Tag Archive for 'coal'

NV Energy’s coal-burning plant fires up Paiutes

Published on 04/30/2012 in contaminated water and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.indiancountry.com

“Paiutes tell stories of the plant’s impact over four decades. On windy days, coal-ash particles from the plant’s landfill fell like snowflakes on houses at the reservation where about half the tribe lives. On stagnant mornings, yellow-brown clouds hovered over the reservation and the rotten-egg smell of hydrogen sulfide from evaporation ponds drifted across the valley.

That is why this group of American Indians embarked on a “cultural healing walk,” a three-day, 50-mile pilgrimage that ended at the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse in Las Vegas on Earth Day. Their goal was to raise awareness about health problems the Moapa band faces from continued operation of the Reid Gardner Generating Station.

Lee Swan, a 64-year-old Southern Paiute, sees a monster in the tallest of four smokestacks, built in 1983 and standing 500 feet. The other three, constructed in the 1960s and ’70s, are about half that height.”

Read more: Las Vegas Review-Journal

 

lily victoria

Is Nevada Coal Plant an Example of Environmental Injustice?

Published on 02/15/2012 in contaminated water, greenwashing, groundwater, policy, privatization, riparian zone and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.thinkprogress.org

“For almost 50 years, the Moapa Piaute Band has been living near one of the dirtiest coal plants in the nation, getting exposed to dangerous levels of noxious gases, coal ash, and water pollution. However, they haven’t seen the economic benefits they were promised – or any of the electricity.

In the 60’s, when the project developer needed support from the local Piautes to build the Reid Gardner power plant, a contract was drafted promising to hire members of the tribe. But today, no Piautes are employed at the plant, even while asthma rates, thyroid problems and cancer rates increase, according to the tribe.

A local television station, KLAS recently investigated the dispute:

The agreement only obligates the company to “try” to find spots for Paiutes. Some have worked at the plant over the years, yet today, no one from the reservation is employed by NV Energy.”

Read more: Think Progress

 

lily victoria

Why a Corporate Power Grab at the UN Threatens Our Most Critical Resource

Published on 06/24/2011 in oil and privatization. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.un.org

“There is no admission of problems with the Water Mandate, or the United Nations Global Compact itself” — the strategic policy initiative committed to human rights, labor and the environment – Blue Gold and Blue Covenant author and activist Maude Barlow, who also chairs the National Council of Canadians and Food & Water Watch, explained to AlterNet. “These initiatives continue to flourish, not least because the most powerful member states of the United Nations are fully behind them. This also means that the United Nations is not funded fully. Programs and agencies often rely on private sponsorship to function, and are often barely getting their core administrative budgets funded.”

“Another major problem is that routinely compromised and controversial institutions like World Bank, International Monetary Fund and regional development banks in general are in control of the United Nations’ biggest projects. In April, the World Bank assumed control of the United Nations Climate Conference’s new $100 billion Green Fund, which is the opposite of a comforting proposition, considering the World Bank’s repeatedly noxious financing of oil and coal projects.”

“That gives control of billions of dollars to those who have been the most ardent promoters of water privatization,” added Barlow, whose foreword for the Council of Canadians’ recently damning report on private sector influence over the United Nations (PDF) argued that the planet is on the verge of a water crisis of terrifying proportions. “We’re also seeing the IMF forcing indebted nations to sell off public assets, including water systems, as a condition of receiving financial support. The whole system is rigged for these corporations, and they still are losing contracts, not meeting their obligations and watching as remunicipalization moves forward in France and other core markets.”

Read more: AlterNet

lily victoria

Big Coal’s Watergate? Nation Watches as Clean Water Act Scandal Rocks Kentucky Court Today

Published on 01/28/2011 in contaminated water and mining. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

“Extraordinary investigative work turned up over 20,000 incidences of Clean Water Act violations by three coal companies. Now will they finally be held accountable?

“Clean water advocates and concerned citizens across the nation will be monitoring a blockbuster Kentucky court case today, which will ultimately determine whether citizens can intervene in a state’s gross mishandling of indisputable acts of contempt and egregious Clean Water Act violations by two coal companies.

“According to many observers, the sheer number of fraudulent acts and mind-boggling oversights could turn this case into Big Coal’s Watergate–or Clean Watergate.

“Thanks to the extraordinary investigative work of clean water advocates, Kentucky subsidiaries of International Coal Group and Frasure Creek Mining were singled out in an intent to sue notice last October of “over 20,000 incidences of these three companies either exceeding permit pollution limits, failing to submit reports, or falsifying the required monitoring data. These violations could result in fines that may exceed 740 million dollars.””

Read more: AlterNet

jenna cavelle