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Media Advisory |
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January 18, 2011
Contact:
Debbie Jarrell, CRMW: 304-854-2182 (office)
Maria Gunnoe, OVEC: 304-245-8481 (office)
What: The Impact of Coal on Our Lives
When: 2 p.m. Thursday, January 20, 2011
Where: Near the fountain side of the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, W.Va.
Who: Coal-impacted citizens, including members of the Whitesville-based Coal River Mountain Watch and the Huntington-based Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
Why: Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has called for a rally at the State Capitol that, according to his Jan. 14 media advisory, encourages the public to show the EPA how coal impacts our lives, and the lives of our fellow countrymen.
To illustrate just some of the impacts of coal on our lives, impacts we feel the acting governor and other politicians will fail to mention, we will gather with photos, water samples and stories of the impact of coal on our lives, our health, our wallets, our communities and the forest and streams we depend on.
The impact of coal on our lives includes serious negative effects on human health, blasting damage, stream contamination, increased risk of flooding, disbandment of long-standing communities, and the destruction of our cultural heritage.
Soon after the event concludes, photos will be uploaded to http://www.crmw.net/impactsofcoal.
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Reporters: Below is an extensive list of studies and testimonies detailing some of the impacts of coal on our lives. This list is far from exhaustive.
Mountaintop removal / valley fill coal mining poisoning waterways and harming human health
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Environmental Protection Agency, Final Decision of the Environmental Protection Agency Pursuant to Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act Concerning the Spruce No 1 Mine, Logan County, WV http://wvgazette.com/static/coal%20tattoo/sprucefinalveto.pdf
- Osha, Jen, Power-Knowledge to Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses of MTR in Coal River Valley, WV, Dissertation, WVU, (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/10450/11747
- Palmer, M., Bernhardt, E., Schlesinger, W., Eshleman, K., Foufoula-Georgius, E.,
Hendryx, M., Lemly, A., Likens, G., Loucks, O., Power, M., White, P., and P.
Wilcock. 2010. Mountaintop Mining Consequences. Science 8 January 2010:
Vol. 327. no. 5962.
- EPA Petitioned to Revoke West Virginia's Clean Water Authority, http://www.appalachian-center.org/media/2009/06_22.html
Blasting damage from mountaintop removal
- Aurora Lights. 2009. A Community and Strip-Mining: Map, Journey Up Coal
River. http://auroralights.org/map_project/theme.php?theme=crm&article=4.
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Osha, Jen, Power-Knowledge to Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses of MTR in Coal River Valley, WV, Dissertation, WVU, (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/10450/11747
- OVEC. 2004. The Social and Cultural Effects of Mountaintop Removal / Valley Fill Coal Mining. Comments on the Draft EIS on MTR/VF.
- Carol Warren. Like Walking onto Another Planet: Stories about the TRUE Impacts of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining, http://www.ohvec.org/issues/mountaintop_removal/misc/ovec_mtrbooklet.pdf
- OVEC, Mountaintops Do Not Grow Back: Stories of Living in the Midst of Mountaintop Removal Strip Mining. http://www.ohvec.org/issues/mountaintop_removal/misc/mountaintops_do_not_grow_back.pdf
Communities driven to extinction by mountaintop removal
- Aurora Lights. 2009. A Community and Strip-Mining, Journey Up Coal
River. http://auroralights.org/map_project/theme.php?theme=crm&article=4.
Accessed 1/17/11.
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Hufford, Mary. Weathering the Storm: Cultural Survival in an Appalachian Valley. In Ayers et al. An Appalachian Tragedy: Air Pollution and Tree Death in the Eastern United States
- Loeb, Penny. 2003. The Coalfield Communities of Southern West Virginia. http://www.wvcoalfield.com/
- Osha, Jen, Power-Knowledge to Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses of MTR in Coal River Valley, WV, Dissertation, WVU, (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/10450/11747
Deforestation from mountaintop removal
- Bundy, Jennifer. 1998. Forestry Chief Resigns Over Mining, http://www.wvgazette.com/static/series/mining/MINE1101.html
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Hufford, Mary. Stalking the Mother Forest: Voices Beneath the Canopy. Tending the Commons: Folklife and Landscape in Southern West Virginia. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/tending/essay3a.html
- Loucks, O. 2005. Mine Reclamation leaves grass but no employment, Charleston Gazette, April 18. http://www.ohvec.org/links/news/archive/2005/fair_use/04_18.html
- Osha, Jen, Power-Knowledge to Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses of MTR in Coal River Valley, WV, Dissertation, WVU, (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/10450/11747
- Palmer, M., Bernhardt, E., Schlesinger, W., Eshleman, K., Foufoula-Georgius, E.,
Hendryx, M., Lemly, A., Likens, G., Loucks, O., Power, M., White, P., and P.
