The World’s Dirtiest Power Plants

Virtually all power plants burning fossil fuels release insane amounts of pollution into the atmosphere – but some are definitely dirtier than others. And if you live in the Southeast United States, you’re practically surrounded by dozens of the world’s biggest carbon offenders.

Forbes has a new interactive map that lets you see where the world’s most polluting power plants are located, and learn all kinds of startling facts about them.

For example, France is the only G-7 country with no power plants among the world’s dirtiest – because they rely on nuclear power. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s got the nastiest one in the world – the Taichung Power Plant, which emits 40 million tons of carbon every year.

Check it out over at Forbes.com.

Link [Forbes]

Greenpeace Takes Over Four Italian Coal-Fired Power Stations

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Greenpeace – like PETA – really knows how to make an attention-grabbing statement. Over 100 Greenpeace activists from around the world took over four Italian coal-fired power stations in an attempt to force Heads of State to take leadership on climate change. World leaders convened yesterday in Rome for the G8 Summit, and climate change was one of the issues discussed.

From Greenpeace, via PlanetSave:

In the early hours of this morning, the activists, from 18 countries, occupied coal conveyors and climbed smokestacks and cranes on the four power stations in Brindisi, Marghera (just outside of Venice), at Vado Ligure, (near Genoa) and at an old oil plant at Porto Tolle, (set to be re-opened as an experimental so-called “clean coal” power plant.)  Coal is the worst climate pollutant of all fossil fuels.

The Brindisi plant is Italy’s biggest coal-fired power station and the country’s largest single source of C02 emissions. Greenpeace plans to stop it from polluting by blocking the coal conveyor belts and preventing coal from going into the plant.

“Politicians talk but leaders act” said UK activist Ben Stewart from the top of the 160m high chimney at the Marghera plant.  “There is no more time to waste. The G8 leaders must stop putting the interests of big coal and other climate polluting industries ahead of the planet and take strong, decisive leadership on climate change. That means deep cuts in emissions by 2020, investing in adaption and mitigation in the developing world and halting tropical deforestation.”

Greenpeace was asking world leaders to agree to a stringent set of criteria in the fight against global warming, including ensuring that global emissions peak by 2015 and be as close to zero as possible by 2050, and committing, as a group, to cut emissions by at least 40% by 2020.

Unfortunately, the world’s major industrial nations were not able to agree on specific cuts to heat-trapping gases by 2050. In the end, the failure to establish specific targets was due to the refusal of emerging nations like China and India.

You can follow a live feed of updates on the Greenpeace website, including photos and observations from the protesters. Photos of the activists climbing scaffolding hundreds of feet above the ground are quite striking and can be viewed full-size at ScribbleLive.com.

Link [Greenpeace] via [PlanetSave]

Global Warming Activists Super Glue Themselves Around Statue

Four climate change protesters were arrested in London this week after super gluing their hands together around a statue in the Houses of Parliament. The activists from Climate Rush, a global warming campaign group inspired by the suffragettes, chanted “deeds not words” in protest against the British government’s plans for new coal-fired power stations.

From the Times Online:

They wore red sashes and superglued their hands together around a statue of Viscount Falkland, which still bears a broken spur where the suffragette Margery Humes chained herself in the same place 100 years ago today.

Police and medics freed the protesters using a solvent solution before arresting them on suspicion of public order offences and criminal damage. Police were unable to give details of any damage caused.

A statement on the group’s website said: “Climate Rush is inspired by the actions of the suffragettes 100 years ago, who showed that peaceful civil disobedience could inspire positive change.

“We are a diverse group of women and men who are determined to raise awareness of the biggest threat facing humanity today, that of climate change. Our Government acknowledges the huge problems we face from climate change, but carries on with business as usual.”

Well, that’s certainly one way to get attention.  Some activist groups, who prefer the more shocking method of vandalism to get their point across, might see this method as ineffective, but there’s something to be said about peaceful protest. At least the cops used solvent and didn’t just rip their hands apart – we’ve got plenty of power-crazed dick cops in the U.S. that wouldn’t have been as pleasant.

Link [The Times Online]

Capitol Power Plant Protesters Declare Victory

Yesterday, thousands of protesters converged on Washington D.C. in an act of civil disobedience against coal power. The crowd consisted of about 2,500 people who marched, held signs and spoke out against coal outside the Capitol Power Plant’s northeast corner gate. Despite planning for it (and not for lack of trying), no one was arrested.

