Climate Activists Charge the Fence of a Coal Energy Plant in the United Kingdom in a series of protests leading up to the U.N. Climate Convention in Copenhagen in January, 2010.
Filed under: coal, energy policy, political activism, U.N. climate convention | Leave a Comment »
Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia has taken a lot of heat these days, all for the love of coal. Protesters in the State’s Capitol insisted that the two-time Governor could arrest the violent surface mining of Coal River Mountain, situated in the South-West of the state, if he wanted to. However, the only thing arrested were the protesters.
Our friend and fellow videographer, “FluxRostrum” posted this video today showing local and student activists with a burning desire to speak truth to power squatting in the Governor’s way.
Manchin has said that he does not have the authority to overstep the federally granted rights of the out-of-state corporations who conduct surface mining in his state. A legal opinion called Dillon’s Law which instituted, the rights of property owners ( read “corporations”) over the right of individuals (read “communities”), provides the necessary veil behind which the Governor can defend his inability to protect his citizens. However, the opinion can be challenged and that would be a strong statement from the pro-death penalty, anti-choice Democratic Governor of West Virginia for his constituents. Where the Governor’s pro-corporate cards may be more apparent is in the lack of prosecution of errant coal and drug companies whose accidents have often cost local communities their survivability and have compromised the health of its residents.
West Virginia residents concerned with demanding local rights within their state may have to model themselves after other communities seeking to dominate local control. In Spokane, WA, a town under the oligarchical control of a few families, a nexus of organization have created Envision Spokane. Guided by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), Envision Spokane has placed an initiative on their November ballot calling for a community bill of rights that could challenge Dillon’s Law.
Lawyers are the new soldiers in the war against environmental degradation, according to Breean Beggs, Chief Catalyst and Counselor for the Center for Justice who spoke at the 2009 Bioneers.
“We have a democracy deficiency in this country.” Beggs said as he addressed an eager crowd that had gathered describing that the lack of democracy is apparent “When the whole status quo system comes after you for putting up your hand and saying, boy, this just doesn’t seem right.”
CELDF Executive director Thomas Linzey said, “The game is up all over the country…A crisis of jurisdiction has to happen.” It is perhaps time for West Virginia communities to consider building its own coalition throughout the hallows.
Filed under: activism, CELDF, coal, Coal Mountain, community bill of rights, Community Environment Legal Defense Fund, Envision Spokane, Joe Manchin, mountain top removal, MTR, the commons | Leave a Comment »
Our friend Flux Rostrum has posted this video of a rally and march against Mountain Top Removal (MTR) going on over a five day period in West Virginia. Starting at the Capitol steps, senior members of ILoveMountains, Christians for the Mountains, and others have taken to the streets.
Jesse Johnson, the Green Party’s 2008 Gubernatorial candidate was on hand and has described a growing tension between the marchers and coal workers. We’ll update when we get more news.
Filed under: aarp, coal, Jesse Johnson, Massey, mountain top removal, MTR, protest, seniors, West Virginia Governor | 1 Comment »
The National Sierra Club ad campaign targets schools in 11 states which currently rely on coal power.
* Indiana University-Bloomington
* Indiana University of Pennsylvania
* Lewis and Clark
* Ohio University
* Penn State University
* SUNY-Binghamton
* University of Colorado – Boulder
* University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
* University of Georgia
* University of Iowa
* University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
* University of Missouri-Columbia
* University of North Dakota
* University of Southern California
* University of Washington
* Virginia Tech
* Washington University-St. Louis
It offers a petition website for students.
Filed under: clean energy, coal, environment, FollowtheMoney | Leave a Comment »
San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who champions many city-based green initiatives, most notably the ban on plastic bags in San Francisco, spoke at City Hall on May 27 where Greenpeace presented a new report that showed the green-leaning state of California is still a leading emitter of global warming pollution. After the press conference, the organizers marched over to the office of House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi to deliver 30,000 petitions urging Congress to implement stronger measures to prevent global warming.
Calling the situation “urgent” in this video, Mirkarimi gave a rallying cry to Californians to reduce our carbon footprint. “California is the poster child for what is not going right in terms of carbon emissions, the Supervisor said. “It is our responsibility socially, culturally, philosophically, feduciarily and environmentally that we lead the pack.”
