 9 million visitors annually and is the most visited national park in the country. Western North Carolina has several flourishing colleges, towns, and industries that will leave our mountains and our economy in tact for many many generations to come. You couldn’t say the same thing about ACCCE or Joe Lucas (IF that is their real name.)

Maddow quipped:

You know it is true, cutting of the tops of mountains does create more flat space, in that horribly hilly part of the world! Maybe its those darn hills that explain why the Appalachian marble shooting team has never won a tournament! They’re also really bad at billiards, everything is really tilty. Don’t West Virginians deserve more flatness?!

Cue Ride of the Valkyries and enter Appalachia’s champion, Congressman Frank Pallone, lead sponsor of the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 1310).

Congressman Pallone: Mountaintop mining is a disaster, and it creates pollution, and it has a negative impact on the commuities on peoples health, and I think it’s a disaster for the environment.

Rachel Maddow: Describe what mountaintop removal is. Is it really the full-scale shearing ff of the tops of hills.

Congressman Frank Pallone: Basically, they blast the top of the hill if you will. And then they take the waste and dump it into the rivers or streams nearby, and they pollute those streams.

Rachel Maddow. So you bring the valleys up and the peaks down.

Congressman Frank Pallone: And the water is polluted and people drink it, or use it for other purposes and it affects them in a negative way.

Watch the whole exchange below.

Recieved via email…

WASHINGTON (August 5, 2009) – In a continuation of a Congressional investigation into fraudulent letters sent to several members of Congress, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter today to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity seeking answers on their involvement in the incidents.

The letter specifically zeroes in on questions surrounding the lapse in notification of the affected Congressional offices by ACCCE or Bonner & Associates, the group subcontracted by ACCCE to conduct so-called “grasstops” lobbying. Bonner’s group informed ACCCE of the letters a full two days before the vote on the Waxman-Markey clean energy legislation, which ACCCE was attempting to influence, yet none of the Congressional offices were notified about the spurious letters prior to the vote. Additionally, press reports indicate that ACCCE may not have told the other affected Congressional offices that they too had received fraudulent letters until Monday, August 3, 2009.

Because of these delays in notification, Chairman Markey writes in the letter, “The deliberate inaction prior to the House vote and the extended silence after the vote — some 40 days after ACCCE knew what had happened — raises serious concerns.”

The letter asks about the relationship between ACCCE and the Hawthorn Group, the firm hired by ACCCE to conduct “community outreach,” and then subsequently subcontracted Bonner & Associates.

The letter also drills down on the tactics of so-called “astroturfing,” when lobbying efforts are made to appear like a real, grassroots movement. Chairman Markey asks in the letter whether the fraudulent letters were used “in any broadcast ads, direct mail, ‘push polls,’ online ads, blog posts, email outreach, viral marketing campaigns, ‘street teams,’ or any other new media?”

…

August 5, 2009
Sent via facsimile and U.S. Mail
Mr. Stephen L. Miller
President and CEO
American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
333 John Carlyle Street
Suite 530
Alexandria, VA 22314

Dear Mr. Miller:

Recent news reports and other publicly available information indicate that the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (“ACCCE”) was the entity that hired Bonner & Associates to engage in “grasstops” efforts that resulted in fraudulent letters being sent to a number of Members of Congress prior to House consideration of the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. I am aware that ACCCE has issued a “Background Document” that seeks to address the matter, but frankly it raises as many questions as it answers. Most glaringly, ACCCE apparently learned of the twelve fraudulent letters on June 24, 2009 (two days before the House vote on the Waxman-Markey bill), but did not take any action to make the affected Congressional offices or the public aware of the situation until some time after ACCCE had known of Bonner & Associates’ actions. Press reports indicate that ACCCE may not have told the other affected offices that they too had received fraudulent letters until Monday, August 3, 2009.

The deliberate inaction prior to the House vote and the extended silence after the vote — some 40 days after ACCCE knew what had happened — raises serious concerns.

In order to enable us to understand the facts and circumstances relating to this matter, I ask you to respond to the following questions:

1. Describe the relationship between ACCCE and Hawthorn Group. How long has ACCCE or its predecessor organizations used the services of the Hawthorn Group? What services do they provide? How much does ACCCE pay Hawthorn Group on a monthly basis? Please provide a copy of all contracts between ACCCE and Hawthorn Group. To the best of your knowledge, is Hawthorn registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act?

