Virginia could cut new power plant construction — and save money in the process — under a new plan to reduce carbon emissions and promote energy conservation.

The plan emerged from the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change this November, and legislation from the planning process will be proposed at the state level in 2009.

“This is a major victory for Appalachian Voices, the Wise Energy for Virginia coalition, and other key green groups in the state who worked hard to encourage the Commission to adopt these science-based numbers,” said Tom Cormans of Appalachian Voices.
It was particularly significant that mandatory energy efficiency standards were recommended, he said.

The standards are based on the findings of an independent study on energy efficiency, conducted by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). According to ACEEE, the state of Virginia can fairly easily reduce its electricity needs by about 20 percent, and save money in the process, by investing in energy-efficient technologies.

“Appalachian Voices has been a great advocate for the state adopting the efficiencies that ACEEE report highlights,” Cormans said.

By attending meetings, contacting commissioners, and asking people to take a hard look at the ACEEE study, Appalachian Voices and other environmental organizations have made a contribution to the debate, he said.

The problem has long been that utilities did not have an incentive to conserve energy; they could only make money by increasing electrical use. One strong recommendation in the state climate plan is for utilities to get the same rate of return for investments in efficiency as for investments in new generation.

Other states have done this, Corman noted. In fact, Virginia is near the bottom of the list on energy conservation requirements. What utilities could be doing is making money by providing home energy audits, revamping HVAC systems, installing weatherization materials, and so on.

“The critical point now is that we need to require the utilities to capture these efficiencies,” Corman said.

The commission also came close to recommending that no new coal fired power plants be built in Virginia until carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology can be installed. Such a recommendation might have blocked Dominion’s Virginia City power plant in Wise County, VA, which Appalachian Voices has opposed.

However, with power demand dropping nationwide during the economic recession, and with the clear prospect of saving enough energy for ten new power plants through efficiency alone, arguments about the need for the Wise power plant have already been seriously undercut.

For more information visit www.wiseenergyforva.org or www.aceee.org/press/e085pr.htm

Virginia’s climate plan recommends that the state:

- Set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below those levels by 2050
- Require energy efficiencies and conservation so Virginians use 19% less electricity in 2025 compared with 2006
- Give utilities incentives to generate15% of electricity through renewable energy by 2025.
- Adopt a state standard for biofuel
- Require green building standards, phased in over time
- Support nuclear power

Benefits of the plan:

- Cut state consumers utilities bills by $15 billion by 2025
- Create nearly 10,000 new jobs
- Create the economic impact of bringing about100 new manufacturing facilities to the state
- Cut the need for 10 coal fired power plants

MEMO TO: President-elect Obama
FROM: The Appalachian Alliance

Dear President-elect Obama,

… We are dealing with the devastating effects of the cycle of coal, from extraction, cleaning, transport, burning and the disposal of coal combustion waste. Coal industry abuse has cost many of us our homes, our health, our loved ones, and sometimes our entire community, often because of the systemic lack of enforcement of federal regulatory agencies.

Therefore, it is absolutely essential that the posts of Secretary of the Interior, Director of the Office of Surface Mining, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, be filled by people who fully and fairly enforce laws relating to underground and surface mining, mine safety and health, coal burning and coal combustion waste.

Many Americans … would be shocked to learn of the flagrant disregard for the law shown by coal companies and the lack of enforcement by the agencies charged with protecting our communities from these abuses. We need appointees to these positions who understand their roles and are committed to enforcing the laws. Perhaps most important, full and fair enforcement of mining laws will only be possible with an authentic, public mandate from your administration. …

The communities in which coal is mined, burned, and disposed have made enormous sacrifices to give America power and yet we remain among the poorest communities in the United States. Many miners and other coal workers have lost their lives as a result of poor safety enforcement. We have a vision of long term economic and environmental prosperity for our communities, but we can’t achieve this without support from our government.

You have given America new hope for an administration that carefully considers the effects of its actions on ordinary citizens. Coal mining laws directly impact coalfield residents every day. When the laws are enforced, people and their land have hope that they will be protected. When laws are violated, disasters can and do occur.

You have the power to protect the land and people through your appointments… We urge you to consider your decisions carefully.

The Appalachian Alliance is composed of environmental and cultural organizations collaborating on the I Love Mountains web site and advocating positive change for the region. Appalachian Voices is proud to be among them.

