On May 8th, Dominion will be seeking the State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) approval of their 15-year plan in a hearing in Richmond. Dominion’s plan keeps Virginia stuck in its dirty-fuel past, putting the health of Virginia’s families and future generations at risk, all the while ignoring the clean energy solutions available to us. We’ve collected [...]

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Join us for the MARCH to End Dominion’s Power Madness this Saturday in downtown Richmond! QUESTIONS? Contact Keith Thirion at info@endpowermadness.com RSVP TODAY by clicking here! We will rally in downtown Richmond at Kanawha Plaza at noon where we will have some speakers and fun activities for the whole family! Then we will march to [...]

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Blog by Beth Roach, a Surry County Native. To RSVP for the hearing on Monday, March 5th click here. All I ask is for them to consider both sides. The powers that be in Surry have made it no secret that they are through hearing arguments and ready to vote, pass, and cash those checks. [...]

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Come to the Hearing! What: Dendron Town Council Zoning Hearing and VOTE  When: Monday, March 5, 7:30 p.m. Please wear black and arrive early to sign up to speak. Where: The Dendron Firehouse, 3325 Rolfe HWY Dendron, Virginia 23839 RSVP here. Spread the word on Facebook. . . . . . . . . . [...]

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Mercury protections needed in Virginia Richmond Times-Dispatch, OpED, Donald McEachin This OpEd focuses on mercury pollution in VA waterways sourced from coal-fired power plants and the need for federal mercury regulations. EPA should be coming out with a finalized mercury rule at the end of this week. — Dominion plans 56 mile transmission line for [...]

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Two weeks ago, Governor McDonnell hosted an Energy Conference in Richmond. In anticipation of the conference, the Sierra Club and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network criticized the Governor for the lack of emphasis on renewable energy and energy efficiency in the agenda.  The Governor responded by claiming that the conference agenda was “balanced” and included [...]

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Crossposted from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network blog: Last night, I filled the tank of my Zipcar with gas that was almost $4.00 per gallon. It was quite a pricey reminder of the volatility of fossil fuel markets. While coal prices have traditionally been less linked to global events, U.S. coal prices are becoming increasingly [...]

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Not that this is much of a surprise, but evidence has finally surfaced showing that several critical safety systems were dysfunctional and some, possibly purposely disabled, for at least days before the disaster that killed 29 miners. The evidence doesn’t show that the disaster was a purposeful act of murder, but rather a favoring of [...]

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Cross Posted from ILoveMountains.org EPA announced today that they will be vetoing the largest mountaintop removal permit in WV history. We are thrilled to hear that EPA will be vetoing this permit in order to protect human health and aquatic ecosystems in central Appalachia. EPA’s own science has shown that mountaintop removal has permanent negative [...]

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Just before Christmas, three health organizations announced that they are joining together in opposition to the proposed Hampton Roads coal-fired power plant and are inviting you to join them. The Consortium for Infant and Child Health (CINCH), the Virginia Asthma Coalition, and the American Lung Association came together with a joint statement of opposition stating [...]

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Here is an excerpt from the Daily Press article by Dan Parsons. You can read the whole article here. WILLIAMSBURG —Plans are in the works for the Williamsburg City Council to issue a formal stance on the proposed Surry County coal plant when the call goes out for public input on plant permits, but speakers [...]

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From the Richmond Times Dispatch. You can read the whole article here, excerpt below. The CEO of the state’s largest utility said there must be a realistic conversation about the sustainability of alternative energy resources before a national energy policy can be made. “Our habit of debating energy issues is to talk back at each [...]

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A former Virginia underground coal miner, Daniel Hawkins, has come out against mountaintop removal coal mining and has started a blog on his experiences and opinions on the matter. He has written four excellent posts so far titled, “Where to Begin”, “What Happened? Coal Miner to Environmentalist?” (parts I and II), and “Part III: Realization”. [...]

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“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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