Grist’s Kate Sheppard reported from the scene (via The Huffington Post):

“I think any time you have 2,500 people willing to take action and risk going to jail to stop a coal plant, it’s a good thing,” Michael Brune of the Rainforest Action Network told Grist as the protest wrapped up. “And I think what’s quite clear is that we have more momentum than ever to start shutting down coal plants around the country.”

Climate movement luminaries were on hand, including climate scientist James Hansen, veteran activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., actress Daryl Hannah, writer Wendell Berry, former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson, and 350.org founder and Grist board member Bill McKibben (who also blogged about Monday’s action). Hansen, McKibben, and Anderson were at the front of the action, signaling their intention to get arrested.

But it’s the rank-and-file protesters who gave the strongest sense of how the anti-coal movement is growing. Among them was Rory McIlmoil, campaign coordinator for Coal River Wind, which is fighting to get wind power going in his home state of West Virginia rather letting more mountains be destroyed by coal mining. He was arrested on Feb. 3 at an action against coal company Massey Energy, which plans to blow up Coal River Mountain, and he has since been served a restraining order to keep him off all Massey property.

The protest, which was organized by the Rainforest Action Network, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Greenpeace, got a big boost from some of the 12,000 students who had also convened in Washington D.C. for the PowerShift 2009 conference.

Unsurprisingly, the turnout for the ‘Celebrate Coal!’ counter-protest was dismal, with fewer than 20 people showing up. Those few who did decide to take part held signs that said predictable things like ‘Our Economy Runs on Coal’ and disparaged Al Gore. What a joke, in comparison to the huge crowd that marched against the environmental and health injustices of coal power.

Thanks to everyone who braved the extremely cold temperatures and 6 inches of snow to make sure our leaders in Washington get the message that we’re not going to accept coal power any more. Clean energy FTW!

Link [Grist] + [The Huffington Post]

Congress Struggles to Clean Up Power Plant in its Own Backyard

While Congress emphasizes the importance of switching to clean energy around the U.S., it’s got a dirty little secret in its own backyard: the Capitol Power Plant, which still burns coal and produces one-third of Congress’ greenhouse gas emissions. Lawmakers have been attempting to clean it up for years, and they’ve also reduced their energy consumption and cut back the percentage of coal burned, but it’s a long way from being fully green.

So the question some people are asking is, how can Congress demand that power companies cut emissions and switch to cleaner energy sources when they’re not even doing it themselves?

From MSNBC:

The plant’s story is one that is likely to play out across the United States as Congress looks to limit greenhouse gases and require more of the country’s energy to come from wind, solar and other renewable sources.

The issues hampering the cleanup — politics, cost and technological barriers — could trip up similar efforts elsewhere. The U.S. counts on coal-fired power plants for about half of its electricity; the plants are also the biggest source of heat-trapping gases.

So if Congress cannot act locally, as the environmental slogan goes, how can it begin to think globally?

The Capitol Power Plant was at the center of the Capitol Climate Action anti-coal protest that went down in Washington D.C. yesterday. A coalition of over 90 groups came together, risking arrest, to demand the demise of coal as an energy source. Dr. James Hansen, the NASA scientist who has been instrumental in raising awareness about global warming, said that the battle starts with getting coal out of Congress.

Of course, it’s not surprising that nothing happened during Bush’s two terms in office to convert the plant. In 2000, senators from coal-producing states blocked an effort to rid the plant of coal and oil and the Bush Administration has never made any effort to push green energy in any capacity. But, we may make some headway soon now that Obama is in office. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have proposed converting the plant to 100% natural gas.

It may be an expensive investment, but Congress has got to practice what they preach and get this plant cleaned up.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Greenpeace

TVA Spill Update: Worried Residents and More Coal Spills

Over three weeks after the December 22nd TVA coal ash spill in Harriman, Tennessee, residents of the affected area wait for answers – is their drinking water safe? Where will they go? Underneath the wet, toxic mess in their backyards is once-fertile land, now contaminated and uninhabitable. As workers protected by HAZMAT suits pick through the sludge, the devastated, coughing residents whose homes and property have been destroyed wonder if they should be wearing protective gear, too.

Nashville Scene News reports:

What will happen when it dries and whips over the countryside, spirited by the wind coursing through these East Tennessee hills?

But there’s not much they can do. Their homes are all but worthless; no one’s shopping for fixer-uppers on a hazardous waste site. And without ample nest eggs, few have the money to leave.

“The most we could hope for is TVA buying our property,” Brenda Bailey says. “It’s ruined. We don’t even have the money to relocate.”

Residents of areas where TVA plants are located are torn between gratitude for the thousands of jobs that TVA has provided in their area and fears about pollution. Some locals are holding on to the hope that the Kingston spill was truly an accident and was not caused by TVA cutting corners to save money, while others angrily decry what they see as the sacrifice of their safety for higher profits.

