Governor calls for new regulation in Utah mining

The governor of Utah will hear testimony from the commission formed after last months Crandall Mine Disaster. He is calling for state regulation of mining in Utah. Since SMCRA passed in 1977, the state has relied on federal inspectors to regulate its mining operations. Several coal-mining states in Appalachia, including West Virginia and Kentucky, have continued their own mining regulation program from the start relying on the feds only for oversight. I am not at all surprised to hear this sentiment in Utah, since major disasters usually spur cries for safety improvements and/or new laws. Why is it that someone (in this case 9 someones) has to die before people call for change? I hope they do begin to regulate the mining operations. Someone has to oversee the federal government. For full article see: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/us/25mine.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Comment on the Stream Buffer Zone Rule

As you no doubt already know, the Office of Surface Mining has proposed repealing the Stream Buffer Zone Rule. OSM is accepting public comments on this issue until mid-October. Visit http://www.sierraclub.org/mtr/streams/takeaction.asp this link for instructions on submitting your comments. Make sure your voice is heard.

New technology allows mercury fingerprinting

Anyone living in coal country probably knows about mercury emissions from coal power plants. If not, let me enlighten you. When coal is burned, it releases all the trapped impurities, including mercury into the air. Once airborne, mercury can travel with the wind and is eventually deposited on surfaces. Microorganisms on land or water convert it into a very toxic form which then can build up in the fatty tissues of wildlife and humans. Mecury is a neuro-toxin and can be produce devestating results, including death. Developing brains in young or unborn children are especially at risk. One of the main ways we injest mercury is by eating fish from contaminated waters.

Scientists have discovered a new way to track the source of mercury in the environment. Using isotopic "fingerprints" to examine the makeup of the mercury, scientists may are able to read clues about the source. Each coal-producing region has a product with a slightly different chemical make-up. It may someday be possible to tell exactly where the mecury in your fish dinner came from. There are a wide range of possible applications for this technology. For more info, read the article at http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/23103

Graduate Degrees for the Public Good

Idealist.org will bring graduate school fairs to Appalachia
Nov 6 in Nashville, TN
Nov 8 in Greensboro, NC
Nov 15 in Atlanta, GA
Visit http://www.idealist.org/gradfairs for more info and additional dates.

Celebrations and Forum

Don't miss the Ohio River Watershed Celebration on September 20!
http://www.streamrestorationinc.org/education/riverboat2007.pdf
Mon River Cruise on the Majestic. Starts at Station Square. Free but you have to pre-register.

Cheasapeake Waterhsed Forum
http://www.alliancechesbay.org/forum.cfm
October 12-14 in Shepherdstown, WV. $150 if registered by September 30, 2007.

Rachel Carson Legacy Conference
http://www.rachelcarsonhomestead.org/CentennialCelebration/tabid/88/Default.aspx
September 29, $25 for adults, $10 for college students.

Grants and Awards

Healthy Sprouts Awards
http://www.kidsgardening.com/healthysprouts.asp
Grants to garden with kids. Applications due October 15.

Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence
http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/enviroexcellence/cwp/view.asp?a=3&Q=509799&PM=1
Applications due October 15.

Lehigh River Watershed Photo Contest
http://www.wildlandspa.org/news/photo_contest.html
Sponsored by the wildlands conservancy in PA. Entries due by October 31.

Iraq War about Oil, says Alan Greenspan

Well all I can say is, "Duh!!" And now all the political fallout and denials coming from Defense Secretary Gates. People know what the war is about. If they don't, they're either in denial or trying really hard not to pay attention. Greenspan said that getting rid of Sadaam was essential to securing world oil supplies. Secretary Gates says it's about stability in the Gulf. But why do we need stability in the Gulf, if not to secure our oil supply? Mr. Greenspan now says he is "saddened by the whole political process" and may not even vote in the next election. I find it hard to believe he has just noticed how corrupt politics have become. To read the entire article, visit http://www.enn.com/energy/article/23117.

Disclaimer

I would just like to take a moment to clearify something. Although I am a volunteer with a national government organization, I am posting as a private citizen. All posts are derived from my personal research and opinion and should not be construed as the official opinion of the organization(s) I work for or with. I do not intend to represent the position of any group nor present my opinions in a professional capacity. There may be controversial topics presented for which I will state my personal opinion, and that is all it is, my opinion.

