Welcome to ArticleXI.com!
We are a group of environmental advocates united in providing a one-stop source for Virginia's environmental news. We each focus on different issues, but share the vision of a Commonwealth that preserves and protects its natural resources. Please join us!
Two bills in particular were the subject of a stakeholders' meeting held today by the new Virginia Offshore Wind (VOW) Coalition. Sen. Donald McEachin and Delegate Bill Janis with their respective SB577 and HB389 are proposing creation of a Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority "to facilitate and support the development of wind-powered electric energy facilities located off the coast of the Commonwealth beyond the Commonwealth's three-mile jurisdictional limit".
The Commission is charged with, among other tasks, (i) collecting metocean data, (ii) identifying existing state and regulatory or administrative barriers to the development of the offshore wind industry, (iii) upgrading port facilities to accommodate the manufacturing and assembly of offshore wind energy project components and vessels that will support the construction and operations of offshore wind energy projects, (iv) securing federal loan guarantees, and (v) developing, constructing, and operating interconnection facilities on the Virginia shoreline to connect offshore wind energy projects to the electric grid.
Both bills have been sent to their respective body's Commerce and Labor committee. SB577 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Commerce and Labor committee on 01/25/2010. It meets on Monday, 2:00 P.M. - Senate Room B. No assignment yet for HB389.
Virginia's environmental community had a fantastic "Conservation Lobby Day" on Mon., Jan. 18th. But now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work! So here's your legislative update for Thurs., Jan. 21st...
One of our marquee bills this session is the "Stream Saver" bill, SB564. (Click here for more info and to watch a video on this important bill.) The good news here is that the bill, introduced by Sen. Patsy Ticer, has picked up additional 5 more co-patrons, including Senators Whipple, Howell, Northam and Marsden. If you have a minute please call today at (800) 889-0229 and ask your Senator to co-patron this important bill!
However there is bad news with submission of SB 128 from Sen. Ryan McDougle. This bill would limit the Air Pollution Control Board's ability to address impacts on non-attainment areas (such as now the Hampton Roads area), in power plant permitting (such as ODEC's Surry coal plant in Hampton Roads).
SB564 is scheduled for a hearing on Feb. 11 at 4:00pm before the Senate Ag committee. (This is a correction to what was earlier posted here.)
Senators on this committee include Patsy Ticer, Harry Blevins, Creigh Deeds, Emmett Hanger, Mamie Locke, Ryan McDougle, Don McEachin, Ralph Northam, Mark Obenshain, Phil Puckett, Roscoe Reynolds, Frank Ruff, Richard Stuart, John Watkins, and Mary Margaret Whipple. Especially if these Senators represent you, please be sure to contact them and urge their opposition to SB128. (Click here for contact info for these members.)
An active association of forty-seven garden clubs, whose members collectively form a group of more than 3,300 civic leaders from around the Commonwealth, the Garden Club of Virginia exists to celebrate the beauty of the land, to conserve the gifts of nature and to challenge future generations to build on this heritage. We encourage our members to be informed advocates for proper land management practices, particularly those involving long-term protection of air, water, and soil qualities; and we encourage local organizations and governing bodies to support responsible residential and commercial development.