By Paul L. Angermeier
Paul Angermeier is a research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA

Appalachia is blessed with fantastic biological diversity that is practically invisible to most of us. Biodiversity is the variety of living organisms and their assemblages in our backyards and regions. It’s typically described for genes, species, and ecosystems (e.g., the genetic diversity within a species or the diversity of forests, grasslands, and streams). Across Appalachia, we see distinctive sets of trees, insects, fishes, and birds in each new habitat.

People care about biodiversity for many reasons. Some recognize intrinsic value of living things but most of us focus on utilitarian value. Biota provide people with three major “services” — provisioning, regulating, and cultural. These comprise extractable goods (e.g., food, water), the ways that biota enhance our environment (e.g., forests modulate climate and rivers process sewage), and the ways that biota enrich our lives via beauty, inspiration, recreation, and knowledge.

Trends for biodiversity are worrisome. There are exceptions (e.g., bald eagle) but the overwhelming trend is increasing loss.

Biologists predict pervasive biotic change, including waves of extinction, invasion by nonnatives, and loss of genes. The main causes are habitat destruction and introduction of nonnative species, common by-products of economic growth. The greatest immediate threat in Appalachia is urbanization — the spread of roads, malls, and houses.

Continued loss of biodiversity will diminish the quality of human lives. Less biodiversity means less interesting, less functional ecosystems, with fewer natural marvels and fewer resources for humans.

There are many actions we can take to slow biodiversity loss. We can learn more about the native biota in our backyard and region.

We can support conservation of natural lands and properly managed “working” lands. We can avoid using nonnative species. We can advocate to protect ecosystems via laws such as the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act, as well as local counterparts. We can recognize the tremendous value of the services provided by biota and weigh it more deliberately when we choose what to buy and how to vote.

If we live more sustainably – as individuals and communities – we stand a better chance of passing on to our children the wonders and benefits of the rich evolutionary tapestry of Appalachia’s biodiversity.

By Wess Harris
Wess Harris is a former coal miner, a union organizer, a farmer and the editor of When Miners March

Blair Mountain is a site that is sacred to American labor, so why not claim it as our own? Blair Mountain should become the Blair Mountain Center for the Development of American Labor.

Reclaimed by its rightful owners, the Blair Mountain Center will house a museum dedicated to American mine workers. The museum will be the core of an educational system offering courses by a revolving staff of scholars serving two year stints in endowed chairs: the Bill Blizzard Chair of advanced labor strategy and tactics; The Ma Blizzard Chair of direct action; the Don West chair of labor literature; the Pete Seeger Chair of solidarity forever; the William C. Blizzard Chair of labor history; the Harold Houston Chair of labor law…..

Academics accepted to serve at the center will spend their first year working in the deep mine that will dig the recoverable coal under Blair Mountain.

Scholars surviving their first year will spend the second doing a mix of teaching and research. Proceeds from the Union mine will pay for the acquisition and development of the mountain. Funds will be set aside to create an endowment that insures the center thrives in both good times and bad.

Tourists will visit portions of the mine where coal has been removed, thus gaining direct knowledge of digging coal. Daily, week long, and extended seminars will supplement standard museum fare. The Center will also offer tours to historic regional labor history sites such as Eskdale and the Holly Grove Union Burying Ground.

The Blair Mountain Mine—just as our total supply of coal—will one day be mined out. To insure a long future for the Mountain, a special center for the development of alternative energy sources—including model facilities—will be created using union labor and funded by grants from major unions.

Alternative energy scholars and researchers at the center will be expected to begin their time at the center with six months working in the mine and studying the history of American workers.

Yet one other facility needs to be located on Blair Mountain. A special judicial center will be developed to provide for the adjudication of those both living and dead who have sought to destroy our mountains and our people.

Bill Blizzard was once tried for treason against the great state of West Virginia for opposing the coal companies and seeking to bring the U.S. Constitution to the coal fields. (See Appalachian Voice, March, 2008). Now as we reclaim our mountain and our government, let’s turn the tables a bit and try those guilty of crimes against humanity in the Great West Virginia Mine War, 1890 to the present. Penalties need not be harsh, as justice is best served when tempered with mercy, but the truth must no longer be hidden.

