Over one year ago the Tennessee Valley Authority’s coal ash storage facility in Kingston, TN gave way – spilling over one billion gallons of toxic coal ash into the surrounding community.  Even today, the devastating impacts of the coal slurry spill on nearby family homes and surrounding ecosystem have imprinted our memories.  The incident also leads us to beg the question, “what happened urgency sense of commitment to remedy the issue so that other communities would be safe from future spills?”.

TVA coal ash spill Dec, 2009

We know that over the past year – since the disaster – the has EPA concluded that coal ash and other coal plant waste materials, are highly toxic, and should not be stored in wet ponds or discharged into ground or surface waters. According to the agency, coal ash contains heavy metals, including selenium, mercury, arsenic, and lead, and has caused documented damage to community health and ecosystems across the country.

Still, across the United States, our nation’s power plants produce 130 million tons of coal ash a year; enough to fill a train of boxcars stretching from the District of Columbia to Australia. And to our dismay, much of this waste winds up in loosely regulated landfills, with some storage facilities even reaching sizes of 1,500 acres (that’s almost one square mile of looming, toxic coal slurry!).  Because these coal ash ponds are generally located along our nations waterways – upstream of municipal drinking water supplies – toxic pollutants such as arsenic and lead can leach into the water table – contaminating communities’ water sources and threatening public health.

At home in Kentucky – even as the EPA takes steps to issue new rules – our state’s Public Service Commission recently approved a increase that will be passed to ratepayers in order to finance E.ON’s plans to expand a massive coal slurry pond upstream of Kentucky’s largest, city Louisville.  As young people living in Kentucky, we do not believe this is an investment for our future.

Kentucky agencies and most importantly, the EPA must treat coal waste as the hazardous substance as well as ensure that residents of communities impacted by coal ash disposal can provide input on how the waste must be handled.  We need strong regulations to hold coal accountable and speed the transition to a clean energy economy.

In Kentucky and across this nation citizens are calling on the EPA to ensure that the coal industry to cleans up its act.  Coal needs to stop polluting our political system – the EPA needs to stand on the side of public health.

To join us in urging the EPA to stand on the side of public health and the environment, you can contact the EPA:

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

Phone: 202-564-4700

Email: jackson.lisap@epa.gov

Simply tell them you “support the classification of coal ash as a hazardous waste.”

I feel helpless when asked to describe Antarctica. It is the command centre of our world’s ecosystems, yet the slightest mention of the word ‘Antarctica’ renders your mind to a place seemingly farther and more foreign to humankind than the moon. Only through poetry could anyone even begin to do it justice. A summary of the experience is just the tip of the ice berg, but I have a feeling might be worth it.

Getting there was half the journey. I made an effort to fly as little as possible in order to lower my impact on climate change. Amidst those over-land travels I spent time visiting fast disappearing glaciers of the Andes mountain range and indigenous farming communities, speaking to locals about changing seasons, admiring solar panels and wind turbines in the most peculiar and unexpected places, reading the daily energy bulletin in Spanish, thinking about links between poverty, societal structure, and abilities to adapt to climate change, and wondering how 20 people manage to fit into a small Volkswagen van for the daily commute to work.

Joining the expedition team in Buenos Aires was like having a bucket of ice cold water dumped over my head, waking me from a dream and pulling me back into a familiar world. Most students were from the US or Canada, giving me an unexpected dose of culture shock, although still in Argentina. Not knowing what to expect, our new family of 100 (from over a dozen countries) set out to sea across the Drake Passage. Two days later we saw land again: Antarctica.

If you weren’t grinning it was because you were too busy picking your jaw up off the floor. And if you weren’t learning, well, you probably weren’t there. Landscapes were heart-wrenching. Wildlife was abundant. Thought-provoking lectures spanned the history, politics and science of Antarctica, yet speaking to the polar experts one-on-one while peering over the edge of the ship or sitting on a glacier was where the most integrated learning happened. The icing on the cake was the personal stories from researchers and explorers who have been having a love affair with the continent for over 50 years.

From hiking to wildlife research, or from scuba diving to safaris, there is nothing as intimate as the natural world you are let into upon setting foot in Antarctica. It is the one place on earth where humans are truly guests in another’s home. And no one can deny the intensity of that unique feeling. The albatross accompanied us across the sea, riding the wind at the stern. Humpback whales graced our first evening with their silhouetted playfulness in the sunset. Adelie penguins would stare back at us from the top of icebergs mimicking the size of our ship.