One week ago today, as much as 10,000 gallons of coal waste spilled into Widows Creek in northeastern Alabama – at another plant owned by TVA. Claiming that it poses no threat to human health, TVA blamed a leaking pipe for the calcium sulfate spill and dismissed concerns about whether drinking water in the area was affected. Lab test results are expected on Monday.

The Huffington Post is reporting that yet another coal spill has occurred – this time, rather than coal ash sludge, it’s 110 tons of coal spilled next to New River in Scott County, Tennessee after a train overturned. This third spill is not connected to TVA, but does provide another sobering reminder of the danger that coal poses to the human health and the environment.

TennesseeGreen.com is reporting on the reaction of environmental groups and members of Congress:

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works

“The Tennessee Valley Authority has a lot to answer for – the first step is to prevent further spills and damage to communities around its plants. I have asked the TVA for a complete assessment of the safety of its waste disposal sites and their plans for upgrading those sites. This second pollution spill must be a wakeup message to the TVA and to the U.S. EPA that the current situation is unacceptable.”

Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign

“Even as residents in Roane County Tennessee are still trying to grasp the full impact of the Kingston disaster, communities in northeastern Alabama are now threatened with a new toxic coal waste spill.

“While initial accounts indicate that this latest spill is smaller than the Tennessee disaster, we hope that TVA and EPA have learned from the Tennessee disaster and move quickly to protect residents….

“Clearly current regulations are not adequate. We need the Environmental Protection Agency to start regulating coal ash before more communities are put at risk.”

The good news is, the US House of Representatives is moving forward on fly ash regulation after the Kingston spill made the entire country aware of just how dangerous this coal waste product can be. U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia filed legislation on Wednesday requiring that federal standards be put in place for coal ash ponds and other members of Congress are questioning why the EPA has not regulated coal ash in the past. Obama’s EPA nominee, Lisa Jackson, pledges to assess the situation in depth and look at strict regulation.

TVA has also been ordered by a federal judge to clean up four coal-fired plants in Eastern Tennessee and Alabama, which have been fouling the air in nearby Western North Carolina. Emissions from the plant were found to unreasonably interfere with the rights of North Carolina citizens, affecting health, the local economy and natural resources. The plants will now be required to use year-round pollution controls.

The coal industry must be held responsible for the damage they’re doing. We can’t continue to let them get away with things like this.

If you want to help the cleanup effort in Tennessee, please contact United Mountain Defense. They are currently in need of donations for HAZMAT respirators and independent air monitors.

Link [Nashville Scene News] + [The Huffington Post] + [TennesseeGreen] + [Knox News] + [CNN]
Photo credit: United Mountain Defense

Coal Industry in Limbo Over Regulating Greenhouse Gases

Scores of new coal-burning power plants were set to begin construction soon, but the plans are now on hold as the industry awaits decisions by the Obama administration about the regulation of greenhouse gases.

Coal industry lawyers are nervous after the Environmental Protection Agency appeals panel recently rejected a federal permit for a Utah Plant, which one lawyer described as “a punt to the Obama adminstration”. The panel said that the EPA’s Denver office had failed to adequately support its decision to create the plant without requiring controls on carbon dioxide.

From MSNBC:

The matter was sent back to that office, which must better explain why it failed to order limits on carbon dioxide. This is “an issue of national scope that has implications far beyond this individual permitting process,” the panel said.

EPA spokesman Jonathan Shrader said the agency was reviewing the ruling by the appeals panel, which traditionally gives great deference to agency decisions.

Environmentalists and lawyers representing industry groups said the ruling puts in question permits — some being considered, others approved but under appeal — of perhaps as many as 100 coal plants.

“It’s going to stop everything while EPA mulls over what to do next” about how the federal Clean Air Act is to be used to control carbon dioxide, said David Bookbinder, a Sierra Club lawyer. “And that will be decided by the next administration.”

Though we don’t yet know exactly how Obama is going to tackle the regulation of greenhouse gases, it’s safe to assume that his approach will be different from that of George W. Bush, who opposed using the Clean Air Act to do so. The Supreme Court has told the EPA that it must decide whether carbon dioxide endangers public health and welfare, and if it does it must be regulated. Obviously, it does, but under Bush, the EPA wouldn’t admit it.

