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Forum Post: Clean coal - another lie being told/sold to the public.

Posted 11 years ago on June 8, 2012, 4:50 p.m. EST by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

Sent this day 6/08/2012 An Open Letter Addressed to The President of the United States of America and to all of the currently seated members of Government. Please Handle and deliver/share as you would a letter delivered by the USPS.

Mr. President and all currently seated members of Government,

1st - the truth is getting out and it is spreading. Yes the cat is out of the bag and it's running for it's life. No the ( your? ) MSM did not let it get out. The freedom of the internet ( the peoples only friend these days ) is getting out the truth.

There is no doubt in the public mind ( those who are aware ) that the government has been subverted to do the will of the corporate faux-people even to the detriment of our health and prosperity our environment. The program is becoming well known - Profits over People. What happens when all of our work is outsourced? Where will be the support for the economy? Does not really matter if we are going to engineer our own environmental extinction event.

Among other things the FCC should be looking into the prevalence of false advertizing and issuing fines and alerting the EPA and alerting the American People as well as government as well as the Justice department. WTF good are public protection agencies if they don't do the job? WTF good is government if they support domestic threats?

There is no such thing as "clean" coal.

Images for coal ash spill Tennessee

http://site.pfaw.org/site/R?i=fpQqgmTwryElDB-lATsbNg

Inside the Tennessee Coal Ash Spill - The Daily Beast www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/07/17/toxic-tsunami.html Jul 17, 2009 – Inside the largest industrial spill in American history. How coal ash ruined one Tennessee town—and why it could happen again.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=coal%20ash%20spill%20tennessee&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CH8QFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailybeast.com%2Fnewsweek%2F2009%2F07%2F17%2Ftoxic-tsunami.html&ei=31DOT4LmFaec2AXUgJ3NDA&usg=AFQjCNGcmOoJvtF81B833De-0yUWqAtvjg&cad=rja

Images for coal ash spill lake Michigan

http://www.google.com/search?q=coal+ash+spill+lake+michigan&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=XXK&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvnsu&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=sFLOT_OrOOGJ2AWW0JHPDA&ved=0CHMQsAQ&biw=1120&bih=552

U.S. EPA Sued over Toxic Coal Ash Disposal

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=coal%20ash%20disposal&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CIUBEBYwAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecology.com%2F2012%2F04%2F06%2Fepa-toxic-coal-ash-disposal%2F&ei=ZlPOT8LMCuXs2QXh-ITSDA&usg=AFQjCNFBocwNfqbAJ8OgOTcCPMAQ_bXdEw&cad=rja

Environmental Groups Target Coal Ash Disposal

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=coal%20ash%20disposal&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CIgBEBYwBg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.martenlaw.com%2Fnewsletter%2F20120502-groups-target-coal-ash-disposal&ei=ZlPOT8LMCuXs2QXh-ITSDA&usg=AFQjCNG9u8v_Tsr-yPpPfURKmPdToX_cKA&cad=rja

Coal Ash Sites Across the Country - Sierra Club

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=coal%20ash%20disposal&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CIkBEBYwBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Faction.sierraclub.org%2Fsite%2FPageNavigator%2Fadv_bigpicture_coalash_map&ei=ZlPOT8LMCuXs2QXh-ITSDA&usg=AFQjCNE5cCCZmgGjyoIhILJA0dblS-Ow4Q&cad=rja

Spread the word.

Green Tech. New and improved - now with Liquid Metal Battery for efficient power storage and distribution.

This is where we should be going: Green Energy we have the technology we just need to use it. This is what I am talking about. A clean future to be implemented NOW!

http://www.hopewellproject.org/

http://ecat.com/

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/ff_new_nukes/all/1

FuelCell Energy http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=600

You have got to watch this vid: The liquid Metal Battery - another piece to the puzzle.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_renewable_energy.html

Additional Liquid Metal Battery links.

http://lmbcorporation.com/

http://lmbcorporation.com/files/flyerFinal.pdf

Support green energy technology - industry - jobs. Save our world save our economy.

Rework free trade agreements as they are currently detrimental to the Business, Employment, Economic and Environmental health of the USA and in extension the world.

Put an end to outsourcing for Profit over People and the environment.

Stop world wide corporate abuses of people and environments.

87 Comments

87 Comments


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[-] 4 points by francismjenkins (3713) 11 years ago

You're probably preaching to the choir here; at least speaking for myself, I fully understand that there's no such thing as clean coal (at this point, there is no viable platform to burn coal in a clean way, and the only possible option is sequestering the CO2 underground, with unknown geological consequences). But don't expect Obama or most other politicians to give two shits about any of this. The only citizens these people are concern with is themselves.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Hence the dissent and protest country wide as well as world wide.

Our only salvation will come with the full involvement of the population.

[-] 3 points by timirninja (263) 11 years ago

We can go crazy about everything! Everybody know that coal burning is increase greenhouse effect. Its natural, its dusty, its cheap, its old school technology like this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIfu2A0ezq0

[+] -7 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Thanks - An oldy - but a goody - Tennessee ernie Ford - 16 Tons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIfu2A0ezq0

People do you realize that the company store is now nation wide?

Yep. It used to be isolated coal town abuse.

CorpoRATions have learned that bigger is better - for them.

[-] 3 points by Nevada1 (5843) 11 years ago

Thank you DKA, for all the good work you have done here.

Fossil fuel companies do not care. Growing awareness is critical, in getting safe energy alternatives into use.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Unite in support of issues. This is where education and awareness need to go to successfully unite people all people in moving forward in health and prosperity for all.

Corpo-rat issues are the enemy of the people - profits over people.

Understanding of this basic is what needs to happen.

Thanks for the shout-out.

[-] 1 points by JadedCitizen (4277) 11 years ago

I slipped and fell in some corporately 'cleaned' mud the other day. I still got dirty.

[+] -12 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

LOL - can you imagine that they are using coal ash in building materials?

How is that any different than using arsenic to pressure treat wood products. This practice was banned as the skin can absorb the arsenic that coats the surface of such products. Arsenic was also banned in use in other building materials for the same reason as well as out gassing.

