Tell the EPA to Stop Mountaintop Removal

Earlier this week the Environmental Protection Agency announced that they'd be delaying and reviewing two permits for mountaintop removal mining operations and calling into question more that 100 pending permits that threaten mountains, waterways and communities across Appalachia.

But one day after the big announcement, the EPA released a clarification saying that although the permits were under review, they expected that "the bulk of these pending permit applications will not raise environmental concerns."

Why?

Because Big Coal has some deep pockets.

Send a letter to Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking her to stand up to industry pressure and support a permanent moratorium on mountaintop removal coal mining.

Tell TVA to Take Responsibility for Toxic Coal Spills!

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the biggest consumer of coal in the United States and last Christmas residents living near the TVA Kingston Steam Plant were flooded with approximately 1.6 billion gallons of coal waste after a retaining wall at the facility failed.

The spill was 40 times the size of the Exxon Valdez, has caused severe health problems, and polluted the water and the air quality throughout the region. So far the TVA hasn't taken full responsibility for the spill and another could happen at any time.

Please send a letter to TVA CEO Tom Kilgore and tell him that you support the residents of Tennessee who are calling for the TVA to be held accountable for this spill.


http://ga3.org/campaign/tva

On Day 45, this March keeps Marching

Sierra
March 5, 2009

So about those signs you held on Monday. The ones you had to grip so hard that your knuckles went stiff and numb in the cold. The ones with the sunburst, a young Rosie-the-riveter, and the words “Power Past Coal” boldly stenciled across the top.



Those words you saw hovering above the thousands that gathered for the Capitol Climate Action are more than just a sweet phrase someone thought to throw onto a placard.



The words Power Past Coal describe a movement.It’s a movement that’s been building in all corners of this country for years, maybe even decades, but that found it’s united voice on January 21st, when you and your organizations helped to launch the 100 Days of action, adding value to the work in which your communities and organizations have already been engaged.



In over forty days we’ve had nearly seventy actions -- citizens have packed courtrooms and flooded the streets to stop new strip mines and coal plants, while others have arranged community lobby trips to their statehouses and to Washington.



Many have chosen civil disobedience as their tactic – the Capitol Climate Action marked day 42 of Power Past Coal. It was an action of all actions, uniting from every corner of the country those who have founded the project: Navajo and Hopi from Black Mesa, retired miners from Appalachia, high schoolers from the Little Village of Chicago, and many others.


But we’re not even halfway there. We have neighbors to mobilize, congressmen to lobby, and a President to convince. And we have fifty-six days of action to fill. Help us pack the calendar. Click on our “Add an Action” tab to start publicizing your own work.



So resist the urge to go home and tack that placard to your wall. We know it looks cool, but it’ll look cooler in the streets, in front of that coal plant that’s making your family sick, outside the courtroom on the day of your hearing, or even in front of those wind turbines just built on your reservation.



Don’t stop in DC. Be part of the movement. Check in frequently for news and updates, and help us spread the words: Power Past Coal.

Capitol Climate Action: Mass Civil Disobedience in D.C. Against Use of Coal at Capitol Hill Power Plant

Over a thousand activists representing a broad alliance of civic groups are converging on Washington, D.C. today for the country’s largest mass civil disobedience against global warming. Dubbed the “Capitol Climate Action,” people are demonstrating against coal at the Capitol Hill Power Plant, which still uses coal to heat and cool several key buildings, including House and Senate offices, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, and Union Station. We speak with two well-known environmentalists: Bill McKibben and Judy Bonds.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/2/capitol_climate_action_thousands_converging_on