Once again, the government is suppressing information in the name of homeland security.
Just how bad has the coal ash situation gotten in the United States? So bad that the Department of Homeland Security has told Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) that her committee can't publicly disclose the location of coal ash dumps across the country.The pollution is so toxic, so dangerous, that an enemy of the United States -- or a storm or some other disrupting event -- could easily cause them to spill out and lay waste to any area nearby.
Here is another example of the government concealing information in the name of "protecting" the American population. First, President Obama channelled the Bush administration in his decision to use the state-secrets doctrine to prevent the release of photos that documented detainee abuse. Of course, this was done in the name of "keeping us safe." Now, the Department of Homeland Security needs to suppress the location of coal ash dumps because some very environmentally-aware terrorist is going to run out to the sites armed with a shovel and map of US water purification plants.
Saying something is for the "protection" of the American people is usually code for "covering our own asses." The recent coal ash spill in Tennessee was 100 times worse than the Exxon-Valdez spill and will cost a billion dollars to clean up, according to Senator Barbara Boxer. That spill occurred at the Kingston Fossil Plant, a Tennessee Valley Authority generating plant about 40 miles west of Knoxville that rests on the banks of the Emory River, which feeds into the Clinch River, and then the Tennessee River downstream.
What caused the Tennessee spill wasn't a holy war declared by Al-Qaeda. It was a colossal fuck-up on the part of the federally-owned Kingston Fossil Plant that resulted in the collapse of an earthen retaining wall and 1.7 million cubic yards of wet coal burying more than 3,000 acres under one foot of toxic sludge. It wasn't terrorism, but rather lax regulations, that resulted in this environmental tragedy.
Post-spill, the Tennessee Valley Authority didn't issue a warning to the state's residents even though the Environmental Protection Agency issued a report last year saying "fly ash," a byproduct of the burning of coal to produce electricity, contains significant amounts of carcinogens. As far back as 2000, the EPA proposed stricter federal controls of coal ash, but backed away when faced with "fierce opposition from utilities, the coal industry, and Clinton administration officials."
In addition to having discussed the issue of controlling coal ash sites as far back as the dawn of the new millennium, Tennessee officials had also been warned about problems at the Kingston Fossil Plant itself. According to The Tennessean, the plant's neighbors had reported previous "baby blowouts" that caused less severe contamination. And environmentalists have been arguing for years that coal ash should be stored in lined landfills.
Of course, it's easier to just hide the maps of coal contamination sites than create stricter regulation guidelines. After seeing just how badly coal sites are polluting their environment, Big Coal may have a significantly harder time getting Americans to swallow that whole "clean coal" myth. And there's no need to piss off the industry that donated almost $3.5 million to Democrats and Republicans in 2008 when the government can just suppress information in the name of homeland security.
After all, they're here for our protection.
Cross-posted from Allison Kilkenny's blog. Also available on Facebook and Twitter.
In addition, provide this evidence of "conservative sabotage" in the TVA. Otherwise keep your baseless accussations to yourself.
There MAY not be a way to do it without nukes, but until we have that conversation about waste, it would be more than dangerous to build 100 more.
This fear mentality was thoroughly instilled by Bushco and half the country is still quaking in their boots over the least little annoyance as though it is going to bring about national annihilation this instant. The most current example, OMG, we can't have Gitmo prisoners tried on our soil, 300 million citizens can't handle a few tortured souls trying to find Justice after having been "bought" for $5,000 by a rogue govt that was out of control. Imagine, buying people to put in prison and torture! Its sadistic and cruel and inhumane.
How many "favors" are written into our laws that are so against the interests of this country? We couldn't count them all if we had all year. The EPA needs overhauling, what could be more important than our land, water and air ferchrissakes?
Boy does Washington need some NEW lawmakers, ones that blow the whistle on the "bribers/lobbyists" that are paying the traitors in Washington to destroy our country while they line their pockets.
Environmental impact is not a question of weight. The damage done to the ocean by oil is much greater, owing to wider spread, and organic uptake. Plus, harsh as it may sound, a newly muddy valley in Tennessee was never on anyone's list of a potential national parks, you get some credit for polluting in places already beaten up by mining and acid rain.
It's not as scary to me as, "I'm from a big corporation and I'm here to help." Big corporations are only there to help themselves and dump the problems on someone else.
There are no toxic renewable dumps because renewables are non toxic. That's why we call them green.
Yeah burning HC is a waste when they can be used for plastics; but the collective hallucination that there is no pollution associated with green energy is ludicrous when you factor the materials required to build the infrastructure to produce this energy. Also, how do you intend to mine the raw materials without gas or diesel for the haul trucks? If you think that an electric motor will work for 100+ ton haul truck, I have a bridge between Tokyo and San Fransisco I would like to sell you for a great price.
Have you not been to France and ridden on the electric trains that go a hundred miles an hour? No gasoline required.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGV
Remember the life cycle of a solar panel is up to 30 years. Once the solar panel is done being manufactured and installed it just sits there. No pollution is generated for 30 years.
The new thin film solar uses even less silicon than the photo voltaic. Much much less.
Gasoline powered cars on the other hand pollute every day whenever they run. Coal power plants pollute every day.
Go to the EPA website if you think you know how and see which cars pollute the least - it is the hybrid electric cars. Proof positive!
That Green energy pollutes much less is not a hallucination, it is a scientific fact.