How is approving the use of coal ash in cement used in construction different? The cement will come into human contact and can also out-gas.

[-] 1 points by JadedCitizen (4277) 11 years ago

The difference was more profit. That's the only difference they seem to care about.

[+] -10 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

More profit - yes. That is their battle cry - more profit - and - profit over people.

That is why crapitalism can not be left to it's own devices.

[-] 1 points by JadedCitizen (4277) 11 years ago

cough....cough...hack...wheeze...cough....sorry. Got some coal ash in my lungs there for a sec.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Not surprising! Did you see the map of coal ash dumps?

[-] 1 points by JadedCitizen (4277) 11 years ago

No. But provincial wisdom says the Corporate Profit Engine is driving us right off the global warming cliff, so any number would not really surprise me.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Corporate practices "are" sending us towards an extinction event. Apparently that is their goal? I mean they are supposed to be somewhat intelligent - they buy the best minds available as they are found in our colleges - so that can be my only conclusion.

[-] 1 points by JadedCitizen (4277) 11 years ago

Their goal is to wallow in their own power. Overconfidence in their power leads to blind ambition. For this reason, some men give little credence to the far greater power of nature until it is too late. Intelligence does not prevent arrogance, only humility can do that. For evidence, I give you the Titanic.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

True true - arrogance like greed is blind. Worse the arrogant often think they are godlike the greedy just try to grab everything in sight. All the more reason we need effective rules, regulations, oversight and enforcement.

[-] 1 points by JadedCitizen (4277) 11 years ago

Amen.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Good thing we are part of a growing awareness. We need to wake everyone we can. ASAP. If not sooner.

[-] 1 points by JadedCitizen (4277) 11 years ago

Get out the pots and pans and let's make some noise.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

In compliment to the idea may I contribute again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUKB3PxG-0E

[-] 2 points by JadedCitizen (4277) 11 years ago

Nailed it again. Thanks.

[Removed]

[-] 0 points by freewriterguy (882) 11 years ago

not sure im buying this article. ive worked at coal power plants, and yes they are subtantially cutting down pollution, much the same way that cars pollution is cut down. In fact I didnt see any black smoke coming out of it, only white smoke.

[+] -8 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

And the coal ash dumps?

[Removed]

[-] 0 points by ScrewyL (809) 11 years ago

You're right. We should cover half of western North America with solar panels and wind turbines, and continue building million-year mass extinction machines (nuclear power plants) all over the place.

I bet your nose is "dirty", but I won't eat radioactive waste just because of that fact.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Your user name - ScrewyL - seems to have been an appropriate choice.


Green Tech. Not what one might expect.

This is where we should be going: Green Energy we have the technology we just need to use it. This is what I am talking about. A clean future to be implemented NOW!

http://www.hopewellproject.org/

http://ecat.com/

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/ff_new_nukes/all/1

FuelCell Energy http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=600

You have got to watch this vid: The liquid Metal Battery - another piece to the puzzle.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_renewable_energy.html

Additional Liquid Metal Battery links.

http://lmbcorporation.com/

http://lmbcorporation.com/files/flyerFinal.pdf

[-] 0 points by ScrewyL (809) 11 years ago

My name is a peice of text on a screen, it is irrelevant. Your name could just as easily stand for DKA - "Don't-Know-Anything", but would that validate my argument?

Do not reply to me with cuts and pastes please.

We're not talking about green energy here. We're talking about "clean" coal. You should not mix the two.

Talk about one or the other at a time, otherwise you either confuse yourself and others, or you pander to an agenda by improperly weighting your disclosures, which is after all the complaint made above.

Judging from your cut-n-paste verbiage, the latter appears to be the case.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Of course we are talking about green energy.

Why? Screwy? Why?

Because fossil fuel needs to be replaced.

So what? I can almost hear your corroded gears churn out the question.

Because we have the means to replace fossil fuel right now - as in - Today!!!!

[-] 0 points by ScrewyL (809) 11 years ago

No, we don't. We have absolutely no way short of armed revolt to accomplish that.

[+] -10 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Such a pessimist.

All we need is for the public to awaken pay attention and then get involved.

[-] 0 points by ScrewyL (809) 11 years ago

If the public awaken they will be killed. Their slumber is the only thing that keeps us so comfortable. I'm sorry to have to tell you this.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

What you think the military of the USA would be willing to do an Assad on the Public? We are not in Syria yet and let us pray that things never get that bad.

See the funny thing is - there is prosperity even for fossil fuel producers in changing over their operations to green tech.

There will always be a market for fossil fuel byproducts - it just does not have to be as a fuel.

[-] 0 points by ScrewyL (809) 11 years ago

I do not "think it"; they have published the plans for it, built the apparatus, amassed the power, legalized the process, and begun the assault.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Our military is of this country. They grew-up here - they were educated here. Why would they throw away their heritage?

Are you aware that we have a major problem with military personnel committing suicide? Why is that if they feel good about what they are doing? In a foreign country no less.

[-] -1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

If we want to stop climate change, we need President Obama's team to start saying "no" to some of the worst sources of extreme energy. And we only have until Monday to keep the fuse from being lit on one carbon bomb — North American coal exports.* Click here to submit your public comment now and tell the Army Corps of Engineers to just say no to climate-killing coal exports.

The Millennium Bulk Terminal is the first proposed coal export terminal in the Pacific Northwest. If permitted, it would allow over 145 million tons of coal to be disastrously strip mined in America, then shipped to China. The result would be more carbon pollution than the planet can bear. Burning 145 tons of coal would produce the same amount of global warming pollution as doubling all the car traffic from over 12 states.**

Fortunately, local resistance has been strong. Thousands of people have already turned out to hearings and sent public comments opposing the plan. But these Northwestern leaders need national backup to turn the tide, and shut down the coal export plan. Will you stand with these front line communities? Submit a public comment to the Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opposing the climate-killing coal exports.

President Obama has been making good choices for our climate lately — For example, he's bringing an end to dirty coal power with the EPA's new rules on global warming pollution from power plants. But that good work will count for nothing if we simply turn around and ship the same dirty fuel to China.

