“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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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 that [...]

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Cross posted from the Appalachian Voices “Front Porch Blog”
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va. issued the following statements in response to media inquiries on a number of topics relating to the mining disaster in West Virginia:
“While the situation on the ground this morning is not as encouraging as we had hoped, my [...]

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Hello friends,

I’m writing to ask you to take a step today that can help break King Coal’s economic stranglehold on coalfield communities in Southwest Virginia. By a few simple, digital steps, and three votes, you can help jump start grass roots efforts at sustainable economic development in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Heard enough? Great. [...]

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Reposted from The Chesapeake Climate Action Network’s Blog.
Today was another day for Virginia to make headlines. Like most headlines of late, this wasn’t a good one either. Our new Attorney General has made the environment one of his top priorities. Shouldn’t this be a GOOD thing you ask? In some instances, yes, but not when [...]

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Dominion stokes the coal industry, but says it’s a friend to the environment
BY ERIKA HOWSARE of the Cville Weekly

It’s a dim, drizzly afternoon, and I’m riding around Wise County with Kathy and Gary Selvage. I can see what they’re pointing out—evidence of surface mining—but I can’t see it the way they do.
The Selvages have [...]

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Just remember that this was only the very first step. Now the statewide battle begins…
Surry Board approves ODEC applications
Smithfield Times - Jim Tuttle - ‎1 hour ago‎

SURRY — The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Thursday night to approve five land use applications for a proposed coal-fired power plant …

Permits Approved For $6B Power Plant In [...]

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PRESS RELEASE from the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition
www.WiseEnergyForVirginia.org
February 1, 2010
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NEW ECONOMIC REPORT SHOWS FEW JOBS FROM PROPOSED COAL PLANT IN SURRY COUNTY WOULD GO TO LOCAL RESIDENTS
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CONTACT:
Scott Moore, Moore Data LLC, 843-564-5257
Tom Cormons, Appalachian Voices, 301-910-8973
Cale Jaffe, Southern Environmental Law Center, 434-760-0816

Download the full report

Dendron, VA—At a public hearing tonight, the [...]

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Obama Administration Asked to Halt All New Mountaintop Removal Permits
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CONTACTS:
Sandra Diaz, Director of Development and Communications, Appalachian Voices….828-262-1500
Dr. Matthew Wasson, Director of Programs, Appalachian Voices….828-262-1500
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Just days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the expansion [...]

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Today the EPA announced plans to seek stronger limits of pollution forming ozone. EPA administrator said in a statement, “Smog in the air we breathe poses a very serious health threat, especially to children and individuals suffering from asthma and lung disease.”
The current limit, set by the Bush administration EPA, is 75 parts per billion [...]

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This is awful. Absolutely terrible. Its already pretty bad that the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) used the anti American, anti-democracy Bonner and Associates as their PR firm even though they are known for breaking the law by impersonating public groups and private individuals to promote such things as smoking in the workplace. [...]

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Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
John Adams has been mining coal in southwest Virginia for almost 40 years. I met him in the hallway outside the auditorium where the Big Stone Gap hearing was being held. He wore an ‘I Love Mountains’ pin proudly fastened next to the ‘Friends of Coal’ logo on the black t-shirt he [...]

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As Congress was returning from the August recess, there wasn’t much news about the climate bill.  The only energy-related news breaking through the coverage of the rancorous health care debates and town-hall tea parties was a study on “energy sprawl” published by five staff members of the Nature Conservancy.
“Renewable Energy Needs Land, Lots Of Land” [...]

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pstrongThis LTE was published in the a href=”http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/letters/article/ED-GLICK17_20090916-190802/293287/”Richmond Times Dispatch/a/strong/ppstrongThis is crossposted from the a href=”http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/blog”CCAN/a blogbr //strong/ppstrongWise County Plant Isn’t Necessary/strong/ppbr /Editor, Times-Dispatch: Although the news article, “New Permit for Coal-Fired Power Plant Pleases Both Sides,” quotes Dominion Virginia Power as claiming that the Wise County coal plant is vital to meeting Virginia’s future [...]

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