From the Washington Post:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday re-affirmed its ruling that greenhouse gases are a danger to public health, rejecting petitions from two states, industry groups and conservatives who said it was based on shaky science.
Whole article here

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By Beth Wellington. Excerpt below, full article here.
In reading Alessandra Stanley’s July 12 column, “Mr. Secretary, This Is Your Life (in Plenty of Detail) I thought of the PBS handling of the filmCoal Country v.s. that of the tribute to George Schultz. At the time that PBS pulled the plug on airing Coal Country, citing its Sierra Club [...]

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From Mountain Justice:
PLEASE FORWARD:
Please join Mountain Justice in calling Senator Jim Webb on Monday July 26th and ask that he “KEEP ISON ROCK RIDGE STANDING” and support the communities of southwestern Virginia from mountaintop removal coal mining.

Call Senator Webb and ask We are asking the senator to step to to 1. Thank the EPA for [...]

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By DEBRA MCCOWN | Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: July 17, 2010
CLEVELAND, Va. – Kathleen Rowe said she was more afraid than anyone about going into a coal mine. But one trip two miles underground changed her mind.
“People portray this as a scary job,” she said as she toured Paramont’s Deep Mine No. 35 in [...]

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By ERIK ECKHOLM
Published: July 14, 2010
BLAIR, W.Va. — Federal officials are considering whether to veto mountaintop mining above a little Appalachian valley called Pigeonroost Hollow, a step that could be a turning point for one of the country’s most contentious environmental disputes.
The Army Corps of Engineersapproved a permit in 2007 to blast 400 feet off the hilltops [...]

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This month in Charlottesville art and activism collide to everyone’s benefit and entertainment. A number of artists have taken it upon themselves to share their love of the mountains and people of Appalachia through their artistic passions -spreading the word about mountaintop removal and raising funds to help stop the devastation.
The best part is [...]

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Cross posted from Appalachian Voices Front Porch Blog
By J e d

Mounting evidence shows mountaintop removal is detrimental to the health of local communities, to the land it flattens, and to the water it buries and pollutes, but the industry loves to tout that coal is good for local economies.
But is that really the case?
Two blockbuster [...]

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Cross posted from the Appalachian Voices Front Porch Blog.
By Flatcreek

This past weekend a crew of dedicated volunteers descended upon Kayford Mountain, the home of legendary anti-mountaintop removal activist Larry Gibson. The volunteers were on hand to install a much needed security system. For the past 25 years, Larry Gibson has been a leader in the [...]

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Cross posted from the Appalachian Voices Front Porch Blog
By Megan Naylor
The Coal War, a documentary four years in the making focusing on the fight of West Virginia native Lorelei Scarbro to save the mountain and home that she loves is now in its final stages of production, but needs your help.
Funding is needed to finish [...]

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For nostalgia (and a little more background) here is the video of the Virginia NWP 21 hearing which was originally posted here.

Cross Posted from the Appalachian Voices Front Porch Blog:
By jdub
The US Army Corps of Engineers has decided to suspend the “streamlined” Nationwide Permit 21 in Appalachia. This is an enormous victory for coalfield citizens [...]

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CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK
Looking for a challenge? How about working to change the tune of Virginia’s leaders away from dirty coal and oil and toward clean, renewable power like wind and solar…Sound good? Read on.
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) is the first grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to fighting global warming [...]

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This article is from the Bristol Herald Courier. An excerpt is below, read the whole article here.
BIG STONE GAP, Va. – Though the permit for surface mining on Ison Rock Ridge was approved in May, the activists opposing it haven’t given up the fight.
Seventeen people, some carrying signs or playing musical instruments, [...]

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www.wtkr.com

By STEVE SZKOTAK Associated Press Writer
June 9, 2010

RICHMOND, Va. - Environmental activists said they are challenging a proposed mountaintop removal coal mine in southwest [...]

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“Don’t Blast Our Homes!” That’s what Wise County residents told the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy when more than 20 community members gathered outside the DMME’s office in Big Stone Gap to rally in opposition to A&G Coal’s proposed Ison Rock Ridge surface mine. “Ison Rock Ridge is [...]

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WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ―
The pension accuses Massey of having an abysmal safety record leading up the April 5 explosion that killed 29 men at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia.
Read the full story here.

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