The last public hearing is this Monday, November 18th. Submit your comment today to stop this coal export disaster before it starts.

Thanks,

Drew Hudson And the team at Environmental Action

** Think Progress, Coal Exports and Carbon Consequences: How much is 145 million tons of coal?, Eric de Place, May 24, 2012.


I added:

We need to stop extracting and using fossil fuel - NOT be expanding the market.

Get Your Heads Out Of The Sand.

[-] -1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

For Gary, a hardworking miner in Appalachian coal country, it first showed up as a shortness of breath. Then he started coughing up black mucus. Slowly suffocating, his lungs were being choked and hardened by deadly black lung disease. The coal industry is required to compensate him and his family -- but Big Coal had other ideas.

An explosive new report documents how Gary and thousands of others were denied that money by an elite team of lawyers and doctors who lied and hid evidence. To feed his family, Gary had no choice but to go back to the mine that was killing him. 1

Big Coal seems hell bent on poisoning and discarding miners the same way it poisons and discards our land, air, and water. Time and again they refuse to pay the true cost of coal.

Outraged, Senators Bob Casey and Jay Rockefeller have pledged to introduce legislation to set things right for the miners. 2 But you can bet the coal companies and their lawyers are going to fight every step of the way. That's why it's critical these senators know we stand with them -- it's going to take all of us fighting together to get justice for the miners.

Send your message and tell Senators Casey and Rockefeller to keep their promise and pass legislation to protect our nation's miners from Big Coal's greed!

Gary's story isn't unique -- it's happening to miners across Appalachia as Big Coal runs roughshod over the legal system.

With its limitless funds and high-power lawyers and doctors, coal companies have successfully beat back nearly 20,000 claims by ailing miners in the last 5 years alone. 3 In fact, one doctor supposedly found no evidence of black lung in over 1,500 cases. 4 All this misery to avoid paying in some cases as little as $1,000 a month in compensation -- small change for these wealthy corporations. 5

This is low, even for Big Coal.

One doctor described black lung "...like a screw being slowly tightened across your throat. Day and night towards the end, the miner struggles to get enough oxygen." 6 Nobody should suffer like this and no one should be cheated out of the compensation they deserve.

The men and women who have toiled underground for these greedy companies deserve better. It's time for Big Coal to do what is right, and stop blocking the hard-earned protections of working people.

Will you send a message today and tell Big Coal it can’t game the system for its own profit while poisoning and cheating miners?

In it together,

Michael Grenetz SierraRise Director

P.S. Want to do more? Protect our environment and local communities from Big Coal by sending a message to end mountain-top removal mining.

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Chip In

References:

  1. Hamby, Chris (2013 October 29). "Coal industry's go-to law firm withheld evidence of black lung, at expense of sick miners." The Center for Public Integrity.

  2. Hamby, Chris, Brian Ross, and Matthew Mosk. (2013 November 5). "Senators push reform of black lung program that 'failed' sick miners." The Center for Public Integrity.

  3. Michael, Johnny (2013 November 2). "Cabal of companies, lawyers, doctors undermine benefits claims." Examiner.com.

  4. Ross, Brian, Matthew Mosk, and Chris Hamby (2013 November 1). "Top Hospital Suspends Black Lung Program After ABC News Report." ABC News.

  5. Ross, Brian, Matthew Mosk, and Chris Hamby (2013 October 29). "For Some Miners, Black Lung Proof Comes Only in Death." ABC News.

  6. Hamby, Chris (2013 July 8). "Black lung surges back in coal country." The Center for Public Integrity.

Photo Credit: Peterp via Flickr, CC by 2.0

Sierra Club | 85 2nd St San Francisco, CA 94105 | sierrarise.members@sierraclub.org


I added:

THERE IS "NO" SUCH THING AS CLEAN COAL. World Health Organization declares "Air Pollution" as much more deadly than 2nd hand tobacco smoke. Makes 2nd hand smoke trivial in comparison.

WHERE DOES ONE GO TO NOT BREATHE AIR-POLLUTION ???

[-] -2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

TWEET

DKAtoday ‏@DKAtoday

http://occupywallst.org/forum/clean-coal-another-lie-being-toldsold-to-the-publi/#comment-1011976

No Such Thing As Clean Coal.

End fossil fuel extraction/use

Air pollution more deadly than 2nd hand smoke.

[-] -1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

Take a good look. Is that sludge or fudge?

Test your gut instinct -- and your sweet tooth -- take the Sierra Club's new Sludge or Fudge?! quiz and see just how different toxic coal sludge and chocolate fudge really are.

When you answer all five questions, The Sierra Club Foundation will get a $1 boost from a generous anonymous donor -- so we can fight to keep our rivers, lakes and neighborhoods coal sludge-free.

The EPA has proposed new safeguards against disposing toxic coal waste that could help help stem the tide of sludge, so we're getting the word out -- and having some sludgy fudgy fun while we're at it.

Think you know your fudge? Click here to get started.

Happy sleuthing,

Mary Anne Hitt Beyond Coal Campaign Director

Sierra Club | 85 2nd St San Francisco, CA 94105

[-] 1 points by shoozTroll (17632) 10 years ago

I got 4 out of 5, I missed the first one. That fudge, really did look like sludge.

[-] 0 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

Freebee on #1 folks. Lets all answer those five questions and give the Sierra Club Foundation a BOOST.

[-] -1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

YAY . . . . I hope:

More Bad News for the Coal Mining Industry You wouldn’t want to be King Coal these days. The coal mining industry, once a pillar of the US economy, is in the dumps as demand for the... read more

[-] -2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

It is no longer debatable. Climate change is real, it is deadly, costly, and it is caused by humans.

As I look out across a parched lawn and distressed trees, I can see the tall smokestacks of the Sherco coal plant belching out toxic waste and promising more of the same. Sunday it was 60 degrees and Monday it was 95 -- and as usual, there is no rain in the forecast. This has become all too familiar.

Responsible for a third of US carbon emissions, coal-fired power plants are the main contributors to climate disruption. If you are like me, you do your best to conserve energy and support Minnesota's growing clean energy economy. However, in order to truly shift the balance toward sustainable power, we must take the fossil fuel industry to task for its reliance on dirty fossil fuels.