With these objectives in mind, the Garden Club of Virginia Board approved a resolution on December 11, 2009 to oppose the Cypress Creek Coal-Fired Power Plant proposed by ODEC for Dendron in Surry County. The resolution follows:
GCV Resolution
WHEREAS, the Garden Club of Virginia strives for the preservation of Virginia's beauty and natural heritage-including clean air and water, healthy terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and intact landscapes-from the Tidewater and the Chesapeake Bay to the mountains and streams in the western portion of the state;
WHEREAS, the coal-fired power plant proposed for Hampton Roads by Old Dominion Electric Co-operative could:
• Exacerbate mountaintop removal coal mining, a practice that permanently destroys the mountains, forests and headwater streams of southwest Virginia-treasured and irreplaceable parts of our natural heritage that provide clean water to communities, harbor a diversity of plants and animals unequaled in other regions of the United States, and enrich the lives of residents and visitors alike;
• Annually emit millions of tons of carbon dioxide, making it a major contributor to climate change, a severe threat to Virginia's more than 3,300 miles of tidal shoreline, its agricultural sector, and its sensitive wildlife habitats;
• Annually emit thousands of tons of the air pollutants that cause smog, soot, ground-level ozone, and acid rain, impairing human health and natural ecosystems;
• Contribute significantly to excessive levels of nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay-the most serious problem facing the Bay-through deposition of airborne nitrogen oxide emissions, worsening algal blooms that deplete oxygen levels, killing fish and shellfish and creating "dead zones" in the Bay;
• Also emit a large quantity of airborne mercury in close proximity to the Chesapeake Bay and major tributaries, contributing to mercury deposition leading to the contamination of fish and other aquatic life in waters already subject to fish consumption advisories due to excessive mercury levels;
THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Garden Club of Virginia will work to oppose construction of the proposed plant and continue to advocate for investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy in the state.
With this move, the Garden Club of Virginia has joined the former Director of the VA DEQ and 2008 recipient of the GCV Dugdale Award Bob Burnley in opposing construction of the Cypress Creek plant. Groups fighting to stop the plant include the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; Wise Energy for Virginia; Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards; Sierra Club; Physicians for Social Responsibility; Surry Justice; and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Dendron, Virginia, has more than its share of challenges. The community of around 300, located in the southern corner of Surry County, struggles with an outdated municipal water system, crumbling sidewalks and no major businesses within the town.
Prior to the Great Depression, Dendron had been a company town of more than 3,000, fueled by the lumber industry's presence there. Private business thrived in a town that revolved around the processing and export of timber across the country. Despite its character as an industrial one-trick-pony, the town of Dendron had something to stand for, and an industry to be proud of.
Today's Dendron little resembles that historic vision of the 1900's boomtown. Largely forgotten by the industry that once supported a thriving community, and facing serious municipal and community problems, such as an unexpected $10,000 water bill, you'd think the small town would take anything at this point to give it an economic boost.
The Old Dominion Electric Cooperative assumed this to be true when executives within the cooperative approached Dendronites with a plan for a new 1,500-megawatt coal-fired power plant, the second largest of its kind in Virginia. ODEC presented the Cypress Creek project with the promise of new jobs, tax revenue, and the idea that one major industry would bring others to the cash-strapped community. Despite local environmental effects and immediate hazards to human health, ODEC worked to assure Dendron residents that they stood to benefit from such a plant's construction. ODEC also assumed that they'd buy into it without any major hiccups.
As of today 100 coal plants have been defeated or abandoned since the beginning of the coal rush. In their place, a smart mix of clean energy solutions like energy efficiency, wind, solar and geothermal has stepped up to meet America's energy needs. Last year 42 percent of all new power producing capacity came from wind, and for the first time the wind industry created more jobs than mining coal.
Coming just a week after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the city would end coal use by 2020, and announced the same day as a decision by Basin Electric Power in South Dakota to pull plans for a new coal-fired power plant, the Intermountain Power coal plant in Utah became the 100th prevented coal plant. The decision marks a significant milestone in the shift to clean energy.
For the past six years the Sierra Club and its allies have been running a hard-hitting campaign to expose the dirty truth about coal across the country. Tremendous grassroots pressure, rising costs, and upcoming federal carbon regulations all contributed to the demise of the 100 plants. In Virginia hundreds of volunteers turned out to public hearings, held rallies and met with officials to push for cleaner alternatives to new coal plants proposed by Dominion-Virginia Power and Old Dominion Electric Cooperative.
In Virginia, Sierra Club has teamed with the Wise Energy Coalition comprised of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Appalachian Voices and the Southern Environmental Law Center to oppose new coal plants proposed by Dominion-Virginia Power and Old Dominion Electric Cooperative.