2. The ACCCE background document that you have circulated on Capitol Hill states that ACCCE was aware that the Hawthorn Group had engaged Bonner & Associates to conduct “community outreach.” Where (by Congressional District) was Bonner & Associates hired to conduct this activity? Please provide a copy of all contracts between the Hawthorn Group and Bonner & Associates to perform work for or on behalf of ACCCE. Did the Hawthorn Group engage other “grasstops” or “grassroots” agents to conduct public or community-based outreach? If yes, please identify the other entities that were engaged and the areas (by Congressional District) in which they were hired to conduct “community outreach.”

3. The ACCCE background document also states that “a total of twelve falsified letters were sent by that firm [Bonner & Associates] to the offices of Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper, Congressman Christopher Carney and Congressman Tom Perriello.”

a) Please provide a copy of each fraudulent letter sent to these and any other Congressional offices.

b) Explain in detail for each fraudulent letter i) the organization that purported to send the letter, ii) how the organization’s letterhead or logo was obtained and by whom, iii) whether the name as the signatory on the letter was invented or whether that person actually works for such organization, and iv) who forged the signature on the letter.

4. The ACCCE document states that Bonner & Associates’ internal process first identified the twelve fraudulent letters to Members of Congress. How many letters (fraudulent and otherwise) were sent altogether through the efforts of Bonner & Associates or Hawthorn Group on each day in the period between May 1 and June 26, 2009, breaking it down on a daily basis?

5. The letters to Rep. Perriello were from prominent civil rights groups. Did ACCCE ask the Hawthorn Group and/or Bonner & Associates to generate letters concerning the Waxman-Markey bill from civil rights groups? From veterans, religious or business groups? Are the other fraudulent letters to Members of Congress also from similar groups?

6. Were any of the twelve fraudulent letters or the general fact of any of their existence (such as “civil rights groups express concern about legislation”) shared with a) the members of ACCCE, b) the Hawthorn Group, or c) other “grasstops” or “grassroots” advocacy coalition members? Were these letters or the general fact of their existence discussed during any conference calls or on email distribution lists so that these fraudulent letters could have been used to leverage in a misleading way to enlist support from other civil rights or other organizations? Did ACCCE or its member companies or lobbyists make reference to any of the twelve fraudulent letters in meetings with any Member of Congress or their staff? Were these letters or the general fact of their existence provided to other firms or coalition members as part of a coordinated effort?

7. The ACCCE background document plainly states that your organization knew about the twelve fraudulent letters on June 24, 2009, two days before the House vote on Waxman-Markey, but chose to remain silent. When was the office of Reps. Perriello, Dahlkemper and Carney and any other Member who received fraudulent letters first notified that they had been sent fraudulent letters on the Waxman-Markey bill? Who made the contact?

8. The ACCCE background document indicates that ACCCE had decided to leave to others to notify the affected organizations and the Congressional offices of the fraudulent letters. Did ACCCE inform any person when these Members and organizations should be notified? Or when they should not be notified? Did ACCCE indicate that this information should be communicated in a prompt manner, in light of the upcoming vote? Or did ACCCE leave it to others to decide when was the best time to notify the affected Members and these organizations of the fraudulent letters? Did ACCCE make any inquiry whether the targeted Members had been notified of the fraudulent letters prior to the House vote on final passage on the Waxman-Markey bill, which came well after the working day was over on June 26, 2009?

9. Between the time on June 24, when ACCCE first learned of the fraudulent letters, to the time of final passage by the House of the Waxman-Markey bill on June 26, how many calls did ACCCE, acting through itself or the Hawthorn Group or Bonner & Associates or other contractors, arrange or cause or prompt to be made to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives? Did the script for any of these phone bank efforts make reference, either in specific or general terms, to the existence of these fraudulent letters? For the purposes of answering this question, identify any such script if it included any reference to civil rights groups or other group designations that would describe any of the twelve organizations identified on the fraudulent letters. Please supply a copy of any such script.

10. It is evident that ACCCE uses many mechanisms to communicate its views to the public and policymakers. Between June 24 and August 3, 2009, was the fact that these (fraudulent) letters had been sent to Congress used in any broadcast ads, direct mail, “push polls,” online ads, blog posts, email outreach, viral marketing campaigns, “street teams,” or any other new media? If yes, please identify the time and place of each instance and provide a copy or sample of the relevant material.

Given the seriousness of this matter, I hope this matter has your prompt and full attention. Please respond to these questions by August 13, 2009. If you have any questions, please contact Gerard J. Waldron or Michael Goo with the Select Committee staff.

Sincerely,

Edward J. Markey
Chair

cc: Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Ranking Member
Rep. Christopher Carney
Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper
Rep. Thomas S. P. Perriello