By George Brosi
George Brosi is the Editor of Appalachian Heritage at Berea College, KY

The future of Appalachia will be great if we can clean up and renew our infrastructure — in the broad sense of that term.  If we can’t, there will be two Appalachias: one of fancy gated communities and the other of garbage dumps, prisons, and rocky ATV trails.

Barack Obama is committed to renewing our national infrastructure. I think that the Obama presidency, like the presidency of John F. Kennedy, will usher in a new era of activism. If the re-energized activists outside government and those inside can reinforce each other, we can accomplish wonders.

To me, the highest priority is our water, and our waterways must be recognized as a vital part of our infrastructure. I was there in the Rose Garden of the White House when Jimmy Carter signed the 1977 strip mine bill providing for stream buffer zones, and I’ve watched since then as both Democrats and Republicans have re-written the regulations to negate that provision. I hope we can pass a new, more explicit, stream saver bill in 2009, and then fight to keep it from being negated.

We also need a kind of national effort, like Rural Electrification, to guarantee sewer systems for all. The pollution of people as well as corporations and agriculture must be abated. Mass transit for freight and passengers, both to cities and between urban areas, must be part of our renewed infrastructure. Paved trails for bicycles, baby-strollers, and wheelchairs should crisscross the country as well as pathways for walking and hiking. If our infrastructure can be renewed in this kind of thorough way, then I think that our region will become an advantageous place to locate facilities that employ people and a truly attractive place to live.

By Theresa L. Burriss
Theresa L. Burriss is an assistant professor of English and Appalachian studies at Radford University. Burriss also serves as the contributing senior editor of Pluck! The Journal of Affrilachian Arts & Culture.

Appalachia is spiritually bankrupt. Despite the noble efforts of activist organizations and religious groups, mountaintop removal coal mining continues at an accelerated pace, unemployment figures rise almost daily, and drug abuse plagues many of the region’s residents, who have lost faith in the chance for a better life. And yet, we have not abandoned hope. The artists and writers of

Appalachia serve a vital role in the transformation of our region, for their creativity invites new ways of seeing the world, of being in this world.

Recently at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ conference, Wendell Berry proclaimed the necessary “emergence of a language to adequately express the dignity of humans and the environment.” Indeed, the loss of dignity for all life has led to the ills of the region

It’s time for Appalachian artists to boldly envision a healthy future for our region, a future where individuals, corporations, or government agencies that threaten our well-being are held accountable and immediately stopped. As writers craft the new language

Berry beckons, they will celebrate the rich diversity of Appalachian people and honor the sanctity of our environment. In the process, they will draw strength from Appalachian traditions of resistance. But they must employ their imaginations to counter the current spiritual decay, to speak out against the human greed destroying our ecosystems and attempting to annihilate our culture.

By viewing Appalachian people as less than human, animal-like, or savage, corporate moneygrubbers have run roughshod over our environments, communities, and individuals without a twinge of guilt or remorse. Appalachian artists and writers must counter this through a celebration of the sacredness of our mountains and the deep humanity of our residents. Erik Reece, writing in the 2008 November/December issue of Orion, speaks of this artistic effort when he announces, “Poetry, I think, is the ultimate language of belonging. […] The poem […] shows us how to transcend the mistake of seeing the world as merely a collection of objects, separate and insignificant. Poetry is a religion that redeems us in the here and now.” Artists have the ability to bring unity to our world, to elevate the perceived lowest among us to their rightful stature as equals. … For whatever the medium they choose, wherever they reside within the region, Appalachian artists and writers hold a key to our future in their ability to provide a new language, to imagine a fresh vision, and, consequently, to inspire a spiritually whole community.

By Dr. Jeff Boyer
Dr Boyer is a professor in the Anthropology Department and Sustainable Development Program at Appalachian State University

Peering into Appalachia’s crystal ball, 20 years out is mostly full of “ifs.” But if the current economic recession darkens our gaze, the recent election was more about hope than fear, regardless of how this person or that county voted. It means that new voices have a better chance of being heard, whether they are rural or urban, white, black, Native American or Latino. My comments come mainly from this hopeful sense about the region’s future.

We can build on the historical traditions of reciprocity and neighborliness that have long distinguished Appalachian family and community life. I hope that newcomers to the mountains learn to embrace and enrich these sharing practices. Undoubtedly our hollers, towns and cities will be more socially diverse in 20 years; therefore let’s broaden and make the “Appalachian we” as inclusive as possible.