Dominion's plant in Wise County and the ODEC plant proposed for Surry County together would emit more than 20 million tons of global warming pollution every year, along with harmful levels of soot and smog pollution, which can worsen asthma and cause other respiratory illnesses, and mercury, a neurotoxin that poses developmental risks to fetuses and children.. In addition to harming our health, these new coal plants would pre-empt the development of clean renewable offshore wind power in Virginia that could secure our energy future.
"The community opposition to the Cypress Creek coal power plant is growing and with that so will the nationwide movement for clean energy" said Julie Verdaguer with the Keep Surry Clean Coalition. "We are ready for clean energy and jobs we can be proud of having and that's not coal!"
"In Wise County, our fight continues to stop Dominion's coal plant as well as the devastation of mountaintop removal coal mining that is destroying communities across Appalachia," said Kathy Selvage with Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards.
"Although Virginia lags behind much of the nation, the shift has clearly started toward a cleaner, healthier, more secure future," said Glen Besa, Virginia Director for the Sierra Club. "Basin Electric is the latest in a growing list of electric power cooperatives moving away from coal, and searching out better energy options. Old Dominion Electric Cooperative and Virginia Power should follow suit and start implementing efficiency and clean energy options like off shore wind instead of building new coal plants."
That movement has kept well over 400 million tons of harmful global warming pollution out of the air annually, making significant progress in the fight against global warming. Stopping 100 new coal plants has also kept thousands of tons of asthma causing soot and smog pollution, as well as toxins like mercury out of our air and water.
As the new coal rush ends in many states, the Sierra Club is working to replace existing dirty and unreliable coal plants, like the Wise County and Surry County plants, that are large contributors to health harming soot, smog and mercury pollution with cleaner energy options that create more jobs.
"The coal industry is still pushing forward with plans for dozens of new plants including two in Virginia and pouring money into slick advertising campaigns and lobbying efforts," said Besa. "So while the coal rush may be entering a new phase in some parts of the country, it is far from over."
Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial, West VA might be the most tragic and symbolic site of American children left behind by their state government.
Forsaken by state officials and a recent WV Supreme Court decision last week, the school and its children must play amid the toxic dust of a coal silo-and soon a second one-that sits less than a football field away.
The Marsh Fork Elementary School also sits only a few football fields downslope of a 2.8 billion gallon earthen coal sludge impoundment, where Massey Energy is setting off thousands of pounds of explosives near the dam.
Every school kid in the coalfields knows Massey's reckless history with coal sludge dams.
In a haunting parallel to last December's TVA coal ash disaster, a Massey subsidiary in eastern Kentucky was responsible for the largest coal slurry spill at that point, leaking over 300 million gallons of toxic sludge into the area's waterways and aquifers.
With blasting nearby, if the 380 foot earthen dam above the Marsh Fork school broke, the children and community residents would have less than three minutes to flee.
Based in Richmond, Virginia, Massey Energy has demonstrated a merciless coveting for coal at any expense. At the 2008 4th quarter earnings call, the out-of-state company's president crowed that 2008 was the "most successful" in Massey's history, and their "very aggressive expansion plan" was executed "almost to perfection." The Virginia-based president was "especially pleased" that Massey reached an "all time record high" of $641 million in adjusted annual EBITDA.
Now laying off workers due to market demands, with 19 union-busted Appalachian mining operations valued at $2.6 billion in 2008, the Richmond company shelled out $20 million in penalties for dumping toxic mine waste into the region's waterways in 2008; Massey also paid a record $4.2 million for civil and criminal fines in the death of two coal miners in West Virginia last year.
Now let's contrast this to statements made by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative officials in regards to their proposed $6 billion Surry coal plant located 18 miles from historic Williamsburg...
The Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled two meetings this week to consider potential environmental impacts of ODEC's proposed coal burning power plant proposed for Surry County or possibly Sussex County as an alternative location. If you live in Hampton Roads this power plant will impact you because you are downwind! If you live in Surry County or alternatively in Sussex County the pollution will be amplified simply because you'll be living next to the power plant.
