NewsTrust - Coal - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Independent)

"What We Do to the Land, We Do to the People"-- May 24 West Virginia Direct Actions Against MTR

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Writing Corner - By Beth Wellington - May. 24 (Opinion) - As part of Mountain Justice Summer Action Camp taking place at the Appalachian South Folklife Center near Pipestem, WV, five members of Mountain Justice and RAMPS boarded a coal barge to protest the destruction of mountains in West Virginia through Mountaintop removal, while other members and their fellow concerned activists blocked coal transport at approximately 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 24.

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End Polluter Welfare Act

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Bernie Sanders - May. 11 (Opinion) - 'Our federal government will give away over $110 billion in taxpayer dollars to oil, gas, and coal industries in the next 10 years. Totally absurd.' Bernie Sanders,

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Why Do We Pay Energy Giants to Wreck Earth? |

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Bill McKibben - Apr. 06 (Opinion) - 1. Don’t subsidize those who already have plenty of cash on hand. 2. Don’t subsidize people forever 3. Sometimes you’ll subsidize something for a sensible reason and it won’t work out. 4. Don’t subsidize something you want less of. 5. Don’t give subsidies to people who have given you cash.

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Why We Should Stop Giving Handouts to Oil and Gas Companies

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Bill McKibben - Apr. 05 (Opinion) - Along with "fivedollaragallongas," the energy watchword for the next few months is: "subsidies."

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U.S. District Attorney Goodwin: Alpha "not a life, it's not a being, it can't go to jail."

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Writing Corner - By Beth Wellington - Dec. 07 (Opinion) - Montcoal, WV. 3:27 PM on Monday, April 5, 2010. It was the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in nearly 40 years. Twenty months ago, just across the river from Coal River Mountain on Cherry Pond Mountain near its mountaintop removal mine, Massey Energy's underground mine at Upper Big Branch exploded.

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More MTR Madness

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Writing Corner - By Beth Wellington - Aug. 17 (Opinion) - Soledad O'Brien's piece on mountaintop removal is now up online with the troubling title, "Steady job or healthy environment: What would you choose?" How about both? The mono-economy of coal is not exactly a sustainable development plan, despite what the industry would have you believe.

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The Fight over Coal Mining is a “Fight About Democracy”: New Documentary with Robert Kennedy, Jr. Chronicles Campaign to Halt Mountaintop Removal

Mon, 23 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Amy Goodman - May. 23 (Interview) - We speak with environmental activist Robert Kennedy, Jr., and filmmaker Bill Haney about the new documentary, _The Last Mountain_, which premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The film chronicles the fight against coal mining across Appalachia and Massey Energy’s devastating practice of mountaintop removal to extract layers of coal. "They have to break the law to do this. They cannot survive in the marketplace without violating the law. They violate labor laws. They violate health and safety laws. And by their own records, they've had some 67,000 violations of just one of the environmental statutes," says Kennedy of the coal giant that has tremendous political influence at the state and federal level. “It’s not just about the environmental destruction, it’s also about subverting democracy.” [includes rush transcript]

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“Prescription for Survival”: A Debate on the Future of Nuclear Energy Between Anti-Coal Advocate George Monbiot and Anti-Nuclear Activist Dr. Helen Caldicott

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Mar. 30 (Interview) - The crisis in Japan has refueled the rigorous global debate about the viability of nuclear power. Japan remains in a "state of maximum alert" as the experts scramble to contain radiation that is leaking from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Nuclear energy remains a controversial topic in climate change discourse, as environmental activists argue how to best reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere—often the debate pits one non-renewable energy against another as renewable energy technology and research remains underfunded. Democracy Now! hosts a debate today about the future of nuclear energy between British journalist George Monbiot and Dr. Helen Caldicott.

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Full Cost of Coal $500 Billion/Year in U.S., Harvard Study Finds

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Clean Technica - By Mark Tyler - Feb. 17 (Opinion) - The Harvard paper estimates that “the life cycle effects of coal and the waste stream generated are costing the U.S. public a third to over one-half of a trillion dollars annually.”

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5 Awards For the World's Most Heinous Climate Villains

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Mike Roddy, Ian Murphy, AlterNet - Dec. 11 (Opinion) - As the world heats up and extreme weather increases there are a bunch of high-profile people who just don't get it, are handsomely rewarded not to get it, or both.

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On the death of the climate bill

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Grist - By David Roberts - Jul. 23 (Opinion) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has officially announced that there will be no climate bill this year. What’s happened is total and complete surrender.

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PBS: Can you say "unlevel playing field?"

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Writing Corner - By Beth Wellington - Jul. 16 (Opinion) - 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 film Coal 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 funding, I wondered whether Board member Sharon Rockefeller (wife of the big coal lovin' WV Senator) had played any role.

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Nikola Tesla's Renewable Energy Vision

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Consortium News - Jul. 12 - Nikola Tesla, one of history's great inventors who was born 154 years ago, envisioned a world without fossil fuels, recalls Lisa Pease. July 10, 2010

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Byrd's Life Of Learning

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Think Progress - By Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Zaid Jilani, Alex Seitz-Wald, Igor Volsky, Tanya Somanader - Jun. 29 (Opinion) - Once a strong proponent of the coal industry, Byrd began to advocate for reform of the industry towards the end of his career, working with other senators to craft global warming legislation that would smooth the transition for miners and the coal industry to a clean energy economy.