Wilcock. 2010. Mountaintop Mining Consequences. Science 8 January 2010:
Vol. 327. no. 5962.
US EPA. Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on impacts of mountaintop mining and valley fills. http://www.epa.gov/Region3/mtntop/#eis
Destruction of valuable ecosystem services from mountaintop removal
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Costanza et al. The Value of the Worlds Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/PROGRAMS/wr/hq/pdf/naturepaper.pdf
- Hufford, Mary. Tending the Commons: Ramp Patches, Ramp Suppers and the Integrity of The Mountains Tending the Commons: Folklife and Landscape in Southern West Virginia http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/tending/essay4a.html
- Hufford, Mary. American Ginseng and the Idea of the Commons. Tending the Commons: Folklife and Landscape in Southern West Virginia http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/tending/essay1a.html
- Meyer, J.L., D. L. Strayer, J. B. Wallace, S. L. Eggert, G. S. Helfman, and N.E. Leonard. 2007. The contribution of headwater streams to biodiversity in river networks. K. American Water Resources Association 43: 86-103.
- Valuing Ecosystem Services. http://www.wri.org/publication/content/8381
Increased flooding from mountaintop removal and valley fills
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Ferrari, J., Lookingbill, T., McCormick, B., Townsend, P., and K. N. Eshleman. Surface mining and reclamation effects on flood response of watersheds in the central Appalachian Plateau region. Water Resources Research, Vol. 45. W04407.
- Loeb, Penny. 2003. The Coalfield Communities of Southern West Virginia. http://www.wvcoalfield.com/
- McCormick, B. C., Eshleman, K. N., Griffith, J.L., and P. A. Townsend. 2009. Detection of flooding responses at the river basin scale enhanced by land use change. Water Resources Reseatch, Vol 45, W08401.
- Negley, T. and K. Eshleman. 2006. Comparison of stormflow responses of surface-
mined and forested watersheds in the Appalachian Mountains, USA. Hydrological Processes. Vol. 20,16, published Online: 3 Apr 2006.
- Osha, Jen, Power-Knowledge to Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses of MTR in Coal River Valley, WV, Dissertation, WVU, (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/10450/11747
Loss of heritage / culture from mountaintop removal
- Aurora Lights. 2009. Community Land Use in Coal River Valley, Journey Up Coal
River. http://auroralights.org/map_project/theme.php?theme=crm&article=4.
Accessed 1/17/11.
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Hufford, Mary. 1998. Weathering the Storm: Cultural Survival in an Appalachian Valley. In An Appalachian Tragedy: Air Pollution and Tree Death in the Eastern Forests of North America, ed. Harvard Ayers, Jenny Hager, Charles Little. San Francisco: Sierra Books.
- Hufford, Mary. 2002. Reclaiming the Commons: Narratives of Progress, Preservation, and Ginseng. In Culture, Environment and Conservation in the Appalachian South, ed. Benita Howell. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/folklore/faculty/mhufford/ReclaimingtheCommons.pdf
- Osha, Jen, Power-Knowledge to Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses of MTR in Coal River Valley, WV, Dissertation, WVU, (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/10450/11747
- OVEC. 2004. The Social and Cultural Effects of Mountaintop Removal / Valley Fill Coal Mining. Comments on the Draft EIS on MTR/VF. http://www.ohvec.org/issues/mountaintop_removal/articles/EIS_social_cultural.pdf
- http://www.ohvec.org/issues/mountaintop_removal/articles/EIS_mary.pdf
Some Other Impacts of the Coal-Use Cycle:
Health impacts
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Duhigg, C. "Clean Water Laws are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering" The New York Times online (accessed 4/8/2009).