WHY: These "scoping" meetings are a critically important step in the review and permit process of this power plant. We need to demonstrate to the Army Corps of Engineers that a full Environmental Impact Statement must be required which would also consider alternatives to the coal plant. ODEC will try to avoid or narrow the Environmental Impact Statement; we must tell the Corps we need an Environmental Impact Statement that considers all impacts and alternatives.
WHEN AND WHERE: We are urging you to attend if you can. The meetings date and locations are as follows:
• June 10,2009, 6 PM at the Sussex Central High School, 21394 Sussex Drive, Sussex, Virginia
• June 11,2009, 6 PM at the Surry County High School, 1675 Hollybush Rd, Dendron, Virginia
Both meetings begin at 5:00 pm with ODEC personnel providing their perspective and answering questions regarding the project. At 6:00 PM ODEC will make a brief presentation on the project after which Corps staff will meet with groups of citizens to identify environmental concerns that should be addressed under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Here are the facts that must be considered as we head into these Hampton Roads Plant NEPA Scoping Meetings:
(Great job! Peebles is a summer intern with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network aka CCAN. - promoted by Eileen)
Surry, Virginia, is about as picturesque as they come. A portrait of the rural south, Surry and its neighbor, Dendron, offer testament to the unique charm and unavoidable beauty that accompanies the idea of small-town America. Wary of outsiders and exceptionally warm toward neighbors and friends, the residents of Surry County understand the inherent splendor of a life that is unhindered by external influence.
Naturally, it comes as no surprise that Old Dominion Electric Cooperative's proposed dirty, unhealthy, coal-fired power plant has been received with very few open arms in the community. Of course, this has not dampened the large cooperative's desire to take advantage of a small town with its share of economic difficulties.
With the promise of new jobs and increased tax revenue, ODEC has repeatedly stressed the so-called benefits to be won from the massive plant's construction. On Monday evening, Dendron's town council brought these claims to task during their regular meeting. Dendronites are engaged in a fight to save the health of their community, their children, and the irreplaceable beauty of the surrounding environment.
The Coalition to Keep Surry Clean, spearheaded by a group of energized residents and neighbors, has brought the fight against dirty coal to a national level. The evening kicked off with an outdoor potluck, featuring democratic gubernatorial candidate, Brian Moran (the only of the three in opposition to the plant). Under the watchful eye of national and local media, citizens called for a Surry that would be free of excess pollution, harmful chemicals and obtrusive, dangerous, 600-foot smokestacks. Coalition spokeswoman, Beth Roach, cast an air of humility over the audience as she called on all people to consider and ensure the health and happiness of future generations. Through the timeless words of Iroquois leader, Peacemaker, the message requires little interpretation:
"Think not forever of yourselves, O Chiefs, nor of your own generation. Think of continuing generations of our families, think of our grandchildren and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground."
Over 100 local concerned citizens gathered at the Surry Recreation Center yesterday to participate in a rally and pot luck dinner with Brian Moran. The event was organized by the Coalition to Keep Surry Clean, a grassroots group of local citizens committed to retaining Surry's rural character and its unofficial status as "God's Country."
Beth Roach, on behalf of the grassroots group, provided opening remarks, talking about the permanent damage an industrial plant such as the one proposed, could impose on the small, sleepy town of Dendron, population 300.
"Brian Moran's press conference in Surry [yesterday] was very inspiring" said Dr. Christine Llewellyn of Williamsburg, 18 miles downwind from the proposed plant. "It was so refreshing to hear in person a candidate who understands that burning coal for electricity is old technology and would not be part of our new energy mix if he becomes governor".
Brian Moran is the only candidate for Governor to oppose the new coal plant.
"It's time we get serious about a clean energy system that protects our environment and creates thousands of green energy jobs," Moran said. "We can't solve our 21st century energy challenges with 19th century fossil fuels. We need new solutions like wind and solar energy that can create jobs and won't damage our environment and risk our children's health. I'm proud to be here with local leaders in the community. Standing up for the environment isn't easy. We need to say no to a coal fired mega plant in Surry and say yes to clean renewable energy."