State Assemblyman Tom Ammanio provided a statement calling for leadership from Congress. “Despite California’s efforts, we are still ranked second in the nation for the highest amount of global warming emissions. Giving lip service to renewable energy or simply talking green will not be enough – we need strong committed leadership that will call for significant reductions and progressive environmental standards. This report should act as a wake-up call to all of us.”
The America’s Share of the Climate Crisis report released by Greenpeace reveals that California emitted more global warming pollution from fossil fuel consumption between 1960 and 2005 than 170 of the 184 countries studied. The report also finds that the US:
The Greenpeace report states that despite President Obama’s calls for stronger climate legislation and $80 billion of economic stimulus funds to develop clean, renewable energy, these measures fall short of meeting the requirements necessary to avert a climate catastrophe.
Earlier this month, Greenpeace called out these “conservative” Democrats for supporting the whittling away of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) to relieve dirty energy providers of a capital crunch that would otherwise likely kill the coal-energy industry.
Greenpeace USA Executive Director Phil Radford issued the following statement:
“Despite the best efforts of Chairman Waxman, this bill has been seriously undermined by the lobbying of industries more concerned with profits than the plight of our planet. While science clearly tells us that only dramatic action can prevent global warming and its catastrophic impacts, this bill has fallen prey to political infighting and industry pressure. We cannot support this bill in its current state. We call on President Obama and leaders in Congress to get back to work and produce a bill, based on science, which presents a clear road map for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transforms our economy with clean, renewable energy technology, generates new green jobs and shows real leadership internationally.”
One of the chief concerns that critics of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) have is that it gives legacy energy providers, such as coal, 60 per cent of the money generated in a carbon market compared to the 18 percent allotted to renewable providers such as wind and solar. This higher allowance to traditional energy providers disincentivize a quicker shift to renewable energy from a monetary point-of-view.
We are actually pretty worried about it,” says Matt Cheney, CEO of Renewable Venture. “It’s basically saying that by virtue of having polluted you now have the right to pollute in the new cap and trade program,” Cheney says.
According to the graph below, amendments to the ACES have had a coincidentally beneficial impact on the stock prices of the coal industry, as this graph show.
Links:
Filed under: alternative energy, clean energy, coal, corporate media, economic stimulus package, enviornment, green initiatives, green jobs, Green Party, municipal power, ross mirkarimi, sustainability | Leave a Comment »
San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who champions many city-based green initiatives, most notably the ban on plastic bags in San Francisco, spoke at City Hall on May 27 where Greenpeace presented a new report that showed the green-leaning state of California is still a leading emitter of global warming pollution. After the press conference, the organizers marched over to the office of House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi to deliver 30,000 petitions urging Congress to implement stronger measures to prevent global warming.
Calling the situation “urgent” in this video, Mirkarimi gave a rallying cry to Californians to reduce our carbon footprint. “California is the poster child for what is not going right in terms of carbon emissions, the Supervisor said. “It is our responsibility socially, culturally, philosophically, feduciarily and environmentally that we lead the pack.”
State Assemblyman Tom Ammanio provided a statement calling for leadership from Congress. “Despite California’s efforts, we are still ranked second in the nation for the highest amount of global warming emissions. Giving lip service to renewable energy or simply talking green will not be enough – we need strong committed leadership that will call for significant reductions and progressive environmental standards. This report should act as a wake-up call to all of us.”
The America’s Share of the Climate Crisis report released by Greenpeace reveals that California emitted more global warming pollution from fossil fuel consumption between 1960 and 2005 than 170 of the 184 countries studied. The report also finds that the US:
The Greenpeace report states that despite President Obama’s calls for stronger climate legislation and $80 billion of economic stimulus funds to develop clean, renewable energy, these measures fall short of meeting the requirements necessary to avert a climate catastrophe.
Earlier this month, Greenpeace called out these “conservative” Democrats for supporting the widdling away of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) to relieve dirty energy providers of a capital crunch that would otherwise likely kill the coal-energy industry.
Greenpeace USA Executive Director Phil Radford issued the following statement:
“Despite the best efforts of Chairman Waxman, this bill has been seriously undermined by the lobbying of industries more concerned with profits than the plight of our planet. While science clearly tells us that only dramatic action can prevent global warming and its catastrophic impacts, this bill has fallen prey to political infighting and industry pressure. We cannot support this bill in its current state. We call on President Obama and leaders in Congress to get back to work and produce a bill, based on science, which presents a clear road map for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transforms our economy with clean, renewable energy technology, generates new green jobs and shows real leadership internationally.”
