Grist | Topics | 35 Results

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Headline	Author	Published	Section
Removing mountaintop removal North Carolina bill would ban burning of coal from mountaintop-removal mining	Kate Sheppard	29 May 2008	Gristmill
On Tuesday, North Carolina State Rep. Pricey Harrison introduced legislation in the state House that would ban the burning of coal obtained through mountaintop-removal mining. If it passes, North Carolina would become the first state in the nation with such a law. The mining method isn't practiced in North Carolina, but 61 percent of the state's power comes from coal; North Carolina is second only to Georgia in the amount of MTR-mined coal it burns. According to ...
Topics: coal, energy, legislation, mining, Muckraker, news, North Carolina, politics, state politics (all these topics)

Voters' Voices: West Virginia Talking with voters in the Mountain State	Melinda Henneberger	13 May 2008	Gristmill
This is the first in a series of dispatches from Melinda Henneberger, who's talking to voters around the U.S. about their views on the environment and the election. Photo: Wignut Huntington, W.Va. -- Door-knocking for Barack Obama in a state where he expects to get stomped today has been kind of thankless for Pam Wonnell, a nurse and old friend of mine who moved here from Illinois last year for her husband's job in coal mining: 'I am not feeling t ...
Topics: coal, elections, energy, mining, politics, presidential race 08, Voters Voices, West Virginia (all these topics)

Coal is the enemy of the human race: Criminal negligence edition	David Roberts	09 May 2008	Gristmill
Mining accidents and deaths cause a flurry of press coverage and then fade into our collective memory. But for a moment, let's think back to those horrific weeks last year as we waited to find out the fate of the trapped miners in Crandall Canyon ... only to be bitterly disappointed. Now look: The general manager and possibly other senior staff at the Crandall Canyon Mine near Huntington, Utah, where 9 miners died in August 2007, hid information from federal mini ...
Topics: mining, Utah, energy, coal (all these topics)

Friday music blogging: Kathy Mattea Songs about the enemy of the human race	David Roberts	25 Apr 2008	Gristmill
It is rare that my idiosyncratic and widely ignored Friday music blogging overlaps with the subject matter that occupies the rest of my time. But today we have a happy confluence. Kathy Mattea is a Grammy-winning country artist, born in West Virginia. She had a string of hits in the '80s and '90s, but her turn to the social activism that fuel ...
Topics: coal, energy, mining, music (all these topics)

Blankenship to reporter: 'You're liable to get shot' Massey wins W. Va. Supreme Court case; not doing so well in public relations	David Roberts	05 Apr 2008	Gristmill
A while back, a case against mountaintop-removal giant Massey Energy reached the West Virginia Supreme Court, which overturned a previous judgment fining the company. But then pictures turned up of Massey CEO Don Blankenship canoodling around the French Riviera with one of the court judges and two female 'companions.' Oops. The court decided to re-hear the case, minus the offending judge. Then another judge, who had said that 'the pernicious effects of Mr. Blankens ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, mining, politics, shenanigans, West Virginia (all these topics)

File under: Sherlock, No sh*t	David Roberts	03 Apr 2008	Gristmill
I give you clean coal: The study, 'Relations between Health Indicators and Residential Proximity to Coal Mining in West Virginia,' found that in the 14 counties where the biggest coal mining operations are located residents reported higher rates of cardiopulmonary disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, diabetes, and lung and kidney disease. In each of those counties, mining topped 4 million tons of coal a year.
Topics: coal, energy, health, mining, West Virginia (all these topics)

Citizens and the Nation Navajo Nation will develop wind-power project		28 Mar 2008	News
Posted at 12:22 PM on 28 Mar 2008 Today we present the good, the bad, and the ugly of energy sources on Navajo land. The good: The Navajo Nation has formed a joint venture with Boston-based Citizens Energy Corp for a wind-power project on its vast Western reservation. The bad: The tribe continues to try to push through a controversial coal plant as well, and recently sued the U.S. EPA for not yet issuing an air permit. The ugl ...
Topics: coal, energy, mining, news, wind power (all these topics)

West Virginia, Mountain Drama Clinton and Obama boost coal in West Virginia		21 Mar 2008	News
Posted at 2:03 PM on 21 Mar 2008 Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both did some coal-boosting while campaigning in West Virginia this week. Clinton told West Virginians she's always been in favor of "the cleanest coal possible," but that "coal fits in very importantly" to America's energy future. Asked about mountaintop-removal mining in a radio interview Wednesday, she hedged, saying she didn't &quo ...
Topics: Barack Obama, coal, economy, elections, energy, green jobs, Hillary Clinton, mining, news, politics, presidential race 08, West Virginia (all these topics)