Tell the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to insist on a plan to retire Xcel's Sherco coal plant -- Minnesota's largest polluter!

I worry about my children's children. If we continue down this path, what will it be like for them?

Facing global climate disruption can seem like a daunting task, but right now we have a golden opportunity to make a difference locally. For the rest of this month, the PUC is seeking comments on the future of Xcel's Sherco coal plant in Becker. This plant -- the same one I can see from my home -- is the single largest soot and carbon polluter in the state and one of the biggest emitters of toxic mercury and sulfur dioxide in the nation.

Xcel proposes dumping millions of dollars of ratepayers' money into the aging Sherco coal plant to keep burning coal. Xcel seeks business as usual, but we must demand that the PUC look out for the best interests of our state by investing in affordable clean energy.

By working together, we can get this done. But we must work together, talk to each other, care about the future and perhaps, most importantly – commit to take action.

Please send a message to the PUC today. Ask for a plan to retire Minnesota's largest polluter.

Above all, we're Minnesotans. We won't bow down to a fossil fuel industry that cares only about the bottom line. By taking action, you help ensure cleaner air to breathe, cleaner water to drink, and better health for our next generation. They too, should be able to enjoy the gift of Minnesota's great outdoors.

Thanks for all you do for our state and our environment.

Sincerely,

Rose Thelen Sierra Club Member Clearwater, MN

P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues!

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Sierra Club | 85 2nd St San Francisco, CA 94105 |


I added :

ALSO: WE HAVE VERY VIABLE ALTERNATIVES.

We ( everyone in the world ) need to get off of using fossil fuel. Global warming is real - climate change is happening. This along with the fact that fossil fuel extraction and transportation - Kills - Is more than enough reason to stop it's use. Then there are the wars it promotes for control of foreign oil fields. ALL OF THE ABOVE IS COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY. We have alternative technology available to be implemented TODAY. Alternative technology which is clean to the environment and to all life. One example a recent episode of NOVA shows many new tech answers for pollution problems - Making Stuff: Cleaner http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/making-stuff-cleaner.html Aired: Aug 28, 2013 Consider this information share this information. We can do so much better than we are. 43 minutes into the above program it talks about liquid metal batteries - this would be the most significant up-grade to every power grid in the world - as significant as stopping the use of fossil fuel. A much better use of employment and public funds for upgrading our power grid for pumping money into the economy - not throw it away like the ongoing 85 billion a month bailout of Wallstreet.


TWEET

DKAtoday ‏@DKAtoday

Replace Mn's Biggest Polluter with Clean Energy! http://action.sierraclub.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=11357&s_src=710ZSCH01#.UjCj9l29HRY.twitter … After All there R viable alternatives. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/making-stuff-cleaner.html

[-] -2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

There is no such thing as clean coal :

Earthjustice

Power plant pollution is a triple threat.


I added:

We ( everyone in the world ) need to get off of using fossil fuel. Global warming is real - climate change is happening. This along with the fact that fossil fuel extraction and transportation - Kills - Is more than enough reason to stop it's use. Then there are the wars it promotes for control of foreign oil fields. ALL OF THE ABOVE IS COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY. We have alternative technology available to be implemented TODAY. Alternative technology which is clean to the environment and to all life. One example a recent episode of NOVA shows many new tech answers for pollution problems - Making Stuff: Cleaner http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/making-stuff-cleaner.html Aired: Aug 28, 2013 Consider this information share this information. We can do so much better than we are. 43 minutes into the above program it talks about liquid metal batteries - this would be the most significant up-grade to every power grid in the world - as significant as stopping the use of fossil fuel. A much better use of employment and public funds for upgrading our power grid for pumping money into the economy - not throw it away like the ongoing 85 billion a month bailout of Wallstreet.

[-] -2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

Your Senators will soon be considering amendments to S. 761, The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act. These amendments will affect the federal government’s future demand for renewable electricity, so we’d appreciate it if you’d weigh in and educate your Senators about what their votes will mean.

Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), John Hoeven (R-ND) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) have introduced amendments that relate to Section 433 of a law passed in 2007: The Energy Improvement and Security Act. Section 433 set a target for new or renovated federal buildings to be “carbon neutral” by 2030. A “carbon neutral” building is designed to minimize the energy needed to operate, and source the energy that it does need from forms of electricity that do not produce greenhouse gas emissions, including wind. Thus, the law promotes the use of renewable energy.

The amendment introduced by Senators Hoeven and Manchin would eliminate the carbon neutral building requirement. This would reduce the demand for renewable energy in the future. Thus, we ask you to urge your Senators to oppose the Hoeven/Manchin amendment to S. 761.

In contrast, the amendment introduced by Senator Whitehouse would preserve the central goal of Section 433 and improve the provision by clarifying that federal buildings could use renewable energy credits (RECs) in addition, or as an alternative to, purchasing emissions-free electricity to comply. So, we ask you to urge your Senators to support the Whitehouse amendment to S. 761.

Please contact your Senators today and urge them to oppose the Hoeven/Manchin amendment to S. 761, and support the Whitehouse amendment to S. 761. These votes will encourage the federal government to purchase greater quantities of wind power and other forms of renewable energy as federal buildings are renovated or constructed.

We appreciate your dedicated support for wind energy.

Sincerely, Chris

Chris Chwastyk Vice President, Federal Legislative Affairs American Wind Energy Association

[-] -2 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

there's another word for "clean coal"
willard and charles and david have many - diamonds

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Perhaps so but they are not a girls best friend.

[-] -3 points by beautifulworld (23771) 11 years ago

Good work, DKA. No such thing as "clean" coal.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Thank you. We need to point out these blatantly obvious things as the general public is not stopping to consider the truth or what they are being fed as information by the corpo-rat MSM.

So much propaganda.

Well we have begun.

Let us continue.

Unity and change with awareness of truths.

[-] -2 points by beautifulworld (23771) 11 years ago

It's true that many people are just not concerning themselves with these very important issues and that apathy is a large part of the reason why the gov't and the corporations get away with all that they do.