One of the chief concerns that critics of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) have is that it gives legacy energy providers, such as coal, 60 per cent of the money generated in a carbon market compared to the 18 percent allotted to renewable providers such as wind and solar. This higher allowance to traditional energy providers disincentivize a quicker shift to renewable energy from a monetary point-of-view.
We are actually pretty worried about it,” says Matt Cheney, CEO of Renewable Venture. “It’s basically saying that by virtue of having polluted you now have the right to pollute in the new cap and trade program,” Cheney says.
According to the graph below, amendments to the ACES have had a coincidentally beneficial impact on the stock prices of the coal industry, as this graph show.
Links:
Filed under: alternative energy, clean energy, coal, corporate media, economic stimulus package, enviornment, green initiatives, green jobs, Green Party, municipal power, ross mirkarimi, sustainability | Leave a Comment »
The preamble to this direct activist message to Congress addresses Congressional Reps Ed Congressmen Edward Markey and Henry Waxman, holding them responsible for the tax money lost to coal companies in the stimulus package.
It goes on to say:
This is the Clean. Your recent congressional actions have been brought to our attention, and we are concerned about your leadership.
You have co-sponsored The Clean Energy Security Act. This bill is quickly becoming a giveaway to the coal and energy industry. It fails to stop global warming, fails to disentangle the US from unstable regions of the world, and fails to create an energy economy that enables sustainable and equitable economic prosperity…
The 2.5 minute piece hopes to persuade constituents to call their Congress people and urge them to close the wallet on the coal companies. How effective do you think it is?
Filed under: clean energy, coal, Congress, documentary, grassroots, taxation | Leave a Comment »
The preamble to this direct activist message to Congress addresses Congressional Reps Ed Congressmen Edward Markey and Henry Waxman, holding them responsible for the tax money lost to coal companies in the stimulus package.
It goes on to say:
This is the Clean. Your recent congressional actions have been brought to our attention, and we are concerned about your leadership.
You have co-sponsored The Clean Energy Security Act. This bill is quickly becoming a giveaway to the coal and energy industry. It fails to stop global warming, fails to disentangle the US from unstable regions of the world, and fails to create an energy economy that enables sustainable and equitable economic prosperity…
The 2.5 minute piece hopes to persuade constituents to call their Congress people and urge them to close the wallet on the coal companies. How effective do you think it is?
Filed under: clean energy, coal, Congress, documentary, grassroots, taxation | Leave a Comment »
In a dramatic move yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew the air quality permit it issued last summer for the Desert Rock coal-fired power plant, which is slated to be built on the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners region just southwest of Farmington, New Mexico.
Critics from the Navajo Nation who looked upon the power plant as a beneficial to the community accused the U.S. Government of breaking yet another treaty, while state officials attest that the proposed coal-fired burning plant would have, by itself,
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley said that the decision was further proof that the U.S. government fails to uphold its agreements with the First Nation People.
“I have people dying every day because of poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, gangs, and the U.S. Government is not there to adequately fund the direct service programs that cater to these needs,” he said.
New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry said that, “Air emissions from Desert Rock would have singlehandedly undone our state’s climate change initiatives.”
Filed under: coal, EPA, First Nation, New Mexico | Leave a Comment »
In a dramatic move yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew the air quality permit it issued last summer for the Desert Rock coal-fired power plant, which is slated to be built on the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners region just southwest of Farmington, New Mexico.
Critics from the Navajo Nation who looked upon the power plant as a beneficial to the community accused the U.S. Government of breaking yet another treaty, while state officials attest that the proposed coal-fired burning plant would have, by itself,
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley said that the decision was further proof that the U.S. government fails to uphold its agreements with the First Nation People.
“I have people dying every day because of poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, gangs, and the U.S. Government is not there to adequately fund the direct service programs that cater to these needs,” he said.
New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry said that, “Air emissions from Desert Rock would have singlehandedly undone our state’s climate change initiatives.”
Filed under: coal, EPA, First Nation, New Mexico | Leave a Comment »