The people Obama chooses for top spots in the EPA will make all the difference in cases like this – and we’re pretty confident that for once they’ll be capable of doing the job.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Al Gore Urges Civil Disobedience to Fight Coal Plants

Al Gore has a message for you, environmentalists: it’s okay to engage in a little civil disobedience here and there when the goal is as important as stopping the construction of coal plants that don’t have the ability to store carbon.  After all, civil disobedience is one of the few ways ordinary citizens still have to make sure our voices are heard.  Gore, speaking to a philanthropic meeting in New York, said on Wednesday that “the world has lost ground to the climate crisis”.

From Reuters:

“If you’re a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration,” Gore told the Clinton Global Initiative gathering to loud applause.

“I believe for a carbon company to spend money convincing the stock-buying public that the risk from the global climate crisis is not that great represents a form of stock fraud because they are misrepresenting a material fact,” he said. “I hope these state attorney generals around the country will take some action on that.”

According to the government, about 28 coal plants are currently under construction in the United States right now and another 20 projects have permits or are near the start of construction.  The carbon emitted from coal plants are a key factor in global warming.

Part of the problem is the fact that we, as a nation, have been apathetic for too long.  We’ve allowed money-hungry corporations to control our lives and dictate our futures, to the extent that every living creature on earth is now in danger. The truth is that we do hold a lot of power in our hands.  We outnumber the executives and the government officials.  If we all stand together and demand something, it will be done.  We just haven’t taken that power into our hands on a mass scale.  So we say, hell yeah, Al.  Civil disobedience is definitely called for in these frightening times.

Link [Reuters]
Photo credit: Sydney Indymedia

UK Court Decides Threat of Global Warming Justifies Breaking the Law

Talk about a precedent: a UK court ruled last week that the threat of global warming is such a pressing issue, that Greenpeace activists were right to cause more than $62,000 dollars in damage to a coal-fired power station.  Last October, the six protesters had scaled the chimney at the Kingsnorth power plant in Kent and painted Prime Minster Gordon Brown’s name on it.  The activists were upset about a plan to build another coal-fired power plant, which they said would be ‘a disastrous setback in the battle against global warming’.

From The Independent:

Jurors accepted defence arguments that the six had a “lawful excuse” to damage property at Kingsnorth power station in Kent to prevent even greater damage caused by climate change. The defence of “lawful excuse” under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 allows damage to be caused to property to prevent even greater damage – such as breaking down the door of a burning house to tackle a fire.

During the eight-day trial, the world’s leading climate scientist, Professor James Hansen of Nasa, who had flown from American to give evidence, appealed to the Prime Minister personally to “take a leadership role” in cancelling the plan and scrapping the idea of a coal-fired future for Britain. Last December he wrote to Mr Brown with a similar appeal. At the trial, he called for an moratorium on all coal-fired power stations, and his hour-long testimony about the gravity of the climate danger, which painted a bleak picture, was listened to intently by the jury of nine women and three men.

The activists said they acted lawfully, believing that their attempt to stop emissions from Kingsnorth would prevent further damage to properties worldwide caused by global warming.  They said that their actions were designed to cause only the amount of damage necessary to close the plant down.

It’s pretty amazing that Johnny Law came down on the side of the earth – especially given the fact that the jury was made up of ordinary people, not necessarily environmentalists.  It’s a good sign that people are starting to take the threat of global warming seriously, and yet another wake-up call to turn away from coal and start using cleaner technology.

Link [The Independent]
Photo credit: Greenpeace

EPA: Sit Back, Relax and Breathe in Some Coal Smoke at National Parks

Once again, the EPA is failing in what’s supposed to be their main goal: protecting the environment. You just fell over with surprise, right? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

The EPA will soon be allowing coal-fired power plants to set up shop next to national parks, lowering the protection of these areas from the highest level to “the lowest possible degree of protection” against spikes in pollution. The proposed changes would act to hide pollution from regulators, according to Mark Wenzler, clean air director of the National Parks Conservation Association.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Despite blunt internal criticism by its own staff experts, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proceeding with a plan by year’s end to revise regulations under the Clean Air Act that currently safeguard areas with some of the nation’s cleanest air.

Across the United States, 156 national parks, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges have been designated by Congress as Class-1 areas, granting them the toughest legal protection.

Officially, the EPA says it is proposing “refinements” to regulations that measure Class-1 air-quality standards.

But federal air-quality experts at the EPA and the National Park Service say the planned changes would be a backward step for air quality.

Naturally, what we all want when visiting national parks is to choke down black smoke and have formerly beautiful views obscured. Because, we aren’t there to enjoy the meager tracts of somewhat-untouched land that are left in America – no, we’re there to be poisoned and polluted.

Link [Christian Science Monitor] via [Treehugger]

Photo credit: Flickr user OneofThem