Poverty Near The “High Hazard” Coal Ash Sites

This is the weekly post from Bruce Nilles, director of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign.

The public's right-to-know scored a victory this week when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally released the list of the 44 coal ash sites deemed "high hazard." This comes two weeks after a coalition of organizations including the Sierra Club filed a Freedom of Information Act request demanding the release of the list.

Since then we've been crunching some numbers to learn more this list of coal ash storage sites. First of all, we've put the 44 sites onto Google Maps so you can see just how close you are to one.

Here's an example of one of the sites.
Moundsville, WV coal pond

The "high hazard potential" coal ash storage sites listed by EPA are all located near coal-fired electric power plants concentrated in 10 states; with 12 sites in North Carolina and nine sites in Arizona alone. We also see many of the same energy offenders in the release: Topping the list with 11 sites electric utility giant American Electric Power, followed closely by Duke Energy and Arizona Electric Power Cooperative.

Three Reasons to Not Be Depressed About the State of the Climate

By Natalie Gaber, Media Intern

    I’m not gonna lie: if I was Alaska right now, I’d be a little concerned.

    A slew of newly-revealed research spells nothing but imminent and irreversible destruction for the northernmost state, as well as its Nordic brethren, including Russia and Canada. In fact, the reports paint so daunting a picture that I can practically hear The Robot from Lost in Space chanting, “Danger, Will Robinson!”

    Essentially, these studies have determined that the situation is even worse than previously thought. The U.N. scientists studying climate change have had their wildest nightmares exceeded, which is a major bummer considering their nightmares already involve rapid melting of Arctic sea ice, rising sea levels, mass extinction, and a whole slew of other doom-and-gloom scenarios. New archival research   has determined that the current levels of sea ice are the lowest they have been in the past 800 years. Yikes. And to make matters worse, another hot-off-the-press study says that scientists were also wrong about how much carbon is stored in the fast-disappearing permafrost of Alaska, Russia, Canada, etc. It turns out that there is twice as much carbon stored in the frozen ground than initially thought, which spells nothing but bad news for our poor, feverish planet. As temperatures continue to rise, more of the permafrost (perhaps tempofrost would be a more apt name?) melts, which causes more carbon to be released in the form of carbon dioxide and methane, which causes the planet to get warmer, which causes more melting, which releases more carbon, and on and on. You get the picture. 

    With news like this, it’s hard to remain optimistic about our fate as a species. But before you become hopelessly depressed, check out my top three reasons to turn your frown upside down this weekend:

Reason #1: The House of Representatives passed the first-ever climate bill last week. ACES (The American Clean Energy and Security Act), also known as Waxman-Markey, marks the first time that Congress has taken on climate change, which is kind of a big deal. Granted, the bill is far from perfect, and it still has a long way to go before it’s signed into law, but it’s a HUGE step forward in the fight against climate change, and it should provide Alaska with at least a smidgen of optimism.

An Update on ACES

So of course you're heard by now that the American Clean Energy & Security Act (ACES) passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last week. We were thrilled with the news. It's a great step forward for a clean energy future in the U.S., but the bill still needs strengthened before it hits the President's desk.

That of course means our target now is the Senate. Take a look at our updated video on ACES to learn more.

That link again to check how your Representative voted and write her/him is

http://action.sierraclub.org/aces_housevote

Stay tuned for the hard work in the Senate!

California Gets Its Waiver

This is a guest post from Jesse Prentice-Dunn of the Sierra Club Green Transportation Campaign.

Great news! After four years of waiting and a misguided rejection by the Bush Administration, the EPA has finally granted California the waiver necessary to implement its clean car standards. This is a real victory for California and the fourteen other states that have adopted the greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.

California's standards, which require automakers to sell cleaner, more efficient vehicles, are more stringent than the current national fuel economy regulations and will cut oil consumption and global warming pollution. While new national greenhouse gas standards for vehicles will apply to vehicles in 2012-2016, this decision will allow California and other states to implement tailpipe standards in the years leading up to 2012. In 2010, automakers will have to meet California's greenhouse gas standards (PDF) in California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.  In 2011, Maryland and New Mexico will join the program.

It's important to note that California retains the Clean Air Act authority to set global warming standards in the future. In adopting clean car standards, California has proven that it can lead the nation in developing policies that will curb global warming and drive innovation.

Also, check out California's Environmental Performance label for vehicles (the image above), which allows consumers to see how a new vehicle stacks up against others in terms of greenhouse gas and smog forming emissions. Eight states have adopted California's Environmental Performance label. While automakers must make cleaner vehicles, providing consumers with this information will allow them to factor global warming and pollution into their purchasing decisions.

So happy Waiver Day, everyone! Granting the California waiver is yet another concrete step by the Obama Administration to reduce emissions – let's keep this snowball rolling downhill!

EPA Posts List of 44 High Risk Coal Ash Sites

This is great news for the public's right to know. On the heels of the Sierra Club filing a Freedom of Information Act request two weeks ago requesting that the government release the list of 44 coal ash storage sites deemed "high risk" - today the Environmental Protection Agency did release that list.

UPDATE: We've mapped all 44 sites onto Google Maps so you can see just where all these high-risk coal ash storage sites are. Take a look.