"The proposed site is located approximately 50 miles from two of the biggest population centers in the Commonwealth. Richmond and Hampton Roads would feel the brunt of the increased CO2 emissions, smog and coal ash," continued Moran. "Additionally, the plant would increase the pollution in the Chesapeake Bay at the same time as we are spending millions to clean up the Bay". This last remark drew a great round of applause from the crowd.
Beth in her remarks also mentioned the 14.6 million tons CO2/year produced by the Surry plant and its equivalence to the emissions of 3 million more vehicles on our roads. She mentioned plant pollution of 118 lbs mercury/year and how 1/70 teaspoon in a 25 acre lake makes the fish unsafe to eat. Betsy unfortunately forgot to mention the 176 acre fly ash dump proposed for the site.
"I think it's important for Virginia voters to know where the next governor will stand," Moran said, urging the crowd to keep up their good work. "You start to become a one issue voter," added the Coalition's Betsy Shepherd, as folks gathered up both No Coal Plant and Brian Moran yard signs following the rally.
The rally was held prior to a vote by the Dendron Town Council on an issue regarding planning jurisdiction and permitting authority between the Town of Dendron and Surry County. More information on the meeting will be posted later, along with a transcript of Beth Roach's remarks.
I just got a livid email from a resident of Dendron, VA---the small town of 300 where the Surry Coal Plant is proposed. The ODEC plant would be nearly 3 times the size of the Wise plant...at 1500MW. Pollutants include 14.6 million tons of carbon dioxide per year and over 100 pounds of the neurotoxin mercury among others.
Residents of the town are fighting back...and ODEC is responding. Just because its a Cooperative however, doesn't mean they aren't willing to fight dirty. An article came out in the Smithfield Times, followed by a secret meeting sponsored by ODEC...both were filled with bold lies about the plant.
Here is one resident's response...lets support these people on the frontlines of this battle with dirty coal.
Dear friends and neighbors,
I just wanted to take a moment of your time to direct your attention to the outrageous statement that ODEC has recently told our community:
"The only thing that comes out of the top of the coal plant is water vapor."
- Jeb Hockman, ODEC spokesman, Smithfield Times, May 13, 2009
I have spoken directly with the VA DEQ gentleman who was also quoted in that article and he assured me that Mr. Hockman is 100% mistaken.
I am completely outraged if this is the sort of underhanded tactic that these people are going to use to try to influence people here.
I have already written a letter to the Smithfield Times, but I think it is imperative that we all know that this complete misrepresentation is out there now. Even with retractions and clarifications, many will have read this article and come away with a very distorted view of the realities that a coal plant brings. There's a reason why ODEC had to submit 25 pages of emissions information to the DEQ......and it had very little to do with water vapor!
"'No coal is clean coal,' opponents of Surry plant declare" is the headline in today's Virginian-Pilot, in which almost every dirty detail involved with the "$6 billion coal-fired energy plant that Old Dominion Electric Cooperative wants to put on 1,400 acres in the center of the tiny Surry County town, about 18 miles from Williamsburg" is fleshed out.
"Dr. Christine Llewellyn of Virginia Commonwealth University Hospital said the plant could cause more asthma attacks, chronic bronchitis, and other ailments for residents living nearby."
"The coal, brought in from the mountains, would be harvested by blowing up mountains, [Glen] Besa [Virginia director of the Sierra Club] said. Emissions from the power plant would wind up in waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay, he said.
"Coal for energy generates more carbon dioxide, and mercury in the waters is largely from coal-fired power plants," [Besa] said."
"Peter DeFur, an environmental scientist who works with the American Lung Association, said the plant would increase train and truck traffic in the village and that heavy metals from the plant, like arsenic and nickel, would never go away."
Today's Virginian-Pilot also editorializes on the Democratic gubernatorial candidates' positions as it involves the Surry coal plant:
Despite his sweeping proposals, McAuliffe has been conspicuous in his squishiness on some of the most pressing environmental issues facing Virginia. He has failed to take a position on a proposed coal plant in Surry County that would pollute the Chesapeake Bay and James River and damage air quality for residents in Hampton Roads and Richmond.