Once we crossed 60 degrees south, we took the Zodiacs (small inflatable motor boats) to land on the mainland of the Western Peninsula and surrounding islands. The central regions of Antarctica are white and flat, whereas the Western Peninsula is a gem of glaciers, jagged mountain peaks, curving ice caps, and dramatic ice bergs. One landing was on a rocky beach with ice cubes the size of your body washing up on shore. Another was onto a slab of sea ice in a bay as calm as glass with the surrounding sounds of avalanches every 4 minutes from mountain peaks high above us. Another was onto the beach of an active volcano crater where we went for a slightly brisk swim followed by digging into the gritty sand to find the hot thermal waters to de-numb our bodies.

When on shore it was like being transported into another world – every single time. Even for polar experts who had been making these landings for 50 years were repeatedly stunned – “Every time is like the first time,” they would say. We would find ourselves staring out over thousands upon thousands of penguins as their eggs hatched beneath them and mothers and fathers returned to feed their young. The smell of guano was distinct and hawk-like Skuas would circle above diving in at eggs or chicks in unguarded nests. Sitting on rocks at the water’s edge we would watch penguins swimming as if they were dolphins, rapidly and in the style of renowned synchronized swimmers. The event doubled its audience when a leopard seal appeared and began chasing its dinner – the back up troops of penguins dove in from the shore to help distract the seal. Every moment was irrevocably enthralling.

Perhaps the most important part of this story is why Antarctica is the way it is. The Antarctic Treaty has been active since 1959. The Treaty outlines that only peaceful activities are permitted, the environment must be respected, and no land claims may be made. This means no weapon development, no oil exploration, no fishing or whaling, no garbage, and restricted number of visitors at a time. Is there any other continent on earth that has not seen a war? Is there any other continent with as stringent environmental protection? Is there any other continent with as strong international cooperation?
I could only describe it as the “Perfect World” we are taught about as children – “peace on earth” and “reduce, reuse, recycle” were the mantras of my generation. The idealism is always there, but falls to the sidelines as you learn there are still wars and that people are still altering the environment. You might call it jaded, or you might call it reality, but that state of mind changes over time – or at least it did for me.

But by the time we had returned to the Beagle Channel, any touch of jaded feelings I might have had before were erased. As I stepped off the ship with wobbly sea legs, the 6-year-old idealist in me breathed a little sigh of relief – I was filled to the brim with hope, optimism, and a whole deeper level of calmness and sureness that I never before thought possible. Feeding this renewed mindset into my daily life and work will not be through one or two specific actions, but through a sustained effort to share and build those same feelings in others, so that we may all be one step closer to understanding our modest place on this earth.

And that, is how I would begin to describe Antarctica.

What is Students On Ice? This unique expedition, lead by Geoff Green, is one of few expeditions in the world that is a) directed entirely towards youth (ages 13 to 21), and b) is focused around an education program of sustainability. It goes once a year to both the Arctic and Antarctic. The idea is to educate and inspire students in the best classroom in the world: the outdoors. The end goal is for these young leaders to leave with a sense of respect, awareness, and ideas for positive change upon return to their home country. Photos, videos, maps and journals from the expedition can be found online at www.studentsonice.com/antarctic2007/ .

Update of the Navajo Nation Desert Rock Blockade (9:30 p.m. MST, 12/21/06), as posted by Tom Goldtooth, Director, Indigenous Environmental Network

All your calls to the Navajo Nation today have been working! As of this late evening, we heard from the people at the Blockade that the Navajo police have NOT made any arrests (yet).

All the supporters must understand that from late morning to early afternoon today, the elders and resisters at the Blockade, for all intentions and purposes, actually were thinking they were going to be arrested. Reports came in from the Blockade that there were up to 21 numerous types of police, ambulance and tribal ranger vehicles ascending on the site. According to Dailan Jake Long, the media contact at the Blockade, some of the tribal police came all the way from Tuba City, Arizona, in addition to local Shiprock, New Mexico police vehicles.

Dine’ CARE was trying to maintain constant contact with the Blockade resisters during this very tense and critical time today. During a time period, all cell phone contact was cut-off. In the best interest of the elder grandmothers, a decision was made to post a message that Dine’ grandmas were being arrested and for supporters to immediately call the Navajo Nation President’s office. The posting stated that if elders and supporters have been arrested, to ask the police to release them. At the time, the situation called for immediate action, and from sporadic reports from the Blockade, it appeared arrests were being made. That’s when an action was posted through electronic mail and other means.

After some time, cell phone connection was reestablished between Lori Goodman of Dine’ CARE and the Dooda resisters. According to Dine’ CARE, who talked with people at the Blockade, the elders were given five minutes to make a decision to leave or get arrested. The report was that many of the elders and resisters were being intimidated by the large police force. According to Dailan Jake Long, some of the grandmothers got scared.

The elders and resisters were doing a prayer ceremony when police finally drove up and disrupted the ceremony. According to Dailan Jake Long, the police dismantled the camp, tossing tents and everything into a huge truck and moved it across the road away from the blockade area. No one had any access to any of the supplies, nor the food. The elders and resisters were refused access to the portable toilets.

