|
|
 
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Come See “Coal Bucket Outlaw” on Dec. 4
COAL BUCKET OUTLAW
On Wed. Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., come out to see Tom Hansell’s “Coal Bucket Outlaw” (www.appalshop.org/film/coalbucket/). The free screening of this Applashop documentary is at the Cabell County Public Library (455 9th St, between 4th and 5th Avenues in downtown Huntington). A discussion on overweight coal trucks follows the 26-minute film.
From Appalshop’s website: “Coal Bucket Outlaw” is built around a day in the life of a Kentucky coal truck driver. This digital documentary gives Americans a direct look at where our energy comes from, and reveals the human and environmental price we pay for our national addiction to fossil fuels. Viewers learn how the economics of the coal business demand that drivers break the law every day. The film examines the connection between coal haulers and the larger system that produces America's electricity. If outlaws deliver half of our nations energy, are consumers and policymakers completely innocent?
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY STUDENTS TO RALLY
Please join students at the University of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.) on Wed. Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. Student-members of the Green Thumbs group plan to rally in support of preserving Robinson Forest. UK owns this lovely tract and is considering mining under it. Folks will meet in front of the Thomas Pentmore Cooper (Forestry) building on Rose and Hugelet Streets, in the middle of campus. The group will then march to Patterson Office Tower to hear speakers address the issue. Bring signs. For more info: www.robinsonforest.org
There will be a meeting to prepare signs and post flyers for Wednesday's rally on Mon., Dec. 2 at 4pm in 113 of the TPC building.
EPA WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU
The US Environmental Protection Agency has a new web-based gizmo called “Enforcement and Compliance History On-line” at www.epa.gov/echo/. EPA is in the midst of a 60-day comment period, looking for citizen feedback on ECHO. Is this website of much use to you? The idea is to let you see if any major industrial facilities near you have been sited for violations of environmental laws during the past two years. That assumes the laws are being enforced on a regular basis!
Charleston Gazette on ECHO: Even mainstream news sources have been complaining that the new “Homeland Security” Act guts the Freedom of Information Act. Will this have any effect on ECHO? Why this sudden easy access and “openness” at EPA and how long will it last?
Here are some thoughts on the “Homeland Security” Act, excerpted from “Are We Protecting Secrets or Removing Safeguards?” in the Washington Post:
…The debate over the merits of open information versus state secrets came to a head again last week, with congressional authorization of the new Department of Homeland Security. Tucked into this legislation is a controversial section. It exempts from public disclosure any information about infrastructure security vulnerabilities that a private company voluntarily provides to the government. It insulates companies by barring anyone, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from using these disclosures in civil prosecutions for violations of environmental laws. It also makes it a crime for a federal worker, such as a whistleblower, to disclose any of this information.
…In searching for the right balance on these issues, it is essential to remember why the United States has attached importance to public information in protecting our health and environment. In 1984, approximately 2,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 were seriously injured when chemicals leaked from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India. The next year, a leak from a sister facility in Institute, W.Va., sent 135 people to the hospital. These accidents spurred Congress to adopt legislation creating a "right-to-know" program designed to foster public disclosure of chemical safety risks. The law requires companies to disclose their use, processing and storage of toxic chemicals. This information has become increasingly available online, and has become a valuable tool for industry and communities to work together in identifying and reducing risks. In some instances, public scrutiny of toxic emissions has prodded companies into cutting leaks by as much as 50 percent.
…In balancing openness and security, neither advocates for the right to know nor those who stress security have a lock on patriotism. While no one wants to provide a blueprint for terrorists intent on disrupting our nation, the presumption should be one of continued openness, unless a real risk can be demonstrated. The protection of our nation's environment and public health -- through open access to information about toxic risks -- has become an essential American practice. We should all be thankful that activists will monitor carefully whether government and industry abuse the new secrecy provisions of the Homeland Security law. And we should insist on a public accounting of the criteria and processes used by government in making this kind of information secret.
|
OVEC Home Issues Contact Join Site Map |
|