Rounding out the foursome is Brian Moran, who has carved out the most vividly green and aggressive environmental positions of the campaign. Moran is the only candidate to commit to fighting the Surry plant. He's also the lone opponent of drilling for either natural gas or oil off Virginia Beach. He's pledged to make progress on wind energy development, but he's realistic about the need to strengthen Virginia's nuclear energy capacity, critical to providing power for a growing state while the infrastructure is put in place for renewable sources.
Another new coal plant is being planned in Surry County, Virginia, which would spew 15 million tons of global warming pollution-the equivalent of adding three million new cars to our roads per year. Because of the extreme threat of global warming to Virginias coasts, ecosystems and economy, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network is working to stop the new coal plant and move Virginia toward a green economy. Join us at WiseEnergyForVirginia.org.
Click here to send a message to the CEO of ODEC. No new coal plants in Virginia!
The following is a letter to the editor (lte) appearing in the Virginia Gazette, a local paper not available online. The following was transcribed by Dr. Chris Llewellyn with Williamsburg Climate Action Network.
Coal Plant is Dangerous by Helen Cooke Eggleston, Wakefield
What is going on in Surry County? First we find that sewage sludge is being dumped on the cutover forest land behind a friend's house. Then we discover while attending Planning Commission meetings that the county is encouraging development will-nilly without any regard for greenspace. Next we find out the governor is trying to give our homes, farms and forestland to the Navy without consulting any of us*. Now, a power plant co-op wants to set a huge coal-fired power station in the tiny, quiet town of Dendron.
A coal-fired power plant? We had no idea of the dangers to health and the environment and were excited about potential benefits. We hadn't a clue about an article written by four research scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratories in a 1978 issue of Science magazine. The scientists concluded that Americans living near coal-fired power plants are exposed to higher radiation doses than those living near nuclear power plants that meet government regulations.
We started going to the Dendron Town Council meetings and met a group of men who owned a 2,900 acre tract of land that is partly in the town and partly in the county. They've logged every tree on the place and now want to sell what's left to another group of friendly guys who are proposing to build a coal-fired power plant on the property.
They tell town council that it will be the cleanest coal-fired plant on the East Coast. It will provide a lot of jobs and imply that it will generate taxes for the town and county.
Dendron has everything: space, transmission lines, water can be piped from the James River, and a rail spur can be run from Norfolk and Southern. Man, we were feeling good.
In the death throes of the Bush administration, then-EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson put the agency on record stating that CO2 is not a pollutant that should be regulated by the Clean Air Act. This week, the current EPA administrator Lisa Jackson announced her intent to overturn that memorandum, putting the EPA on the path toward regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
As a result of this decision, coal plants are dropping like flies. The latest victim comes out of Oklahoma. Opposition groups cite the EPA decision and public outcry, but the reps from the company building the plant say it's "purely a business decision." With more and more planned coal plants biting the dust due to "business decisions," how much longer can coal companies insist that building new coal plants our best option?
But this hilarious video from 2006 reminds us that the fossil fuel industry isn't confined to the truth when defending its turf. (No, it's not a spoof. It's real.)
Recently, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative announced plans to build a new coal-fired power plant in Surry County. This business-as-usual approach to generating electricity may have appeared to make sense in the 20th century, but in light of what we know today about the impacts of burning coal, Virginia can do much better.
The Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition has compared the consequences of generating electricity from coal to the alternatives, and must oppose construction of the new plant.
As utilities strive to keep electricity prices low, they have done everything they can to avoid or "externalize" the actual costs of generating electricity from coal. As a result, the real cost of that electricity - the true cost of coal - is far more than what is reflected on the monthly bill.
Since the 1970s and the passage of the federal Clean Air Act, utilities have spent millions of their customers' dollars lobbying and litigating against laws that would require them to clean up our air. The consequences of this lobbying and litigation are profound. Asthma rates have exploded as we breathe air contaminated with smog and soot, pollution that shortens all our lives. Many of our local fish come with a consumption warning about mercury contamination. Acid rain from the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen coming out of these coal-burning power plants acidifies streams and harms the great forests of the Appalachians. Even the expanding dead zone in the Chesapeake Bay is partially the result of burning coal, which contributes 25 percent or more of the nitrogen that chokes our Bay.
