“Past error is no excuse for its own perpetuation. Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom, not a guide by which to live.” – Robert Francis Kennedy It’s been over 8 weeks since the deadly explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine claimed the lives of 29 American Miners in [...]

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Richmond Based Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship remained cool and unapologetic over his company’s role in the Upper Big Branch disaster during last week’s Senate hearing on mine safety.  Legislators in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services grilled Blankenship over his companies safety record, as they attempted to determine what must [...]

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Bipartisan support is growing around legislation that would conserve energy, save Americans money on their power bills, and create tens of thousands of domestic jobs. The Rural Energy Savings Program Act (H.R. 4785) would provide electric cooperatives with $4.9 billion in loan authority through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service.  Electric cooperatives would [...]

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The Virginia Pilot featured an excellent article on the coal plant that I highly suggest reading. The above video is featured on their website. Here is an excerpt from the article: Bad blood began brewing when wetlands changed the blueprint, forcing the plant right up into town. By then, a handful of residents had started [...]

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Below is an excerpt from a post written by Virginia author Peter Galuszka on his blog “Bacon’s Rebellion”. It is a good read, worth sharing, and an interesting perspective on a recent Virginia Pilot article that I also suggest reading.  I must point out that I disagree with him on whether the environmental groups have [...]

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“Reclaimed” Portions of Black Mountain in Wise County, VA. Undeterred by the concerns of local communities, peer reviewed scientists, and the federal government, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) recently announced approval of a vast 1,230 acre surface coal mine permit for A&G Coal’s Ison Rock Ridge Mine in Wise County, Virginia. [...]

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The Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), who is proposing to build the state’s largest coal plant in Hampton Roads, is hoping that they get their coal plant approved before new standards for smog and greenhouse gasses become a reality. We are asking the EPA to evaluate the permit now, in its early stages, in order to [...]

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From the Richmond Times Dispatch (Full Story Here) By LOUIS LLOVIO, EMILY C. DOOLEY AND PETER BACQUE Published: May 18, 2010 10:15 a.m. Massey Energy Co. CEO Don Blankenship said this morning the company rejects the accusation that it is indifferent to the safety of coal miners. Massey was holding its annual meeting at the [...]

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By Andy Mead of the Lexington Herald-Leader Kentucky has more surface-mined land than other Appalachian states, and little of that flatter land is put to “beneficial” use, according to new research released Monday. Nearly half the 1.2 million acres in the region that have been mined for coal are in Kentucky, according to “Reclamation FAIL,” a [...]

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For Immediate Release Jane Branham, 276-679-7505 Hannah Morgan, 276-494-5686 Community is outraged at approval of Ison Rock Ridge surface coal mine permit Despite pressure from federal agencies and outcry from the local community, the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy has approved the highly controversial Ison Rock Ridge surface coal mine permit surrounding the town of Appalachia. The permit in question would destroy [...]

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HUGE news. Don Blankenship will testify before Congress next week alongside UMWA President Cecil Roberts, whose impassioned testimony drew quite a reaction a few weeks ago before the Senate HELP Committee.  (.pdf) Senator Byrd has accused Massey of ”scoffing and laughing at” repeated MSHA violations at the Upper Big Branch mine prior to the disaster [...]

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Authored by Appalachian Voices Director of Programs, Matt Wasson. Cross posted from the Huffington Post. Yesterday, the EPA issued their long-awaited proposal for new rules on how to regulate the disposal and storage of coal combustion waste (CCW), the byproduct of coal-fired power plants. Since December of 2008, when more than a billion gallons of toxic coal [...]

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WASHINGTON, May 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — StopTheChamber.com, a national watchdog group dedicated to government and corporate accountability, today offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any Massey Energy executive for paying a bribe to any federal official for any purpose, including to cover up or ignore safety violations, pass legislation, or install [...]

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