Administration Plans New Regulations on Coal-Ash Ponds

 

The Obama administration will propose new regulations governing coal combustion waste by the end of the year, and will act immediately to prevent accidents like the release in December of more than a billion gallons of coal ash that smothered 300 acres in eastern Tennessee and choked nearby waterways, a senior Environmental Protection Agency official said.  

The spill, at the Kingston Fossil Plant operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority near Knoxville, brought renewed attention to the agency’s failure to live up to a promise in 2000 to issue regulations for coal ash, which contains toxins like arsenic, lead and mercury.

“We’re committing to develop a regulatory proposal for comment by the end of this calendar year,” said the senior official, Matthew Hale, the director of the agency’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.


Mr. Hale said the agency was deciding whether to regulate the waste as hazardous or nonhazardous. In 2000, it deemed coal ash to be nonhazardous, but better pollution controls that have kept toxins from spewing into the air have left the solid wastes from coal plants, which is mostly ash, more poisonous.

The E.P.A. has also developed improved tests that show more toxins leaching from the ash into groundwater than previously thought.

In the short term, the agency will seek to prevent spills like the one at the Kingston plant, where the wall retaining a pile of ash 55 feet high ruptured, destroying nearby homes and choking waterways with a toxic sludge.

Read The Full Story at the New York Times

Support a recovery plan that Repowers America

Both the House and Senate have passed economic stimulus bills that offer support to help Repower America through investments in clean energy and energy efficency. During this critical time of negotiation between the House and Senate, call your Members of Congress and tell them to make sure the final bill includes the best provisions possible to accelerate our growth of renewable energy and encourage efficiency.

* Call the Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. Ask the operator to connect to you to your Senators or your Representative.
* Leave a message and let your Senator or Representative know that "As a constituent, I urge you to champion clean energy and green jobs in the economic recovery bill."

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The Myth Of "Clean Coal"

Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and the “Reality” coalition have a new ad out today on the myth of “clean coal.” The ad is part of a national grassroots effort to emphasize that there is no such thing as clean coal and features a “coal executive” saying, “Coal isn’t dirty. We think it’s clean. Smells good, too.

A Gore spokeswoman adds: “It will make you glad that YOU aren’t going to get a lump of coal for the holidays.”

Watch It:





Think Progress

Has the Arctic melt passed the point of no return?

Scientists have found the first unequivocal evidence that the Arctic region is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the world at least a decade before it was predicted to happen.

Climate-change researchers have found that air temperatures in the region are higher than would be normally expected during the autumn because the increased melting of the summer Arctic sea ice is accumulating heat in the ocean. The phenomenon, known as Arctic amplification, was not expected to be seen for at least another 10 or 15 years and the findings will further raise concerns that the Arctic has already passed the climatic tipping-point towards ice-free summers, beyond which it may not recover.

The Arctic is considered one of the most sensitive regions in terms of climate change and its transition to another climatic state will have a direct impact on other parts of the northern hemisphere, as well more indirect effects around the world.

Although researchers have documented a catastrophic loss of sea ice during the summer months over the past 20 years, they have not until now detected the definitive temperature signal that they could link with greenhouse-gas emissions.

Read The Full Story at The Independent

President-elect Obama Announces Environment and Energy Team

On December 16 in Chicago, President-elect Obama held a press conference to announce key members of his energy and environment team.

more about "President-elect Obama Announces Envir...", posted with vodpod

Obama says to Repower America

On Tuesday something great happened. Our Chairman Al Gore met with President-elect Obama to talk about solving the climate crisis. And in his remarks Obama said now is the time to Repower America. You have already had a huge impact.

Check out the video here.

www.RepowerAmerica.org/obamavideo

President-elect Obama said:

"...we have the opportunity now to create jobs all across this country, in all 50 states, to repower America, to redesign how we use energy, to think about how we are increasing efficiency, to make our economy stronger, make us more safe, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and make us competitive for decades to come, even as we're saving the planet."

This is fantastic progress. Thanks to you our agenda is front-of-mind for the new leadership. But much remains to be done. And we need your help. Will you make a contribution today to help Repower America and make sure this momentum continues? It's easy. Just click here.

We know the oil and coal industries will invest a lot to protect the status quo. They'll lobby. They'll advertise. They'll scaremonger. Which is why we need your help to make sure the Repower America vision for clean energy, a prosperous economy, and a safe climate is heard -- in Washington and across the nation.