[+] -9 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

We need to engage them on a basic level. Show them the fact that pollution is not a nebulous issue, that it indeed affects their daily lives.

Arsenic and other heavy metals in the food chain. Contaminants in water.

The rise of cancers and other systemic disease.

We have to show how all of the shit going on in corporate business and government effects them directly.

As well as what can be done / needs to be done to make this a healthy and prosperous world for All going forward.

[-] 0 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

you worked that" forward " in there nicely. the new obama slogan(forward) is the old commmunist slogan.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Suppose you would like progress better? How about moving in a positive direction? Any favorites? Please feel free to share.

[-] -1 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

progress from progressives is a the same thing as " forward." recovery from the destructive obama administration will come when romeny is the president. another 4 yrs of obama will totally destroy the USA .

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

So other than being an ankle biter do you make contributions? I have not seen any from you.

[-] 0 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

contributions to who?

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Contributions to the forum - to humanity - to a better way of life - your pick - don't feel restricted by the examples list - try to be positive.

[-] -1 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

contributions to this forum are the truths about obama. to humanity, thats personal. my private life is none of your business.

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Could care less about your personal life. BTW how far do your "truths" go? Do they include the contributions to failure made by others as well?

[-] -1 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

the expression is "couldn't care less"

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Don't believe there is just one way to say or do anything.

Closed minded?

Creatively challenged?

Dull?

[-] -1 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

that's YOUR resume. live with it

[+] -5 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

The House just passed a bill to hamstring the EPA from regulating toxic coal ash. We need to make sure the Senate rejects this attack on the EPA and our health.

Click below for a sample script and the number to call: Take action now ►

Coal ash is toxic.

On Thursday, House Republicans passed their toxic coal ash bill, which prevents the EPA from implementing regulations to protect us from this toxic byproduct of burning coal.

Nearly 100,000 CREDO activists have already urged their Senators to oppose this bill, and preserve the EPA's power to protect our water and health from coal ash -- but the bill passed the House with support from 39 coal stained Democrats, and the White House fell short of issuing a veto threat, possibly leaving the door open to a deal in the Senate.1

This is a moment to show strong opposition to any Senators who may be considering voting for the bill, and to make our opposition clear to environmental champions in the Senate who can work to keep the bill from coming up for a vote. Call Sens. Klobuchar and Franken: Don't block the EPA on toxic coal ash

Coal ash is dangerous. It contains mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic chemicals, and piles up in massive quantities. Lacking safe ways to dispose of it, coal companies leave this sludge sitting in massive tailing ponds, the construction and inspection of which falls under state rules made dangerously lax by coal industry influence.2

Many of these poorly constructed ponds have been found to leak toxic waste into water supplies. Others have failed catastrophically, most recently in Kingston, Tennessee in 2008, where 5.4 million cubic yards of coal-ash sludge spilled into waterways and homes, resulting in a cleanup process taking years and expecting to cost over $1 billion.3

That’s why the EPA has been evaluating whether to classify coal ash as a hazardous waste, which would allow the agency to regulate coal ash and enforce new rules on the way it’s stored and disposed of.

But Rep. McKinley's (R-WV) just-passed H.R. 2218 would stop the EPA, and prevent federal oversight of lax state programs on coal ash -- leaving water supplies across the country at risk.

Make sure Sens. Klobuchar and Franken know you're opposed to this toxic attack on the EPA and our health.

Thanks for taking action.

Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets

Click below for a sample script and the number to call: Take action now ►

  1. Pete Kasperowicz, "House votes to blunt EPA regs on coal ash," The Hill, July 25, 2013.

  2. Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson, "Many coal sludge impoundments have weak walls, federal study says," Washington Post, April 24, 2013.

  3. Shaila Dewan, "Tennessee Ash Flood Larger Than Initial Estimate," New York Times, December 26, 2008.

[-] -1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 10 years ago

-2, -3, -4, -5 ? wtf is wrong with you asshole(s) that you would not support tighter regulations on fossil fuel toxic waste? Marching towards ending fossil fuel use all-together.

REALLY - WTF is wrong with YOU?

Just kidding - I know it is you shills - you're just advertizing for the need for that 1000 pt account requirement to vote - HEY ???

[+] -5 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Updated; 8/30/2012 message sent to my representatives.

Dear Senators,

Coal ash is polluting waters across the country, yet nothing is being done to protect communities exposed to dangerous toxic chemicals. In fact, S. 3512, the Coal Ash Recycling Oversight Act of 2012, moves us further away from strong, federally enforceable safeguards against this toxic menace.

Please oppose S.3512 and support the EPA's efforts to clean up toxic coal ash sites and protect our health and environment. This bill is grossly insufficient to protect at-risk communities from coal ash pollutants like arsenic, lead, selenium, mercury and more that are poisoning the waters we drink.

Not only does the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act lack enforceable deadlines to permit or close dangerous and leaking coal ash dumps, it contains weak cleanup standards and includes a permanent ban on the EPA's ability to set federally enforceable safeguards. By lacking crucial federal safety standards to ensure the stability of coal ash dumps, the bill does nothing to prevent another large-scale disaster like the collapse of the coal ash pond in Tennessee that spilled one billion gallons of toxic coal ash, flooded a nearby community and destroyed 300 acres and two dozen homes.

I urge you to stand up for our health and environment. Protect communities and our drinking water from toxic coal ash by opposing S.3512 and any other effort to delay or weaken EPA efforts to clean up coal ash.

Again: We do not need to destroy the environment and poison people and wildlife to use fossil fuel.

WE HAVE ALTERNATIVES.

AND WE SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTING THEM ON A VERY LARGE SCALE.

USE STIMULUS TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK UPGRADING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.

NO INTEREST LOANS TO BUSINESS TO UPGRADE. NO INTEREST LOANS TO POWER COMPANIES TO SWITCH OVER.

NO INTEREST LOANS TO BUSINESSES TO RETOOL AND MANUFACTURE THE NEEDED COMPONENTS AND PRODUCTS FOR THE CONVERSION. TO HIRE EMPLOYEES TO GET THE NEW BUSINESS GOING.