- Michael Hendryx and Melissa M. Ahern, Mortality in Appalachian Coal Mining Regions: The Value of Statistical Life Lost, Public Health Reports, 124 (2009): 541-550.
- Michael Hendryx and Melissa Ahern, Relations between health indicators and residential proximity to coal mining in West Virginia,Am J Public Health. 2008, 98(4):669-71. Epub 2008 Feb 28.
- Michael Hendryx, Melissa Ahern, and Timothy Nurkiewicz, Hospitalization Patterns Associated with Appalachian Coal Mining, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 70 (2007): 20642070.
- Michael Hendryx, Mortality Rates in Appalachian Coal Mining Counties: 24 Years Behind the Nation, Environmental Justice, March 2008, 1(1): 5-11.
- Hendryx, Michael, Fedorko, Evan J., Halverson, Joel. "Pollution Sources and Mortality Rates Across Rural-Urban Areas in the United States." Journal of Rural Health, IN PRESS.
- Hendryx, M., Fedorko, E., and Anesetti-Rothermel, A. 2010. A GIS Analysis of Cancer Mortality and Population Exposure to Coal Mining Activities in West Virginia. Geospatial Health, Volume 4 (2).
- Nathaniel P. Hitt and Michael Hendryx, Ecological Integrity of Streams Related to Human Cancer, EcoHealth, 7 (2010): 91-104.
- Palmer, M., Bernhardt, E., Schlesinger, W., Eshleman, K., Foufoula-Georgius, E.,
Hendryx, M., Lemly, A., Likens, G., Loucks, O., Power, M., White, P., and P.
Wilcock. 2010. Mountaintop Mining Consequences. Science 8 January 2010:
Vol. 327. no. 5962.
- Studies Link Poor Health to Mining Practices but Little is Being Done. http://www.wvoter-owned.org/reports/health_in_coalfields.pdf
Acid mine drainage
Acid mine pools
Acid rain
Asthma
Coal ash (power plant waste) poisoning water and harming human health
- Stant, Jeff. 2010. In Harms Way: lack of Federal Coal Ash Regulations Endangers Americans and their Environment, Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and Sierra Club, August 26, 2010.
- Stant, Jeff. 2010. Out of Control: Mounting Damages from Coal Ash Waste Sites.
http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports/documents/OutofControl-MountingDamagesFromCoalAshWasteSites.pdf
- Dewan, Shaila. Tennessee Ash Flood Larger Than Initial Estimate. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/us/27sludge.html?
- US EPA. 2009. TVA Kingston Fly Ash Release, Lab Analytical Results for
Surface Water Samples, January 1, 2009.
- US EPA. 2007. Coal Combustion Waste Damage Case Assessments, July 9, 2007.
Coal dust causing health problems for residents
- Aneja, Viney P. 2009. Characterization of Particulate Matter (PM10) in Roda, Virginia, Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
Coal sludge impoundments endangering communities
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Osha, Jen, Power-Knowledge to Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses of MTR in Coal River Valley, WV, Dissertation, WVU, (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/10450/11747
- SSP. Why Worry About Sludge Impoundments? http://www.sludgesafety.org/what_me_worry/
Coal slurry injections poisoning water and harming human health
Dangerous Traffic and Roads
Decreased quality of life for children
Osha, Jen, Power-Knowledge to Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses of MTR in Coal River Valley, WV, Dissertation, WVU, (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/10450/11747
Disillusionment of citizens with the democratic process
Loss of Wildlife Habitat
- Shirley Stewart Burns, Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities, WVU Press (2007).
- Osha, Jen, Power-Knowledge to Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses of MTR in Coal River Valley, WV, Dissertation, WVU, (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/10450/11747
Mercury poisoning water ways and harming unborn children and human health
Premature deaths (tens of thousands) each year to coal-fired power plant pollution
Subsidence of homes, farmland, streams, lakes and sometimes roads due to longwall mining
Subsidies and tax breaks costing taxpayers billions of dollars
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