Mikey: Considering that 50% of our country's electricity is made from coal,we hear very little about it and have so for the last 75 years.
AMAZING. On Dec 25, 6:56 am, "mike [never forget] 532" <[email protected]> wrote: > The TVA Coal Ash Impoundment Spill ... Another Risk of > Coalhttp://www.alternet.org/blogs/water/115021/ > The hazards of coal strike > again. Today there is sad news > out of Roane County, Tenn.: A retention pond at the Kingston coal- > fired steam plant burst, sending more than 524 million gallons of > coal > fly ash and water into the nearby town of Harriman and Watts Bar > Lake. > One man was injured when his home was swept off its foundation, and > the mudslide also affected 15 other homes. > > Reports are that the rush of mud, ash and water now covers 400 acres > and is several feet deep in some areas – this coal ash spill is also > many times more massive than the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The cleanup > is expected to last weeks, but some lives have already been altered > forever - and the full environmental impact is not yet known. Fly ash > is known to contain numerous toxic chemicals and it’s being reported > that some of the spill made it into the Tennessee River – a water > supply source for the city of Chattanooga as well as people in > Kentucky and Alabama. > > And now we have to wonder if the Tennessee Valley Authority is being > fully open about what’s in that fly ash water – bloggers are already > taking notice, including the Knoxville Sentinel blog and in these two > posts here and here. The second post links this an excellent article > about the risks. > > While coal company CEOs flog the supposed wonders of "clean" coal – > they cannot get around the latest coal industry disaster: massive > coal > sludge spills. To see more of the destruction, just look at the > aerial > video of the spill. How many more reminders do we need that burning > coal for power is filthy and dangerous? And will those doing the > cleanup and those living nearby in the aftermath be properly > protected > in this possibly toxic environment? > > The coal industry’s poor design and maintenance of its sludge ponds > has a long and sordid history: In 1972, a giant impoundment collapsed > in Logan County, West Virginia, causing a landslide that killed 125 > people, injured 1,000 others, and left 4,000 people homeless. > > In 2000, a sludge impoundment failed in Inez, Kentucky, spilling more > than 300 million gallons of coal-contaminated waste into local > waterways. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this > was > among the largest environmental disasters ever to occur East of the > Mississippi. > > There are literally hundreds of these sludge impoundments across the > United States. As coal has dominated Appalachia, it has left behind > a > toxic legacy for residents, a legacy that will haunt the region for > decades. For example, in Sundial, West Virginia, an elementary school > sits just 400 yards downhill from a massive impoundment containing > 2.8 > billion gallons of toxic coal sludge. > > Next time you hear some PR spin about an imaginary fuel called > "clean" > coal" ask them about the hundreds of thousands of Americans who > struggle to breathe because of air pollution from coal burning, or > the > latest Americans whose homes have been destroyed or flooded by coal > sludge. > > P.S.- There is no air pollution or devastating flooding associated > with solar and wind power. > > Tagged as: coal --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