Biggers to Obama: Free Appalachia from coal	David Roberts	21 Mar 2008	Gristmill
Jeff Biggers suggests an ambitious and risky Appalachian strategy for Barack Obama: By the 1920s, plundered for their coal and unable to compete with the non-union labor in Kentucky and West Virginia, the southern Illinois coal towns had turned into deforested and eroded wastelands, and were depicted by one government report as a 'picture, almost unrelieved, of utter economic devastation.' Southern Illinois lay claim to the highest infant mortality rates in the nati ...
Topics: Barack Obama, coal, energy, Illinois, mining, politics (all these topics)

Massey incest Mining CEO so insinuated in W. Va. politics that they can't find judges to hear his case	David Roberts	20 Feb 2008	Gristmill
So, you may recall that loathsome mountaintop-removal mining outfit Massey was hit with a $50 million judgment a while back. They appealed it up to the W. Va. Supreme Court, which overturned it. Later, it turned out that Massey CEO Don Blankenship (an evil bastard) had been photographed frolicking with one of the judges in Monte Carlo, accompanied by, um, female consorts. So that judge dropped out of the case. Now the WSJ brings word that another judge is recusing ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, litigation, mining, politics, West Virginia (all these topics)

This is how dumb they think you are Walker/Cat's coal-happy ads in rural West Virginia	David Roberts	19 Feb 2008	Gristmill
Prompted by Pompey Road in comments, I went looking for some commercials that have been running in rural West Virginia, put out by a company called Walker/Cat that makes heavy machinery for coal operations. (George W. Bush spoke at their Belle plant in 2002.) Turns out they're right here. They have to be seen to be believed. Here, Miss Bug explains that heck no, blowing up mountains, dumping the rubble in streams, and covering the result with a thin layer of soil and ...
Topics: coal, energy, messaging, mining, West Virginia (all these topics)

Dominion Power's dirty plans for Virginia Mike Tidwell speaks out in the WaPo against coal	Joseph Romm	28 Jan 2008	Gristmill
Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, regularly has me on his Earthbeat radio show, so I'm returning the favor with this great letter to the editor he had in the Washington Post yesterday: Fact: Virginia gets less than 1 percent of its electricity from 'green' sources such as the wind or the sun. Fact: Virginia ranks 38th among U.S. states in energy efficiency. Fact: Climate change is real, and fossil fuel substitutes are needed, accor ...
Topics: coal, energy, mining, Virginia (all these topics)

The good and the ugly Anti-coal activism news	Erik Hoffner	24 Jan 2008	Gristmill
First, the good: here's a feature story in the new Orion magazine about the tactics and successes of the anti-coal activists who've helped halt, count 'em, 59 new plants, according to author Ted Nace. Ted also gives a huge rundown of links and resources for anti-coal activists. And the ugly: thanks to Maria Gunnoe's success organizing against mountaintop removal mining as a staff member of grassroots group Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and now her lead role ...
Topics: coal, energy, grassroots activism, mining, politics, West Virginia (all these topics)

Massey Business Coal company penalized for Clean Water Act violations		17 Jan 2008	News
Posted at 5:16 PM on 17 Jan 2008 Massey Energy Co., the nation's fourth-largest coal producer, has agreed to a $30 million settlement with the U.S. EPA over allegations of Clean Water Act violations. Massey was accused of polluting streams and waterways in West Virginia and Kentucky with the detritus of mountaintop-removal mining on at least 4,500 occasions between 2000 and 2006. The company must pay $20 million in civil pena ...
Topics: coal, energy, litigation, mining, news, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics)

Long, Long Sago Two years after Sago Mine explosion, many mine-safety standards still not implemented		02 Jan 2008	News
Posted at 4:57 PM on 02 Jan 2008 In January 2006, 12 coal miners were killed when an explosion in West Virginia's Sago Mine trapped them underground. In response, Congress passed legislation strengthening mine safety standards. Two years later, many of the standards have yet to be implemented, to the frustration of the United Mine Workers union. Says union president Cecil Roberts, "[The fe ...
Topics: coal, energy, mining, news (all these topics)

Global warming and the Holocaust Is the analogy between climate change and Hitler's atrocities appropriate?	David Roberts	26 Nov 2007	Gristmill
Andy Revkin has an interesting post on Dot Earth about global warming and Holocaust analogies. On Oct. 22, climate scientist James Hansen testified before the utilities board in his home state of Iowa. He said, among 59 pages of other stuff, this: If we cannot stop the building of more coal-fired power plants, those coal trains will be death trains -- no less gruesome than if they were boxcars headed to crematoria, loaded with uncountable irreplaceab ...
Topics: coal, energy, James Hansen, mining (all these topics)

Black Lung Is the New Black Rates of black lung disease double in a decade		14 Sep 2007	News
Posted at 5:01 PM on 14 Sep 2007 Rates of black lung disease have doubled in the last decade, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The disease, which is caused by inhaling coal dust, now occurs in almost 10 percent of coal miners who work 25 or more years underground, as opposed to about 4 percent a decade ago. Safety standards enacted in 1969 were supposed to prevent black lung altoget ...
Topics: coal, energy, health, mining, news (all these topics)