We have the technology - we have the capability we certainly have the need.

It is all here and ready to use - and this is just what I have stumbled across.

Spread the word.

Green Tech. New and improved - now with Liquid Metal Battery for efficient power storage and distribution.

This is where we should be going: Green Energy we have the technology we just need to use it. This is what I am talking about. A clean future to be implemented NOW!

http://www.hopewellproject.org/

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/ff_new_nukes/all/1

FuelCell Energy http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=600

You have got to watch this vid: The liquid Metal Battery - another piece to the puzzle.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_renewable_energy.html

Additional Liquid Metal Battery links.

http://lmbcorporation.com/

http://lmbcorporation.com/files/flyerFinal.pdf

Support green energy technology - industry - jobs. Save our world save our economy.

Rework free trade agreements as they are currently detrimental to the Business, Employment, Economic and Environmental health of the USA and in extension the world.

Put an end to outsourcing for Profit over People and the environment.

Stop world wide corporate abuses of people and environments.

Give this some serious thought/consideration/support.

[+] -6 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

From the Sierra Club.

Dear Dan,

Don't Let Big Coal Push Us Around: Stand Up for Clean Water!

Take Action!

My Neighbor's Well Water

Take Action!

My name is Jimmy Hall, the fifth generation Hall to own property on Mill Creek in Letcher County, KY. My great-great-great grandfather owned the entire mountain range here in the late 1800s. Since then, mountaintop removal coal mining has turned my family's special place into a moonscape. And now mining waste has made our drinking water toxic.

"DON'T DRINK THE WATER" is what the Water Department said when they called us. They found arsenic and lead from nearby mining operations in my well water. It's not just me -- my neighbors have the same problem. Many of them are chronically ill and some have died.

It's gotten so bad that the EPA has vetoed 36 coal permits in the area to keep our water from getting worse. I was glad they decided to help but the State of Kentucky and Big Coal didn't see it that way.

They are challenging the EPA's actions to clean up our water. I need your help to show the EPA we've got its back. Please let EPA officials know everyone deserves clean water!

Last week, the EPA held hearings in Kentucky on their plans to protect our water. The Kentucky Coal Association bused hundreds of their supporters to the hearings. They did everything they could to intimidate me and the dozens of other activists who were there to speak out for clean water. They booed, heckled, and kicked us. Someone even threatened the safety of the representatives from the EPA who were there to listen to us.1

Big Coal must be scared. But they can't scare us! Not when the health of our children is on the line. One of my neighbors showed me his well water -- it was rust colored and cloudy. He's forced to use it for drinking, food preparation and to bathe his children.

The EPA passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 to ensure that no one is forced to give their children filthy water to drink.

I'm not going to let the coal companies intimidate me or the EPA into undoing the progress we've made in the last 30 years. Stand with me and my neighbors. Tell the EPA to hold the line for clean water today!

My courage comes from people like you who stand together to bring these issues like mine to the surface. What the coal companies are doing is wrong, but the state allowing this to continue is just plain criminal. The EPA is our only hope to continue this battle here on our own soil with mountains blowing up all around us, filling the valleys and streams with poison.

If we stand together now and send 30,000 messages to the EPA to protect our water I know we can win.

Don't let Big Coal and the State of Kentucky destroy the progress we've made to protect communities under the Clean Water Act. Urge the EPA to hold the line for clean water before it's too late!

Thanks for all you do to protect our environment,

Jimmy Hall Fifth Generation Kentuckian

P.S. After you take action, forward this email, or spread the word on Facebook and Twitter by clicking our handy share buttons below:

Share this page on FacebookShare this page on TwitterShare this page with other services

[1] Anderson, Chris. Miners get vocal at hearing. Appalachian News Express. June 8, 2012.


I personalized my letter and so can you:

Now, the coal industry has resorted to intimidation -- heckling Kentuckians at recent EPA hearings who were concerned about water quality and mining in their communities. Please don't give in to coal-industry intimidation. I urge you to hold the line for healthy communities and enforce national standards to protect clean water for all Americans.

Get the miners new work. Lobby government. Lobby the people of the USA. Put the unemployed millions back to work and save our planet.

This is where we should be going: Green Energy we have the technology we just need to use it. This is what I am talking about. A clean future to be implemented NOW!

http://www.hopewellproject.org/

http://ecat.com/

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/ff_new_nukes/all/1

FuelCell Energy http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=600

You have got to watch this vid: The liquid Metal Battery - another piece to the puzzle.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_renewable_energy.html

Additional Liquid Metal Battery links.

http://lmbcorporation.com/

http://lmbcorporation.com/files/flyerFinal.pdf

[+] -7 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Video - An ILL Wind

[+] -7 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

From Moms Clean Air Force

Dear Dan,

Another day, another deadline—moms know what that's like.

But this time it means more great news for American families! After 15 years of inaction, the EPA has finally proposed new standards for soot pollution. During that delay, asthma in this country skyrocketed—a walloping 9% of children in this country now suffer from asthma.

Thankfully, the EPA has opened a comment period on their soot standards, so please make your voice heard right now. We all have a chance to tell EPA Administrator—and mom—Lisa Jackson that we appreciate the new soot standards and want them enacted ASAP.

Click here to tell the EPA you support their new safeguards to limit harmful soot pollution.

Recently, an industry lobbyist complained that those of us who want strong protections against pollution—including the American Lung Association—are "playing on the heartstrings". I say, You betcha! Imagine how hard-hearted you have to get to complain that our concerns are focused on what pollution does to our children's health.

Please take a moment to tell EPA Administrator Jackson you support the new soot safeguards, then share this with your friends and family.

Sincerely,

Dominique Browning

Co-Founder and Senior Director, Moms Clean Air Force

[+] -7 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Los Angeles Joins Call for Action on Global Warming Los Angeles

Big news from our Clean Air Cities campaign: Los Angeles is the latest -- and largest -- city to join the call to our national leaders to finally address the global climate crisis. The city council in L.A., where global warming is expected to triple the number of days warmer than 95 degrees, voted unanimously on Wednesday for a resolution calling on President Barack Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency to use the Clean Air Act to cut greenhouse gas pollution.