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NewEnergyNews: SENATOR BYRD AND THE COSTS OF COAL

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New Energy News - By Herman K. Trabish - Jun. 29 () - Senator Byrd’s career demonstrates it is possible to – with integrity – change a publicly held position. In Byrd’s case there was in fact more integrity because he found the courage decades ago to reverse his racist position on segregation, denounce his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan and become one of the stalwart defenders of civil rights. In December 2009, Senator Byrd made an equally profound shift. After fighting his entire life on behalf of West Virginia’s coal industry, he concluded in December 2009 that he and his state must prepare to move on. In Coal Must Embrace the Future, Byrd wrote “Change is no stranger to the coal industry. Think of the huge changes which came with the onset of the Machine Age in the late 1800’s. Mechanization has increased coal production and revenues, but also has eliminated jobs, hurting the economies of coal communities. In 1979, there were 62,500 coal miners in the Mountain State. Today there are about 22,000… [C]hange is undeniably upon the coal industry again…”

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Renewables to the rescue?

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Oil Drum - By Euan Mearns - Jun. 16 (Opinion) - Somewhat ironically, it is BP that provides the energy world with a priceless service through their annual review of world energy that was published last week (with little fanfare) which this year, for the first time, includes data on renewable energy.

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Mine Workers Union and Families Sue to Open Federal Probe Into Deadly Massey Coal Mine Explosion

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Jeff Biggers, Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Jun. 11 (Interview) - Just a few weeks before the April 20th explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf, 29 coal miners died after an explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. Although the Mine Safety and Health Administration has launched an investigation into the disaster, unlike the open federal investigation into the BP oil spill, the probe into Massey is taking place entirely behind closed doors. The United Mine Workers of America and families of victims killed in the West Virginia coal mine explosion recently filed suit in federal court to open up the federal investigation. We speak to journalist Jeff Biggers.

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Planning for Disaster

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Common Dreams - By Ralph Nader - Jun. 05 (Opinion) - When the Executive Branch does not have worst case scenario planning for each kind of energy source-oil, gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar and efficiency-the people are not protected.Enter the 24/7 oil gusher-leak by BP and Transocean - the rig operator - and the impotence of the federal government to do anything but wait and see if BP can find ways to close off the biggest and growing oil leak in American history. Where is the emergency planning or industry knowhow?read more

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Why the Senate Climate Bill Is Doomed

Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - May. 15 - Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), though down one man, finally released their stab at climate legislation this week. One of the most crucial sections in the bill covers off-shore oil drilling, an issue that was supposed to help solve the tricky math of reaching 60 votes. But [...] ...

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Piñera and Coal-Burning Power Plants

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

santiagotimes.cl - By Alex MuÑoz - Apr. 20 (Opinion) - Chile has an extraordinary potential for the use of non-conventional renewable sources. We have vast places to take advantage of the wind — both in sea and land — and the sun, plus the benefits of tidal power.

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Massey Disaster Not Just Tragic, but Criminal

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

TruthDig - By Amy Goodman - Apr. 13 (Opinion) - Massey Energy runs the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., where 29 miners were killed last week. The loss of life is tragic, but the UBB explosion is more than tragic; it is criminal.

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Massey Energy Bought Workers' Comp Insurance Shortly Before Mine Blast

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Dave Lindorff - Apr. 13 (Opinion) - Massey Energy Company, owner of the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia where at least 25 miners were killed April 5 in a methane gas explosion, apparently arranged for and purchased disability compensation insurance coverage only a month before the disaster, according to one source with inside knowledge about the company's risk-management operations. Prior to that, the company, known for its aggressive challenges to workers' comp claims, was self-insured for workers' compensation.read more

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‘Zero Tolerance’ on Workplace Slaughter?

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

toomuchonline.org - By Sam Pizzigati - Apr. 10 (Opinion) - Windfall rewards give CEOs an incentive to put worker lives at risk. To see all workers safe, our most recent mining tragedy reminds us, maybe we need to end those windfalls.

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This Mine Explosion Brought To You By JPMorgan Chase

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

OurFuture.org - By Natasha Chart - Apr. 08 (Comment) - This mine has had 3,000 safety violations since 1995, 53 of them just this March. Alongside these safety violations, which were allowed to persist and recur as a pattern across Massey Energy properties because it was cheaper to risk people's lives than give them safe working conditions, have been a host of environmental violations, all financed by JPMorgan Chase:

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"We Are Tearing Down Our Mountains"

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Antrim Caskey - Mar. 31 (Interview) - The Environmental Protection Agency took a significant step last week toward blocking one of Appalachia’s largest and most disputed mountaintop removal coal mines. On Friday the EPA proposed a veto of the Clean Water Act permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia. Earlier this month, we interviewed Antrim Caskey, a photojournalist who has been chronicling the nonviolent fight against mountaintop removal coal mining. Her new book is Dragline.

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