The damage doesn't stop there. Today more and more coal is mined by a method called mountaintop removal mining. Let that sink in: mountaintop removal mining. The companies that provide the coal burned in power plants routinely blow up entire mountains to get at the coal seams and then simply dump the rock and dirt in the nearest stream valley. This practice displaces communities that live in the coal fields, all in the name of cheap electricity.
Overshadowing all this harm associated with burning coal is the looming threat of global climate change. Hampton Roads is particularly vulnerable to the sea level rise that is anticipated to swallow wetlands and waterfront homes and businesses the next 50 to 100 years.
There is a better way. By simply using our electricity more efficiently, we can use considerably less energy to provide the same convenience and do the same work. A study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, released last September, found that in Virginia we could meet close to 30 percent of our electricity needs by 2025 through energy efficiency. Changing our light bulbs to compact fluorescents or even newer LEDs is one example of efficiency, but there is a wide range of existing technologies and techniques to reduce demand at a cost far less than that of building a new power plant. And the good news is these investments in efficiency save money and create far more jobs than building and operating a new coal plant. ACEEE estimates that an even more modest approach to efficiency would save electricity consumers $15 billion through 2025 and create nearly 10,000 new jobs.
These investments give us the time we need to deploy renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar. An analysis by the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium has found that there is a potential for 4 gigawatts of electricity just 12 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Investing in offshore wind would bring thousands of new jobs to our region in building and maintaining these wind farms.
There are real alternatives to burning coal to generate electricity. The Wise Energy Coalition stands ready to work with the ODEC to pursue these alternatives.
(This OpEd was published in the Sunday VA Pilot 2/8/09)
User comments or postings reflect the opinions of the responsible contributor only, and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Sierra Club and/or the League of Conservation Voters. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any posting. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters accepts no obligation to review every posting, but reserves the right (but not the obligation) to delete postings that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate.
ArticleXI.com is paid for and authorized by
Virginia League of Conservation Voters PAC, 530 East Main Street, Ste. 410, Richmond, Virginia 23219, (804) 225-1902 and
Sierra Club VA PAC, 422 E. Franklin Street, Suite 302, Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 225-9113.
Two bills in particular were the subject of a stakeholders' meeting held today by the new 
One of our marquee bills this session is the "Stream Saver" bill, SB564. (
Dendron, Virginia, has more than its share of challenges. The community of around 300, located in the southern corner of Surry County, struggles with an outdated municipal water system, crumbling sidewalks and no major businesses within the town.
As of today 100 coal plants have been defeated or abandoned since the beginning of the coal rush. In their place, a smart mix of clean energy solutions like energy efficiency, wind, solar and geothermal has stepped up to meet America's energy needs. Last year 42 percent of all new power producing capacity came from wind, and for the first time the wind industry created more jobs than mining coal.
From 
Surry, Virginia, is about as picturesque as they come. A portrait of the rural south, Surry and its neighbor, Dendron, offer testament to the unique charm and unavoidable beauty that accompanies the idea of small-town America. Wary of outsiders and exceptionally warm toward neighbors and friends, the residents of Surry County understand the inherent splendor of a life that is unhindered by external influence.
Over 100 local concerned citizens gathered at the Surry Recreation Center yesterday to participate in a rally and pot luck dinner with Brian Moran. The event was organized by the Coalition to Keep Surry Clean, a grassroots group of local citizens committed to retaining Surry's rural character and its unofficial status as "God's Country."
"'No coal is clean coal,' opponents of Surry plant declare" is the headline in 
UPDATE: Another LTE is in the comments.
Recently, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative announced plans to build a new coal-fired power plant in Surry County. This business-as-usual approach to generating electricity may have appeared to make sense in the 20th century, but in light of what we know today about the impacts of burning coal, Virginia can do much better.