The Center for Biological Diversity started the Clean Air Cities campaign last year to get city leaders around the country to speak out on the climate crisis and the importance of the Clean Air Act. So far, more than 25 cites representing more than 12 million people have joined the campaign. Others include Chicago, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Tampa.

Your city could be next. Learn more at our Clean Air Cities Web page, find out how to help with ourtake-action toolbox and get more from KPCC News, Southern California's public radio network.

[+] -7 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

EDF - update.

Moments ago, the Senate voted to REJECT Senator Inhofe’s toxic air assault!

This victory is a direct result of your action. You and 79,073 other EDF activists stood strong for clean air, and the Senate listened.

This bipartisan vote reaffirmed EPA’s authority, allowing the agency to do its job, and reduce the mercury and other toxic pollution emitted from power plants into the air we breathe. This vote will save up to 1,000 lives each year, help prevent neurological damage in babies, and make it safer to eat fish caught in American waters.

We should all be grateful to the 53 Senators from both parties who stopped this unconscionable attack on cleaner, healthier air for America’s children.

Now the fight shifts to supporting EPA’s landmark rule to limit global warming pollution from America’s power plants. 81,859 of you have already taken action to support this rule, which leaves us a bit short of our 100,000 comment goal before this Monday’s comment deadline — June 25th.

Please make sure to send your comments to EPA today.

Heather ShelbyThank you for taking a stand against dirty energy,

Heather Shelby

Action Network Coordinator

[+] -8 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Make a difference - Get Involved.

[+] -8 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Dear Dan,

Do you have a moment to help reduce carbon pollution in our national parks?

http://my.npca.org/site/R?i=woy5ujB2d8QEKgn6KsTxeQ

Carbon dioxide is one of the leading contributors to climate change, and power plants are among the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide in the United States. National Park Service (NPS) Director Jon Jarvis has called climate change “fundamentally the greatest threat to the integrity of our national parks that we have ever experienced.”

The NPS has documented multiple effects of climate change already unfolding in national parks around the U.S., from melting glaciers to the growing frequency and intensity of wildfires, to coastal parks threatened by sea level rise. All of these forces imperil the long-term health of park roads, buildings, and cultural treasures, as well as plants, fish, and wildlife.

June 25 is the deadline for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt a Carbon Pollution Standard that would require all new power plants to use technologies that limit their carbon pollution. This is a small but critical step in addressing climate change.

By lowering the amount of carbon pollution that future power plants can emit, EPA’s rule would likely result in the adoption of cleaner technologies that mean less haze, smog, acid rain, and climate change impacts in our national parks.

Take Action: http://my.npca.org/site/R?i=SJwrbMFTov3-ysaLc4eJyg

Join over a million Americans who have already told the EPA that they agree with the Carbon Pollution Standard. Encourage EPA to finalize this proposal and require future power plants to use the best technology to reduce carbon pollution.

Thank you for helping bring cleaner air to national parks in the near term and for helping us address the serious threats that climate change poses to the long-term health of our National Park System. Future generations will appreciate your action.

Sincerely,

mark_sb_100.jpg

Mark Wenzler Vice President, Climate and Air Quality Programs

[-] -2 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

evey time you and all mammals exhale you exhale carbon dioxide.

[+] -9 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Don't you?

[-] -1 points by salta (-104) 7 minutes ago

evey time you and all mammals exhale you exhale carbon dioxide.

↥twinkle ↧stinkle reply permalink


Do you have an alternative to breathing?

See the thing is - there are real alternatives to fossil fuel.

[-] -1 points by DanielBarton (1345) 11 years ago

name some that are not built using fossil fuels and sustainable to keep our grid up and running.

cows and concrete are more of a threat than coal plants. technology is making them obsolete the course is already set don't speed up the evolution of progress otherwise we can stumble onto something that we can not control

[+] -9 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Manufacturing may require fossil fuel byproducts as ingredients - say for plastics and such. But fossil fuel is not an absolute requirement for manufacturing power/electricity nor as a fuel for any sort of kiln.

Fossil fuel is not an absolute requirement to power manufacturing.

[-] 1 points by DanielBarton (1345) 11 years ago

ok name a few.

oil is needed for manufacturing thousands of lbs are used to lubricate the drills and machines everyday

i know methane gas from cows can be used but that would require more cows which would contribute more to global threat.

[+] -7 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Lube is an ingredient - not a fuel.

Land fills create methane too as does sewage. Methane is quite plentiful.

Did you ever explore any of these links? Check out the power plant opened in Orange county. Versatile.

http://www.hopewellproject.org/

http://ecat.com/

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/ff_new_nukes/all/1

FuelCell Energy http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=600

You have got to watch this vid: The liquid Metal Battery - another piece to the puzzle.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_renewable_energy.html

Additional Liquid Metal Battery links.

http://lmbcorporation.com/

http://lmbcorporation.com/files/flyerFinal.pdf

[-] -3 points by shadzhairart (-357) 11 years ago

Lube, methane.... you're an expert in the nether regions!

[+] -9 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Are you done with your rant? You have very little idea of my background or experience - you have little idea of my interests or what I have studied.

Check out the links yourself they are pretty easy to understand.

[-] -1 points by shadzhairart (-357) 11 years ago

A sentence is not a rant!

[+] -9 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Your presence on this forum is one long continuous rant.

Sorry to baffle your feeble mind.

[-] -2 points by shadzhairart (-357) 11 years ago

If there's a person with a feeble mind (and body) on this forum it's you!

You're just Obama's water boy. Are you protecting him now that the leaked documents came out incriminating him? Are you like some who believe the republicans planted this because of the upcoming elections? Are you going to do like VGkag2 and say that I'm a republican because I criticize Obama?

[-] -2 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

since the greenies consider carbon dioxide to be a "pollutant"how do the intend the 5 billlion + humans + all the animals from breathing. carbon dioxide is neccessary, with out it we would die, trees use to make oxygen.

[+] -9 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Ever hear of this concept?

