Dirty Coal

Finally, Good News on Climate! US Carbon Emissions Drop

Patrick McCully | Posted 11.11.2009 | Green


Patrick McCully

The drop in emissions means that we are already more than halfway to the goal of the cap-and-trade bill passed by the House of Representatives of a 17% cut from 2005 to 2020.

Bomb Appalachia (and Face the Music)

Michael Gould-Wartofsky | Posted 11.09.2009 | Green


Michael Gould-Wartofsky

Theirs is a coast-to-coast campaign to save Appalachia's mountains and streams -- and Appalachians' homes, jobs, and culture -- from the devastating coal mining practice known as mountaintop removal.

Urge the Obama Administration to Save Coal River Mountain

Rob Perks | Posted 11.09.2009 | Green


Rob Perks

Rising above a picturesque valley in southern West Virginia, Coal River Mountain represents the last, best hope for a community resisting the legacy of dirty energy in this part of Appalachia.

Dominican Republic Town's Birth Defects Caused By US Coal Company

miamiherald.com | By FRANCES ROBLES | Posted 11.06.2009 | Green


A civil lawsuit filed Wednesday in Delaware charges that toxic levels of waste dumped at the Arroyo Barril port has made people nearby sick. After yea...

The Good, Bad, and Ugly: A Look Back at the Drama Over the EPW Bill

Gillian Caldwell | Posted 11.06.2009 | Green


Gillian Caldwell

In the past week, a drama unfolded around the Senate EPW Committee hearings for the new Senate bill on climate and clean energy jobs. Declarations! Boycott threats! Power plays!

The True Impact of Coal Mining

Bruce Nilles | Posted 10.30.2009 | Green


Bruce Nilles

Blasting has begun on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia, site of a long battle between Massey Energy and local residents who want it to be a site for wind turbines instead of coal mining.

Kentucky Straight: Students Call Out Trustees Big Coal Pander in Growing UKY Wildcat Scandal

Jeff Biggers | Posted 10.29.2009 | Green


Jeff Biggers

The scandalous University of Kentucky Trustees may have voted to approve rebuilding and renaming the beloved Joe B. Hall Wildcat Lodge as the Wildcat Coal Lodge, but the public relations nightmare has just begun.

It's Time For Mountaintop Removal To Stop

Gloria Reuben | Posted 10.27.2009 | Impact


Gloria Reuben

Big coal has busted up the unions, impoverished communities, and lined the pockets of state politicians and judges. It's time for this to stop.

The Must-See New Film Coal Country

Bruce Nilles | Posted 10.22.2009 | Green


Bruce Nilles

This week's post was co-written by Mary Anne Hitt, deputy director of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign"My hope is this superb documentary will sho...

Congress Gets in the Act on Coal Ash

Rob Perks | Posted 10.21.2009 | Green


Rob Perks

Kudos to Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) for bird-dogging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the need to regulate pollution from coal-fired power plants.

EPA to Revoke Permit for Infamous WV Mountaintop Removal Mine

Rob Perks | Posted 10.21.2009 | Green


Rob Perks

The EPA is taking unprecedented action to bring to an end the saga of the infamous Spruce Mine, jamming a stake in the heart of what would have been the largest mountaintop removal project in the history of West Virginia.

Irreparable Damage: Senate Must Block OSM Nominee Pizarchik Today

Jeff Biggers | Posted 10.08.2009 | Green


Jeff Biggers

Given the irreparable damage of his mining record, Pizarchik's entrenched support of the coal industry suggests that the OSM would continue its decades-old tradition of lawlessness and betrayal of coalfield residents.

Coal Is Too Dirty Even for Colleges

Bruce Nilles | Posted 10.07.2009 | Green


Bruce Nilles

Did you know that many of our country's colleges and universities -- places that are supposed to be a source of higher-education and leadership -- get their electricity by burning coal?

Coal Baron Don Blankenship's Crazy Talk on Climate Change

Rob Perks | Posted 09.29.2009 | Green


Rob Perks

Perhaps Blankenship's extreme wealth is why Forbes magazine decided to interview him. But what shines through more than anything is Blankenship's extreme anti-environmental worldview.

Coal's Ash Is on the Line

Bruce Nilles | Posted 09.26.2009 | Green


Bruce Nilles

Nearly a hundred million tons of toxic coal ash and related coal combustion wastes pile up in unlined ponds and pits across the U.S. every year, the second largest solid waste stream in the nation.

Blood Money: Will WVU Honor Coal Miner Heroes and Students or Violating Dirty Coal Barons?

Jeff Biggers | Posted 09.18.2009 | Green


Jeff Biggers

This might be the shameless story of the week: Either that, or West Virginia University president James P. Clements has a lot of explaining to do.

Breaking: Suit Cites Chronic Pizarchik Failure: Millions Call for OSM Nominee Withdraw

Jeff Biggers | Posted 11.11.2009 | Green


Jeff Biggers

Pizarchik's hearing on Tuesday will be a litmus test of the Obama administration's--and the US Senate's--commitment to appointing and confirming agency directors who believe in science and law in our nation's coalfields.

Cooking up Lies with Dirty Coal

Javier Sierra | Posted 11.11.2009 | Green


Javier Sierra

Big Coal and Big Oil are determined to cover our ears so we can't hear about the overwhelming advantages of the climate and energy bill, especially for us Latinos.

Dominoes Keep Falling for Clean Coal Coalition

Bruce Nilles | Posted 11.09.2009 | Green


Bruce Nilles

The defections of Duke Energy and Alstom Power are clear signs that the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity has gone too far--even for energy companies like Duke that are heavily invested in coal.

Stripping Massey: 81-year-old Paratrooper Leads Blockade, Court Hears $85 Million Suit

Jeff Biggers | Posted 11.09.2009 | Green


Jeff Biggers

Massey Energy's brutal attacks on coalfield residents and the judicial system have drawn national criticism.

Labor Day of Infamy: Who Killed the Jobs of Van Jones and Coal Miners?

Jeff Biggers | Posted 10.23.2009 | Green


Jeff Biggers

How easy to be cynical on this Labor Day, and declare it a day that will live in infamy for coal miners and coalfield residents and green job advocates across the nation.

Verizon Wireless Dumped Glenn Beck: Will It Dump Bizarre Big Coal Sponsorship?

Jeff Biggers | Posted 10.17.2009 | Green


Jeff Biggers

Glenn Beck's controversial track record pales in comparison to Massey Energy's mining operations in Appalachia, which have literally displaced American citizens from their native homes.

Call Now: Verizon Wireless Sponsors Union-Busting Mountaintop Removal Rally?

Jeff Biggers | Posted 09.29.2009 | Green


Jeff Biggers

Verizon and a British Lord are joining forces to deny climate change and fight unions.

Now is the Time, Al Gore: Coalfield Uprising and Heroes Need National Defense, Green Jobs

Jeff Biggers | Posted 09.28.2009 | Green


Jeff Biggers

Now is the time for all good greens, rednecks, social entrepreneurs, hellraisers, Repower America and Al Gore to come to the aid of their fellow citizens in the Appalachian coalfields.

EPA Sues Power Company Over Six Illinois Coal-Burning Plants

Chicago Tribune | Michael Hawthorne | Posted 09.28.2009 | Chicago


From the outside, the power plant that towers above Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood looks like a sooty relic from the early part of the last century....