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Voices of Silence: People Living With Mountaintop Removal Mining
Last Thursday, the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held an absurdly one-sided hearing entitled “EPA Mining Policies: Assault on Appalachian Jobs – Part I.” I’ve never heard so much agreement in Congress — but that was, of course, because the only people allowed to speak were chosen to speak because they were already…
Read MoreMelting of Arctic Isn't on Radar Screen of Arctic Council
Polar bears are drowning. Huge glaciers are melting. Low-lying cities are worried. All because of climate change. But, when the eight nations of the “Arctic Council” meet next week, climate change won’t be on their agenda—despite a frightening new report on climate change by the council’s own task force. Members of the council are those…
Read MoreSpeculators' Pogo Stick Sends Oil Prices Bouncing
What’s behind wild fluctuation in oil prices?
Read MoreDancing for Clean Air, Basque Style
Question: What happens when you mix Lady Gaga, clean air and a Basque flash mob? Answer: This video. Gipuzkoa Zero Waste, a group organized against a waste incineration plant that will be built in San Sebastian, Spain, spent seven months organizing the song and dance routine—which is set to the tune of Lady Gaga’s “Bad…
Read MoreTr-Ash Talk: Another Lo-o-o-ng Delay
As we wait for federal standards to regulate coal ash, it seems that some states are following suit with delays on their standards as well. In Albany, the Environmental Conservation Commission announced plans to “carefully” examine an already long-delayed proposal to ban coal ash altogether (the federal proposal would regulate it as a hazardous waste)…
Read MoreAsthma Awareness Month Begins with Sobering Reality
Asthma Awareness Month kicked off with grim news. The New York Times reports today that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that finds almost one in 12 Americans and one in 10 children are suffering the effects of asthma. The report showed that African-American children are most acutely affected, with nearly…
Read MoreFair Congressional Hearing or Puppet Show: You Decide
On Thursday morning, the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, will begin a two-part hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) policies on mountaintop removal mining. The committee, chaired by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) is calling the hearings “EPA Mining Policies: Assault on Appalachian Jobs – Part I and Part II.” Judging…
Read MoreOn World Asthma Day, a Visit to the White House
Alex Allred and her family are surrounded by cement. Not concrete, which is made from cement, but the big industrial facilities that crush and heat limestone to make cement. She lives in Midlothian, TX, an area known locally as “The Cement Capital of Texas,” a distinction that Alex and her family cannot appreciate. Her son…
Read MoreThis Is What Asthma Feels Like
In the words of asthma sufferers, asthma feels: “Like you’re in a pool of water. You can’t breathe. And when you try to breathe it don’t work.” “Like you put a pillow over your face and pushed it. It’s horrible! You feel desperate because you can’t breathe.” “Like you wish you could still be playing…
Read MoreAir Pollution Sickens, But It Also Unites
The Clean Air Ambassadors who arrived yesterday in Washington, D.C. have some amazing stories to tell, and I spent the better part of yesterday hearing them. Alexandra Allred from Midlothian, TX described a day she spent outside with her son Tommy—a day when he didn’t suffer his usual respiratory issues and could play carefree, like…
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