The old mountain commons were about grazing livestock and gathering medicinal plants together in the higher elevation “open range.”

A new mountain commons should be working together to revitalize family farms, growing healthy food for ourselves and the region. We can green our energy and economy, creating new livelihoods by specializing in the manufacture of small and medium-sized technologies that are appropriate for our communities and for those in other rural areas. Appalachia’s higher educational institutions, mine included, can help by researching what is needed for this effort. By partnering with non-profits, businesses, and government, we can all help to build a more permanently sustainable economy. If we come together and do this, we could even see an appreciable restoration of the biodiversity that has been so devastated by mountaintop removal in the coal fields.

Another restoration necessary to build the inclusive “we”: Appalachia’s good traditions of welcoming the stranger, porch settin’, and listening rather than shouting past one another. Our grandchildren’s future beckons.

By Rory McIlmoil
Rory McIlMoil is the Coal River Wind Campaign Coordinator for the Coal River Mountain Watch

Through the employment of Mountaintop Removal (MTR) mining methods, the Appalachian coal industry has evolved. Now it is not merely suppressing economic diversification and prosperity in Appalachia as it has traditionally done. Now it is completely destroying any potential for diversifying and stabilizing rural Appalachian economies in the future. It is time for a new energy and economic development plan that is underwritten by principles of sustainability, justice, localization, and community ownership.

Such a model of development may not be achievable in the short-term, but it is indeed one that can be achieved in the future. To reach that point, there must be a smooth transition directed by thoughtful consideration of the challenges posed by the current situation.

Our current decision-making is exclusive of any ethical standard or democratic process, and excludes the true costs of extraction and energy production from the price of electricity – costs which are instead borne by the workers and the local communities.

Only by reversing these trends will the opportunity for change and renewal in Appalachia naturally present itself, but that opportunity must be cultivated by bringing an immediate end to Mountaintop Removal coal mining, by transferring ownership of the land over to those who live and depend on it, and by pursuing alternative uses of the beautiful Appalachian mountain ridges.

One option that is beginning to present itself is the development of wind power. Grassroots groups such as Coal River Mountain Watch, Appalachian Voices, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, and others, are showing that wind power generates greater social, economic and environmental benefits for Appalachian states and communities than mountaintop removal coal mining does, and they are calling for a transition in order to preserve and re-define their Appalachian culture.

A successful shift towards wind power in Appalachia requires—in sharp contrast to what has occurred over the last 150 years­—the preservation of the mountains, the support of elected representatives, the encouragement of creativity, diversification, and education, and the renewal of community. Wind is a resource that can be developed now. There are thousands of Megawatts of clean wind energy ready to be developed, and in its growth we may begin to see the generation of a new and renewable Appalachia.

By Harvard Ayers
Harvard Ayers is a professor of Anthropology at Appalachian State University and a founding Board Member of Appalachian Voices.

Appalachia has long been the source of water for vast areas both east and west of our region. From points east to the Atlantic to points west to the Mississippi River, our once clear, pristine mountain streams have provided a critical resource for millions of
Easterners. For all downstream uses, as goes the water in Appalachia, so goes the water for everyone.

Recently, Appalachian Voices initiated our first ever mountain river protection program with the hiring of experienced river advocate, Donna Lisenby. Donna has launched our Watauga Riverkeeper program, a part of the international Waterkeeper Alliance, which has riverkeepers, baykeepers, covekeepers and the like all across North America and many foreign countries.

This wonderful new program marks the first time Appalachian Voices has turned it focus squarely on our region’s waterways. In my mind, it’s about time. For all our concerns from sustainable forestry, to coal fired power plants, to mountaintop removal, water plays a critical role. For instance, with mountaintop removal, waterways are not just affected, but are, in some cases, completely destroyed. Water use by coal fired power plants is huge. In these two instances, water quality and quantity provide a legal handle in opposing these broadly impactful processes.

Thus, the Watauga Riverkeeper may be only the first. Imagine a riverkeeper for the rivers in the Appalachian coalfields, where over 1000 miles of small streams have been buried under hundreds of feet of MTR overburden, and water quality is heavily impacted by the effluent from coal processing plants. Any applicants for the Big Coal Riverkeeper?

Appalachian Voices has long thought of itself as a one-stop-shopping destination for environmental protection. Our riverkeeper program makes that claim all more the better.