It’s Getting Hot In Here

RICHMOND, VA — More than 35 people gathered last week to support the Wise County community group Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS) in their call for Dominion to abandon it’s plan to build another power plant in Wise County. The proposed plant would burn coal and waste coal and consume up to 800,000 gallons of fresh water from the Clinch river daily. The power plant would also require an additional 400-800 coal trucks a day to drive through the small town’s roads — that’s one coal truck every 3.6 to 1.8 minutes.

The group of Virginia residents and Mountain Justice Summer participants says that despite the company’s pledge to use the latest technology to reduce emissions, the plant will still be destructive. “Clean coal? From its birth to its burning, there is no such thing as clean coal,” said Kathy Selvage of Wise County. “They are taking the tops off of our mountains to get the coal, and the plant will still be pumping out carbon dioxide, the gas most responsible for global warming, not to mention other pollutants such as arsenic and mercury.” Mrs. Selvage referred to mountaintop removal mining, which community groups such as SAMS, say is driving out local communities.
Continue reading ‘Virginians say “No” to New Coal Plant’

The results are in: in a single week, students at *two* universities in Tennessee voted in resounding support to raise their student fees in the name of a clean energy future. 71% of the voters at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga (UTC) approved a $10 fee increase, while the University of Memphis (UofM) referendum passed with a 69% majority of the largest voter turnout on record.

Beyond the support voiced through the vote, the UofM Environmental Action Club (www.VoteYesForGreenPower.com) has also collected over 2,500 signatures specifying that the fee be set at $20/student/semester. Students support half of the fee being allocated towards on-campus sustainability projects, such as recycling and energy efficiency, while the other half be used to purchase clean, in-state, renewable energy from TVA’s Green Power Switch.
Continue reading ‘Two Campus Victories in Tennessee’

Students at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN voted last week to approve a $10 per student per semester Renewable Energy fee to increase energy efficiency and the use renewable energy for the campus. The referendum was approved by an overwhelming 83% majority.

“The mandate is clear: Austin Peay students want to be a force for change. We want to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels,” says Gail Gillis of Students Organized to Advance Renewable Energy (SOARE). “We hope students on other campuses will campaign for similar fees. Our leaders are beginning to listen, and together we can present a united voice and positively impact our entire country’s energy future.”

Now the APSU student government and administration will forward the fee increase request to the Tennessee Board of Regents for approval this summer. If the Regents approve the fee, implementation could begin fall 2007.

By Tyler Pannell, Tennessee Tech University

For just a moment, imagine this… Tennessee’s lawmakers convene in 2007 and enact comprehensive legislation that 1) mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (i.e. agrees to the Kyoto Protocol), 2) requires all new and renovated state facilities to consider green building guidelines, 3) increases energy efficiency in state facilities by 15% by 2025, and 4) ends coal surface mining in TN (i.e. stops mountaintop mining!!). Amazingly, bills specifying exactly these things were passed in the House and Senate last week! The catch is… Jessica Gibbons from the University of Memphis and I presented them in this year’s Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL) – the mock State Congress that convenes annually to give student leaders first-hand experience in politics.
Continue reading ‘TN Students Show State Legislature What Matters Most’

By Tyler Pannell, Tennessee Tech University

For just a moment, imagine this… Tennessee’s lawmakers convene in 2007 and enact comprehensive legislation that 1) mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (i.e. agrees to the Kyoto Protocol), 2) requires all new and renovated state facilities to consider green building guidelines, 3) increases energy efficiency in state facilities by 15% by 2025, and 4) ends coal surface mining in TN (i.e. stops mountaintop mining!!). Amazingly, bills specifying exactly these things were passed in the House and Senate last week! The catch is… Jessica Gibbons from the University of Memphis and I presented them in this year’s Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL) – the mock State Congress that convenes annually to give student leaders first-hand experience in politics.
Continue reading ‘TN Students Show State Legislature What Matters Most’