Edwards & the mine workers union How does Edwards' union support mesh with his ambitious climate-change platform?	Brian Beutler	04 Sep 2007	Gristmill
John Edwards' bid for union support seems to finally be paying off for him -- yesterday, his campaign won the support of the steelworkers and mine workers unions. Which raises an important question: To what extent is Edwards' support for mine workers (and their support for him) incompatible with his climate-change platform? Edwards was the first of the Democratic hopefuls to put forth an ambitious climate-change plan (perhaps inspiring slightly more ambitious offerings ...
Topics: coal, elections, energy, John Edwards, mining, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics)

Mountaintop removal mining: The waiting game MTR activists don't expect progress until the Bush administration is gone	Grist	25 Aug 2007	Gristmill
((mtr_include))This week, Gabriel Pacyniak and Katherine Chandler are traveling throughout southern West Virginia to report on mountaintop removal mining (MTR). They'll be visiting coalfields with abandoned and "reclaimed" MTR mines, and talking with residents, activists, miners, mine company officials, local reporters, and politicians. We'll publish their reports throughout the week. ----- As we wind down our trip, news breaks that the federal Office o ...
Topics: coal, energy, mining, West Virginia (all these topics)

Dead coal: A live option Why does everyone assume that coal mining in Appalachia must continue?	David Roberts	25 Aug 2007	Gristmill
One other thing I wanted to point out from the NYT piece on Bush's new mountaintop removal mining rule: A spokesman for the National Mining Association, Luke Popovich, said that unless mine owners were allowed to dump mine waste in streams and valleys it would be impossible to operate in mountainous regions like West Virginia that hold some of the richest low-sulfur coal seams. ... Even with the best techniques and most careful reclamation, surface or undergro ...
Topics: coal, energy, mining (all these topics)

Killing you legally The Bush administration proposes to make illegal MTR mining legal	David Roberts	24 Aug 2007	Gristmill
I suppose I should have something to say about the Bush administration's latest effort to encourage mountaintop removal mining. But what? It's not like there's any particular analytical insight required. The Bushies are choosing profit for coal companies over some of America's most beautiful landscapes and oldest cultures. It's right there in the open. What's required in situations like this is not analysis but brute power politics. The administration makes it clear ...
Topics: coal, energy, mining, politics (all these topics)

With Safety Like This, Who Needs Danger? Rescue effort continues in collapsed Utah mine called 'safe' by owner		07 Aug 2007	Daily Grist
With Safety Like This, Who Needs Danger? Rescue effort continues in collapsed Utah mine called "safe" by owner The search for survivors continues at a coal mine in central Utah that collapsed early Monday. Four miners escaped the implosion -- which was so strong it registered magnitude 3.9 at a nearby seismic station -- but six others were trapped about three miles from the Crandall Canyon Mine entrance, some 1 ...
Topics: coal, energy, mining, news, Utah (all these topics)

Mountaintop removal and clean water: Kinda at odds DC lobbying effort May 12-16	Erik Hoffner	11 May 2007	Gristmill
Citizens from Appalachia were at the UN's meeting on sustainable energy policy this week to challenge the clean-coalers, and were received really well by the other delegates. Coal advocates were hard-put to refute the evidence that coal kills communities. Now the effort moves to D.C. from May 12-16 for the 2nd Annual Mountaintop Removal Week lobbying effort. Organized by Appalachian Voices, the effort will advance the Clean Water Protection Act toward passage and he ...
Topics: coal, Congress, energy, environmental justice, legislation, lobbying, mining, politics, United Nations (all these topics)

Reid gears up to defend stupid mining law Sigh	David Roberts	10 May 2007	Gristmill
The 1872 Mining Law is evil. It gives mining companies cheap and privileged access to public land, and makes it virtually impossible for anyone, including the gov't, to stop them from grabbing it (yet another cost of mining that gets offloaded onto the public). Attempts to get rid of or update the absurdly archaic and destructive statute have long been blocked by legislators from mining states. Among them is Harry Reid (D-Nev.), now the majority leader in the Senate, ...
Topics: coal, Congress, energy, Harry Reid, lobbying, mining (all these topics)

Coal bed methane drilling: Not just a western issue Alabama's Bankhead forest next?	Erik Hoffner	13 Apr 2007	Gristmill
Until today I was ignorant of the spread of this nasty sort of mining. Its impact is well documented in the antelope and sage grouse country of the intermountain West, leaving a trail of ruined land and poisoned wells. But companies are also drilling and fracturing this stuff out of the ground in the East, too. Some communities have succeeded in beating it back, like in northern New Mexico, where the very diverse and effective Coalition for the Valle Vidal recently prev ...
Topics: Alabama, coal, energy, mining (all these topics)

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