You can find the list right here on the EPA website. The list breaks down like this:

• Six sites in Ohio
• Three in West Virginia
• Seven in Kentucky
• One in Indiana
• Nine in Arizona
• 12 in North Carolina
• Two in Illinois
• One in Pennsylvania
• One in Georgia
• One in Montana

So Arizona, North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio have the brunt of these high-risk coal ash storage sites. When thinking back to the Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash tragedy in Harriman, TN, this past December, this certainly makes one nervous.

Looks like the EPA is feeling similarly:

“The presence of liquid coal ash impoundments near our homes, schools and business could pose a serious risk to life and property in the event of an impoundment rupture” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “By compiling a list of these facilities, EPA will be better able to identify and reduce potential risks by working with states and local emergency responders.”

EPA needs to regulate coal ash because it is a hazardous substance. You can tell your Senators to stand up to the coal industry and support strong coal ash regulations.

You can also read our statement about the coal ash site posting. To learn more about coal ash and its risks, please take a look at the coal ash fact sheet we produced with EarthJustice (PDF).

The Golden State en Route to Being a Green State

Hi this is Malia, one of the new media interns for the summer...enjoy!

Yesterday, the California Air Resources Control Board voted in favor of several green regulations.  

Among the most effective of these regulations requires all new cars sold in the state of California to have energy efficient windshields by 2012.  These windshields will prevent 45% of the sun’s total heat producing rays from entering the car meaning a reduction in the use of the air conditioner, an increase in fuel efficiency and an overall reduction of greenhouse emissions.  Moreover, by 2016, car manufacturers will be mandated to install windows in new cars that prevent over 60% of heat producing rays from entering the car.

Experts calculate that these two new measures will be the equivalent to taking nearly 140,000 cars off the road.  Of course, we could just ask people to stop using their air conditioning to eliminate even more greenhouse gasses, but this is just one small step in making California comfortable and even more ahead of the curve.

On top of the new car regulations, the board also voted to require methane controls in 14 city landfills by 2012 and is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 million metric tons!  This is great news, but why not require methane controls on all landfills? 14 sounds like a pretty slim number.

Although more can always be done, all of these new regulations are small steps to making California the fleeting example of how green the USA can be. One last question, why wasn’t this done earlier?

Public Transportation is Getting More Expensive, but Biking is Still Free

This week's post from Sierra Club Media Intern Natalie Gaber

In case you hadn’t noticed, life is more expensive these days, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any cheaper.

As a Berkeley resident commuting to San Francisco three days a week, I’ve especially noticed this cost-of-living increase in public transportation Three of the Bay Area’s largest public transportation agencies, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), AC Transit, and MUNI, are all sticking customers with fare increases starting July 1.

BART, the local subway system, is faced with a $249 million budget deficit over the next four years and is implementing a 6.1% cost-of-living based fare increase, which amounts to an average fare increase of 20 cents.

AC Transit, the East Bay bus system, and MUNI, San Francisco’s public transit agency, are engaging in similar fare increases. Fares will soon rise for both agencies by 25 to 50 cents. 

To add insult to injury, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that AC Transit is considering service cuts of up to 15%, which translates to 905 hours of weekday operation and 458 hours of weekend operations disappearing. Clarence Johnson, spokesman for AC Transit, says he hopes the cuts won’t be “too draconian,” but who is he kidding? If AC Transit revenue is down, then they should be providing incentives for people to ride the bus, not reasons to avoid the bus (i.e. increasing fares and cutting service). 

House Vote on American Clean Energy & Security Act

We're all closely watching C-Span this morning as the U.S. House of Representatives debates the American Clean Energy & Security Act (ACES). We've been hearing that a vote will come around 2pm. If you can't watch C-Span to hear all the debate, then you can follow along on Twitter. Many reporters and other folks are tweeting the debate and using the #aces hashtag, including excellent Grist reporter Kate Sheppard.

Want to learn more about ACES? Check out our information page - and take action by calling or emailing your member of Congress right now to tell them to support ACES. Reach your member at 202-224-3121, or use this webpage.

Stay tuned - it's a big day for clean energy and the fight against global warming.

MTR Hearings LiveBlog - Stop Mountaintop Removal Now!

Sierra Club will be microblogging on Twitter from the MTR hearing in DC today starting at 3:30pm ET. Want to follow along? We've embedded a widget right here on Compass for you to follow along with.

You can watch the hearings live .

Want to participate? Go on Twitter and use the hashtag #stopmtr to voice your opinion!

From the Senate to the WV Coalfields, a Pivotal Week for Mountaintop Removal

This post was co-written by Bruce Nilles and Mary Anne Hitt, director and deputy director, respectively, of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign.
 
This has been a historic and game-changing week in the fight to end mountaintop removal. We will undoubtedly look back on the events of the past few days as a major turning point in the struggle to end this incredibly destructive form of coal mining. There has never been a more important time to make your voice heard, and we hope you will join us.

The most timely news is today's historic hearing on Capitol Hill: "The Impacts of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining on Water Quality in Appalachia." The hearing is being conducted by the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Work Committee’s Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife.

It starts at 3:30ET, and don't worry if you can't be in D.C. to catch it. We'll have people in the hearing live-blogging and twittering the happenings from this important hearing. You can watch it here on our Compass blog, or simply follow the #stopmtr and #mtr hashtags on Twitter.