The police have posted police at the blockade entrance and two at the proposed drilling sites. The police now have 4 cops there, guarding east and west entrances.

Communication is very much needed. The area is remote, with no electricity nor running water. The Dooda resisters are doing the best they can to maintain communication with the outside world. Native support groups like Dine’ CARE, Black Mesa Water Coalition, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indigenous Media, and others are trying as best as we can to provide support and information.

It has come to the attention of the Dooda resisters, Dine’ CARE, Black Mesa Water Coalition, Indigenous Environmental Network and our support groups that the director of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety has issued a statement today to correct misinformation being disseminated online that arrests of Navajo grandmothers are occurring at the Desert Rock Energy Project site. Like we explained above, we understand that after everything that took place earlier today, no arrests were made. However, it is our opinion that if people from throughout the country had not made calls to the Navajo Nation today, arrests could have taken place. Again, according to the reports directly from the people at the Blockade, the police were ready and equipped to make arrests. They had paddy wagons, which are vehicles to haul people to jail.

The director of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety further says that “the officers there are doing a good job and are providing the direct service that the elderly need out there. They’ve been helping with moving firewood provided by the Navajo Nation, and are employing 120 percent diplomacy in dealing with the situation.”

The Dooda resisters and elders did NOT experience the police as providing help nor exercising diplomacy.

He said “online reports that there are 21 officers on the site are inaccurate. He said there are two Navajo Nation officers, one lieutenant and two Navajo rangers assisting the people.”

Again, this is not what the Dooda resisters have experienced. The resisters are the ones that witnessed the numerous police vehicles. They counted up to 21 vehicles today.

It is reported tonight the police had tossed their food and belongings all alongside the road and the Dooda members were just putting their new Camp back together. Students from Fort Lewis College have arrived to help out and will doing videotaping. More people are to be coming from Save the Peaks from Flagstaff tonight and a man from Taos brought firewood.

Regional particulate pollution is on the rise today and there are reports from parents in Warrick County of “unusual smells” in the air. Rising temperatures, reaching near the 70s are causing morning fogs but the particle levels keep visibility low. This photo was taken on an aerial survey today.

The Rockport Power Plant, operated by the Indiana Michigan Electric Company, is a subsidiary of American Electric Power. Rockport supplies electricity to northeastern Indiana and southern Michigan leaving its considerable pollution legacy in southwest indiana, more than three hundred miles from its market.

In 2002, the last data available, Rockport emitted:
• 16,837,252 tons of Carbon Dioxide
• 53,196 tons of Sulfur Dioxide
• 34,243 tons of Nitrogen Oxide
and a whopping 806 pounds of neurological poison mercury.

When I interviewed the former president of the company in 1978, asking about those large emissions figures, he replied, “Well, there is an awful lot of air out there.”
Find out more about Indiana’s power plant emissions

Anyhow, the show is going to be kickass, with a stellar lineup: Sam Roberts, The Stars, Jorane, The Adam Brown, and more… over 4 hours of incredible music for $10. POP Montreal rocks! I’m still not 100% sure what I’ll be saying in my speech… so if you’ve got ideas before 7pm tonight, send them my way! And check out www.ourclimate.ca for more about the CYCC.

“Dad, that’s so unfair!”

Think this scenario is unbelievable in more ways than one? Not so! A report commissioned by British Environment Secretary David Miliband outlines the procedure for a personal carbon trading scheme. Read today’s story for more. Take a hike, Piggy Bank!

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/jY6u52okRBA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Two important news stories:

1) The 40% conversion efficiency threshold has been reached and surpassed. According to the U.S. Department of Energy itself, PVs are now “producing electricity at a cost of 8-10 cents per kilowatt/hour, making solar electricity a more cost-competitive and integral part of our nation’s energy mix.”

2) Even more compelling, one company is giving away PV cost savings, through a no-cost rental program. According to an article called No Excuses for Not Buying Green Power, they have “used financial engineering and a complete redesign of the solar electric business model to make solar economic for homeowners in forty U.S. states and to build a 40% to 50% cost advantage over their competitors.” That’s right, cost SAVINGS through home photovoltaics. The company is willing to put up everything, from production to installation, for free.

Side Note The climate activist in question has a law degree from one of the most prestigeous universities in Canada (and never had a professor with leather patches on his/her suit jacket).

Here is another youtube about how GM killed the electric street car.

Hey rad Climate activists,

Don’t let the lazy bug get you this winter break. Take action in your neighborhood, whether you’re staying put or going to stay with family or whatever else.

Visit Santa! And get some flyers going door to door (well, door to naughty door).

Christmas Police. Need I say more?