Tag Archives: Big Coal

King Coal vs. Clean Energy: The battle for Coal River Mountain has begun

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Coal River Mountain is ground zero for the clean energy revolution.  It could be the site of a 328-megawatt wind farm that could power 70,000 West Virginia homes, provide permanent jobs, and generate $1.7 million per year for the county.

Or it could be bulldozed and converted into a 6,000-acre mountaintop coal mine.

Ironically, as millions of concerned citizens around the world rallied in support of a cleaner future, coal giant Massey Energy literally fired the opening salvos in the battle for Coal River Mountain.  Grist reports:

In a blatant act of aggression against besieged coalfield residents, blasting dangerously close to one of the largest coal slurry impoundments in the nation, and immediately eliminating 24 megawatts of wind power development for the internationally acclaimed Coal River Wind Project, a subsidiary of Big Coal behemoth Massey Energy recently lay waste to the first acres of the 1,100-acre Bee Tree Branch section of a proposed 6,000-acre mountaintop removal operation designed to destroy the last in tact mountain on the historic Coal River Mountain range….

Last week, area residents also appealed to West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) to halt the blasting and order a state of emergency, in order to thoroughly investigate the catastrophic potential of the jeopardized Brushy Fork coal slurry impoundment, which holds back billions of gallons of toxic coal sludge.  Blasting is taking place within a dangerously close distance of honey-combed underground mines by the impoundment dam.

Residents noted that another Massey subsidiary in eastern Kentucky was responsible for the largest coal slurry spill in 2000, where 300 million gallons of toxic sludge into the area’s waterways and aquifers. If the earthen Brushy Fork dam breaks, nearly 1,000 area residents will have less than five minutes to save their lives.

Don’t lose sight of the scale of this issue.  There is far more at stake than pristine hardwood forests.  Those forests are the frontlines of the struggle between Big Energy profits and a clean future. Coal River Mountain has been shown to have wind resources as high as Class 7, the highest rating on the scale.  The mountain is a symbol of hope for everyone who wants to see natural landscapes preserved, and even more so for those who look toward a future in which energy is generated responsibly.

And the blasting has already begun.

But there are still people with the power to stop it.  Lisa Jackson, the EPA administrator, is one.  You can ask her to intervene here.  President Obama obviously has considerable influence as well.

It is time for us all to demand the change we were promised.  We cannot drown out the voice of King Coal, but we can make sure that the Obama Administration hears our voices as well.

Last fall, thousands of people rallied under the “Yes We Can” banner.  Now is the time for people across the political spectrum to take up that slogan again — and remind our leaders of their promises.  If you care about a clean energy future for Appalachia and the entire nation, now is the time to speak for Coal River Mountain.

Here’s what you can do:  Visit iLoveMountains.org to add your name to the growing movement and to sign up for updates.  Contact President Obama today and ask him to continue his support for clean energy by saving Coal River Mountain.

This is a turning point for our sustainable future.  We can move forward or we can remain in the Dark Ages, ruled by King Coal.  The choice is ours.  The stakes are high.  And the time to act is now.


Coal is to solar as stone club is to bronze shield.

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As alternative energy sources gain popularity among politicians and their consumers, the Big Coal industry is spending millions in a desperate attempt to improve its image.  One of the most common greenwashing terms is “clean coal.”  This oxymoron is usually used to describe efforts to make coal plants environmentally friendly by capturing the greenhouse gases that they emit.  I believe Melange puts it quite well:

A coal plant that captures some (or even all) of its CO2 emissions is NOT “environment-friendly” by any stretch of the imagination. “Slightly-less-deadly,” certainly.

That post goes on to mention major problems with coal, such as mountaintop removal.  If you have ever entertained the thought that coal could be clean, I recommend that you look into that practice.

The truth is, there is no such thing as clean coal. As This is Reality points out, there is currently not a single power plant that captures its GHG pollution.  While Big Coal insists that it is commited to carbon capture and sequestration, its supporters have actually been fighting energy progress for years.

Coal is still the dirtiest energy source, and if we really want to move forward, we need to focus on the future.  At the end of the Stone Age, wasn’t it lucky that people didn’t just try to make their rocks harder?  Coal is the stone club of the 21st century.  Let’s see if we can move on to bronze shields.

I really don’t like Big Coal.

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Here’s a post from Rainforest Action Network’s awesome blog, The Understory.  Although I can’t say I got arrested in April, I totally support the sentiment.

This is a post written by Scott Parkin, RAN’s Coal Finance Senior Organizer. Scott was released last night after being arrested in Charlotte, NC while protesting at Duke Energy’s headquarters.

I really don’t like Big Coal.

I don’t like it when they blow the tops of mountains. I don’t like it when their power plants pollute local air and water. I don’t like when coal ash waste poisons whole communities. I especially don’t like how Big Coal is responsible for 42% of global carbon emissions causing catastrophic climate change.

So today, I joined hundreds of friends and got ARRESTED in a peaceful civil disobedience at Duke Energy’s headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Duke Energy is building a new coal fired power plant in Ciffside, NC. If built, the plant is predicted to emit six million tons of carbon dioxide every year for the next 50 years.

All over the country, people like me and you are taking action against big coal. We are all stepping it up and taking more risks to stop Big Coal’s destructive behavior. Protests as far away as California, or as nearby as the mountains of West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The movement to quit coal and stop global warming is sweeping the nation.

It’s time to step this fight against Big Coal and climate change up.