The Clean Coal Misnomer

Surely you've seen those billboards along the road, reading "Clean, Green Coal." Probably you've snickered at them, as have I. But what are they really talking about? I did a little looking and it didn't take long to figure out that "clean" is a relative term when used to refer to coal. It may even refer to the washing process companies have been employing for years and we know current coal power plants are far from clean. But what it more often refers to is several new technologies that are supposed to make coal cleaner. Notice I say 'supposed to' because these technologies are largely unproven and really don't solve the problem anyway.

One such technology is coal-to-liquid gasefication, which can be used to make zero-sulfur 'clean' diesel. This is a fairly common practice in South Africa and was used by Germany during WWII. The first-ever US plant is purported to be up and running by 2009 in NE PA. And it will be able to use waste coal for it's input. (read article at: http://www.governing.com/articles/4coal.htm)

This seems to be a good way of getting rid of the ugly black gob piles that dot the Pennsylvania landscape. Pollutants like mercury are easier to remove from liquefied coal so they aren't released into the environment. It all seems like a great idea.

But what about electricity generation? Isn't that the real problem contributing to the environmental crisis with all the CO2 emissions heating up the atmosphere. Well here again, clean coal can come to the rescue, or can it? The process of burning this fuel for electricity is called integrated gasification combined cycle, or IGCC, and it makes possible the capture of CO2. Again, a good thing. But the problem is what to do with the CO2 once you have it.

Carbon sequestration. An oft-used buzz word in the world of clean coal marketing. But does it really work? Well, frankly, I don't know and neither do the experts. If it works, the problem could potentially be solved. The technology has been used in oil extraction but for different purposes under different circumstances. So the basic way of it is: it might work. Is that really enough to call coal clean? Not in my opinion, but greedy coal companies and politicians don't care about my opinion or yours. They just want to make more money. Coal is abundant and cheap. The rise in oil prices has made these new approaches more feasible. And most people aren't paying enough attention to notice the half-truths.

With the end of peak oil, coal will become more important to the economy. But at what cost? It hardly makes sense to replace one fossil fuel with another. Bottom line is that using coal releases CO2. It can't be avoided and therefore is not a sustainable solution to either our energy or climate problems.

Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team

[Beckley, WV] – This summer the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team (ACCWT) placed 30 AmeriCorps*VISTA Summer Associates in 8 Appalachian states to improve local watershed organizations and the waterways they serve.
Working with AmeriCorps VISTA, the hard-working Clean Streams Practicum Coordinator, an OSM/VISTA of the Beckley office, and the director of ACCWT, managed to nearly triple ACCWT’s allocation of Summer Associates – from 12 to 31. With a group effort, the team was able to find the necessary people and sites to place every single one. Together they brought over 10,000 hours of paid assistance to the watershed groups of the Appalachian coal country.
The Clean Streams Practicum:
The ACCWT held part one of the Clean Streams Practicum Training Conferences in spring of this year to educate Appalachian watershed organizations in how to be more effective in fiscal sustainability and water quality monitoring. The Clean Streams Practicum consists of three parts: a three-day training retreat held this spring; a summer Practicum period involving the implementation of lessons learned through a structured Practicum project; a final three day training retreat in the fall.

At the close of the spring portion of the practicum, funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), Southern Partners and Patagonia, ACCWT members brought the participant organizations together to devise strategies to implement lessons learned during the conference. The ACCWT then placed Summer Associates to help with part two of the practicum, implementation of the strategies outlined at the training. These positions were filled mostly by college students and teachers on break for the summer.

Very soon, participants will return to Twin Falls State Park in WV for a follow-up conference. They will be able to discuss their summer accomplishments and provide feedback for conference organizers. This portion of the Clean Streams Practicum is also funded by the aforementioned grants. An additional grant from Ben &Jerry’s has recently been secured and will help to offset training costs as well.

For more information, visit:
www.accwt.org

Welcome!!

Welcome to the Northern Coal Queen Blog where I will be writing about the coal legacies and environmental issues of Appalachia. The urbanized east coast has been raping and pillaging Appalachia of her natural resources from the start and I for one, am sick of it. I and so many others work tirelessly at mending the wrongs of the past and trying to prevent or stop the ones that still happen today. This beautiful part of the world, already scarred and damaged, is second only to the rainforest in species diversity. Let's keep her that way.

For more info or to volunteer visit the following:
www.accwt.org
www.wpcamr.org