There’s More to Environmentalism Than Global Warming

Reuters has an article about how Hillary and Obama are playing up the benefits of “clean coal” in West Virginia and Kentucky, a state sitting on top of huge coal reserves:

In a bid to draw voters ahead of Democratic primaries in West Virginia on Tuesday and Kentucky on May 20, both candidates are playing up the ascendant role of commercially untested and so far economically nonviable ways of converting America’s plentiful coal supplies into electricity without spewing massive quantities of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

“We need some big investments right now in figuring out how to capture and store carbon dioxide from coal,” Clinton told a rally in the rural town of Clear Fork on Monday.

[...]

Not to be outdone, Obama’s campaign has distributed flyers in Kentucky stating that “Barack Obama believes in clean Kentucky coal.” The flyers show a picture of giant barges carrying coal down the Ohio River.

Coal-fired power plants generate about half of U.S. electricity supplies, and account for about 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions — the biggest single industrial source.

It’s great the candidates are looking at using American energy and at the same time focusing on reducing carbon emissions. What’s wrong is that global warming has become the dominating topic in popular environmentalism. Coal mining, particularly surface mining, which is popular with Big Coal, is an environmental disaster. From destroying pristine mountain tops, to severe water pollution, coal mining can be particularly disastrous to the environment.

But surface mining does more than destroy trees, water, and mountains. Noises, vibrations and dust from the machines and explosions, can create lung cancer and other diseases in local communities. The coal dust also contains sulfur compounds, which corrodes structures. Water contains increased minerals from excess runoff, which lowers aquatic life. A survey by the EPA estimates over 700 miles of Appalachian streams where filled in between 1985 and 2001.

But all is fine, the law requires these sites be “restored.” Unfortunately between waivers and blatant disregard for the law, these sites rarely are. Propents of the half done restoration jobs argue the flatter land has more uses such as farming and game hunting. But opponents note fast growing, non native grass is often planted, which compete with trees for soil nutrients, and thus leave deforested mountain tops more prone to erosion.

Then there’s the issue of sludge ponds, used to store the waste from coal processing. Hundreds of millions of gallons of this waste is stored in dams. The most dangerous dam is located 400 yards above an elementary school. The reservoir’s slowly leaking contents also threaten to flood the school. But there’s also a flash food risk, In 1972 a similar dam broke in what was know as the Buffalo Creek Flood, which killed 125 people.

I’m all for boosting employment in economically depressed rural areas like West Virginia and Kentucky, and having made in America energy is another bonus. But if these candidates are going to use coal they need to strengthen the laws regulating the coal industry. So far Hillary and Obama have shown they aren’t opposed to strengthening these laws. But John McCain is out with an ad indicating he doesn’t believe in “crippling regulation,” political doublespeak for the continued laxness of Bush’s non-environmental policy.

Above image is in the public domain.

Al Gore Visits My School *updated*

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Al Gore came and spoke to my school today, and it was a very unique experience. Most of the talk was a Q&A with students asking questions and Mr. Gore giving long winded responses. Here are a few highlights from what he said. Read more

Al Gore on Environmental Civil Disobedience

Al Gore wants you to take a stand against large corporations who are building power plants that are harmful to the environment. He believes that climate change is as big a threat as even Al-Qaeda. His solution is to literally take a stand against these companies.

“I can’t understand why there aren’t rings of young people blocking bulldozers,” Mr. Gore said, “and preventing them from constructing coal-fired power plants.” [grist]

It is our future we should be worried about. I hate to sound cliche, but it really is necessary to our livelihood to finally stand up, and demand change. Gore is THE leader of the modern environmentalist movement. Al Gore, after you win the Nobel Peace Prize in December, please run for president.
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FBI: Car Vandals are Terrorists

In DC a Hummer was vandalized in a neighborhood that considers itself environmentally progressive. Most of his neighbors drive a Toyota Prius. Two men in black bashed in the cab, slashed the tires, and inscribed “FOR THE ENVIRON” into the vehicle.

The two men have still not been found. But now the FBI is getting involved and calling it eco-terrorism. I’d expect something crazy like this to come from the Bush administration. But this isn’t surprising, because any movement away from gas guzzlers would be bad for his car industry friends, and his oil interests.
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Climate Change Near Washington

The Chesapeake Bay and Delmarva Peninsula, both popular vacation spots for Washington, DC citizens, is experiencing climate change. Sure the fact that islands were slowly disappearing was evidence to some people. But some scientists have written a report, which actually says the Chesapeake Bay is already suffering from global warming.

According to a Washington Post article , the bay has many days where water temperatures exceed 76 degrees. The problem is some fish species in the Bay can’t survive temperatures higher than this. And since the deeper locations in the Bay are oxygen dead zones, the fish can’t move into deeper and cooler water. Grass that the blue crab depends on is also threatened by these new, higher temperatures.
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