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No sound way to turn coal into liquid gold By Marquita K. Hill I am beyond disappointed in Rep. Rick Boucher’s total embrace of the coal industry (June 5 editorial, “Billion-dollar boondoggle”). Coal-to-liquid oil technology is expensive and harmful to the environment. Even if coal liquefaction could be environmentally justified, mountaintop removal mining to obtain…

Mine ponds ruled illegal – Judge deals second blow to coal industry by United States District Court – By Ken Ward Jr. Richmond, VA – Coal operators cannot evade the Clean Water Act by building sediment-treatment ponds just downstream from strip mine valley fills, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers…

In a process called mountaintop removal, the coal-mining industry blows off the tops of mountains with explosives to get at coal faster and cheaper, she said. As a result, surrounding areas are buried by pollution and waste, streams dry up and a soot lingers in the air, she said.So with the help of Google, the…

By Carley Petesch United Nations – A coalition of environmental groups called on the United Nations May 9 to take a stand against ecologically destructive coal mining practices in the Appalachians region of the U.S., saying that the federal and local governments were not paying attention. The groups from Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky asked…

U.S. Forest Service chief visits Valdosta [Georgia] One traditionally doesn’t think of conservationists and foresters as having common interests, but as the pressures mount on both government and private landowners to develop and sell off natural resources once thought to be limitless, these two groups have found common ground in the interest of protecting the…

Part 1 Part 2 But what about the Navajo, Hopi and Crow? Peabody destroyed the Black Mesa, a sacred place of worship for Native Americans in Northern Arizona. And the Washington Group uses Crow labor in the Absaloka mines of Montana, and gives nothing back to the reservation. And about the people of Appalachia, people…

Part 1 Liquid Coal Inc. has plans for a plant that would process 15,000 tons of coal a day to make 50,000 barrels of diesel fuel. Out of the daily 15,000 tons, the company’s plan states there will be 3,000 tons of solid residues. Handling the waste and bi-products of the fuel will become a…

Massey shareholders reject global warming proposal Consol Energy shareholders defeated a similar proposal NEW YORK (AP) — Massey Energy Co. shareholders rejected a proposal Tuesday that would have asked the Richmond, Va.-based coal company to explain its response to mounting pressure for limits on carbon dioxide emissions. Based on a preliminary tally of the vote,…

[North Carolina] A bill expected to be introduced in the N.C. House the week of April 30 (2007), would give landowners who manage their land for wildlife and conservation benefits some degree of property tax relief. House Bill 1889 has more than 80 sponsors in the N.C. General Assembly, according to the N.C. office of…

As both houses of congress debate bills for coal-to-liquid subsidies, environmentalists are beginning to wonder if they’ll find Jimmy Hoffa before congress settles on a renewable energy source. Coal is not renewable, only an alternative, and a dirty one at that. Scientists across the country say liquid coal will emit twice as much green house…