Moderation in all things.

Vitamin A is good for the health of the Body - but it can kill you if you take too much.

Carbon is part of our make-up - we are carbon based life forms.

Balance is essential to life.

Try not to be such an idiot salta.

[-] -2 points by salta (-1104) 11 years ago

moderation with breathing? explain.

[+] -8 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Hi Dan,

Blowing up mountains to get at coal veins. That concept is so crazy that you'd think it was straight out of a science fiction novel. But this "mining" technique has already destroyed more than 500 peaks in the Appalachians.

Tell Congress to end mountaintop-removal mining »

http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AGQWP/zm8y/B18Bb

Not only does mountaintop-removal mining destroy some of the world's oldest mountains, but it kills endangered species, permanently pollutes streams and has been linked to cancer and birth defects in people. Oh -- and it perpetuates our dependence on dirty fossil fuels, which threaten our very climate.

A clean water bill in Congress right now would sharply curtail mountaintop removal, but you know Big Coal is pulling out all their big guns to stop anything that disrupts business as usual.

Fight back: Tell your members of Congress to support an end to mountaintop-removal mining »

http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AGQWP/zm8y/B18Bb

Thanks for taking action!

Emily V. Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team

End Mountaintop-Removal Mining

Take Action Now!

Take Action!

Take action link: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AGQWP/zm8y/B18Bb

[+] -8 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Earth Wavers On The Edge Of Dangerous Tipping Point

by Beth Buczynski
June 8, 2012
11:46 pm

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/earth-wavers-on-the-edge-of-dangerous-tipping-point.html#ixzz1xKq3w3Tc

Human behavior is accelerating climate change http://www.care2.com/causes/tag/climate-change , and setting in motion a chain of events that may put the future of our species in jeopardy. Those who acknowledge the negative impact of human development accept this and desperately want to do something about it. We find it hard to swallow when others refuse to acknowledge http://www.care2.com/causes/corporations-funding-climate-change-denial.html or even consider the scientific facts that prove humans are altering the Earth’s climate in dangerous ways.

The sad truth is that denying climate change won’t prevent it from happening. In fact, a new study published in Thursday’s edition of the journal Nature http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html shows that the planet is approaching a dangerous climate tipping point, and our destructive habits are pushing it toward the edge.

Throughout the eons the Earth has gone through several drastic biological changes, many of which wiped out thousands of then-living species in traumatic mass extinctions. ”Humans are now forcing another such transition, with the potential to transform Earth rapidly and irreversibly into a state unknown in human experience,” wrote the study’s international panel of authors.

The researchers say a combination of variables are forcing the planet toward irreversible biological changes, including exploding global population http://www.care2.com/causes/population-is-a-profound-challenge-for-people-and-planet-new-study-shows.html , rapidly rising temperatures and the clearance of more than 40 percent of Earth’s surface for urban development or agriculture. They also warn that ignoring these changes, and our role in fast-tracking them, is a dangerous gamble.

“The net effects of what we’re causing could actually be equivalent to an asteroid striking the Earth in a worst-case scenario,” the paper’s lead author, Anthony Barnosky, a professor of integrative biology at UC Berkeley, said in an interview http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0607-global-tipping-20120607,0,4125302.story with the LA Times. “I don’t want to sound like Armageddon. I think the point to be made is that if we just ignore all the warning signs of how we’re changing the Earth, the scenario of losses of biodiversity — 75% or more — is not an outlandish scenario at all.”

No, the Earth isn’t going to suddenly implode because there are too many SUVs or because you leave the air conditioning running when you’re not home. But if deforestation, population growth, and consumption of fossil fuels continues at the current pace, our children will be left with “a biologically impoverished Earth that would rob humans of vital ecological services such as insects http://www.care2.com/causes/global-warmings-unseen-effects-on-plants-and-butterflies.html that pollinate crops, forests that provide clean water, and tropical species that are the source of new drugs.”

Yet again, scientists are echoing what environmentalists have been saying for decades: even if we can’t agree on what’s causing climate change, we must acknowledge that IT IS happening and WE ARE making it worse. Doing so will allow us to prepare for what’s ahead, and minimize the negative impact on society. Refusing to acknowledge that our actions have consequences only guarantees that they will be swift and severe.

Related Reading:

Who Is Behind The Conspiracy Against Climate Science?

http://www.care2.com/causes/who-is-behind-the-conspiracy-against-climate-change-science.html

Rio+20 Or Bust: Activists Doubt Summit’s Impact

http://www.care2.com/causes/rio20-or-bust-activists-doubt-summits-impact.html

NC Ignores Science, Tries To Make Sea Level Rise Illegal

http://www.care2.com/causes/nc-ignores-science-tries-to-make-sea-level-rise-illegal.html

Read more:

climate change, http://www.care2.com/causes/tag/climate-change

climate denial, http://www.care2.com/causes/tag/climate-denial

deforestation, http://www.care2.com/causes/tag/deforestation

mass extinction, http://www.care2.com/causes/tag/mass-extinction

population growth, http://www.care2.com/causes/tag/population-growth

tipping point http://www.care2.com/causes/tag/tipping-point

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/earth-wavers-on-the-edge-of-dangerous-tipping-point.html#ixzz1xKppSSA2

[+] -11 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Moms Clean Air Force

http://www.momscleanairforce.org/

Dear Dan,

Mercury is a strong poison. Many coal-fired power plants spew it into our air. It makes its way into much of the fish we eat.

Mercury does not belong in our food or in our air—or in our bodies.

The EPA has proposed strong new standards to limit mercury pollution from power plants.

But Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma is trying to kill them.

Please tell your Senator to oppose Inhofe's efforts.

http://www.e-activist.com/ea-campaign/broadcast.response.do?ea.url.id=92071&ea.campaigner.email=YVTHd2e3n/zaE8AaERsMJQ==&ea_broadcast_target_id=0

Once you've sent a message to your senators, won't you go one step further and give them a call? After you take the above action, we'll send you a number to call—and simple talking points. We thank you—and so do our children.

Sincerely,

Dominique Browning Co-Founder and Senior Director, Moms Clean Air Force