Mountain Justice Blacksburg

A six-foot wall of coal fly ash mud broke loose from an earthen dam early Monday morning near Harriman, TN, washing out a road, isolating a dozen homes and posing a possible threat to drinking water downstream from Watts Bar dam on the Tennessee River.  No injuries were reported, TVA officials said.

The spill involved 2.6 million cubic yards of dry material, or an estimated 525 million gallons of wet coal fly ash sludge. The material flowed from facilities at the 1.7 gigawatt Kingston Steam Plant into the Emery River, then into the lake at Watt’s Bar dam on the Tennessee River.  The earthen dam that broke was one of three being maintained by the TVA as part of the Kingston facility.  The other two dams are intact at present.

As of Tuesday, TVA and municipal water authorities had not closed down drinking water intakes on the river.  Tom Kilgore, president and CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority, told the Nashville Tennessean newspaper that heavy metal contamination was a concern, but the situation was “probably safe.”

The spill is the largest on record, and compares to a 300 million gallon coal slurry sludge spill on Oct. 11, 2000 at Inez, Martin County, Kentucky.

Here is a good link for a round up of stories:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/23/link-roundup-tva-disaster-roane-county-getting-wid/

Are you concerned about the future of energy?

Do you question whether proposed solutions address the root causes of climate change?

This Wednesday, December 3rd, a panel of activists and academics will debunk false solutions to climate change like carbon trading and nuclear energy. Discussion of community-based solutions and appropriate technology will follow.  Come to the Surge Building room 107, Wednesday, December third, at 7 PM.

Panelists:

Mary Olson of Nuclear Information Resource Service.

NIRS was founded as a national information and networking center for citizens and environmental activists concerned about nuclear power.  Mary has done extensive research exposing the hidden failures of the nuclear power industry and will talk about why nuclear power is not a solution to the climate crisis.

Abigail Singer of Rising Tide North America.

RTNA is a national grassroots group focused on community-based solutions to the root causes of climate change, while exposing corporate-led initiatives that seek to profit off of the climate crisis.

Joe Rinehart of Appalachian State University.

Joe is a graduate student in the area of Appropriate Technology, and focuses on the use of technology in the just transition from industrially owned and operated power to community-focused energy production.

There will be a meeting tonight a 7pm in Squires Student Center.  See the Schedule page for room details.

Last month, the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change took a bold first step toward energy efficiency
when it recommended that Virginia reduce its electricity demand by 19% by 2025.

Achieving that goal will eliminate the need for the equivalent of ten Wise Country coal-fired power
plants – and it will help make Virginia a leader in the fight against global warming.

But how do we achieve that goal? How do we ensure that the Governor and the General Assembly adopt the
Commission’s recommendations in 2009? And how does the fight for energy efficiency fit into our larger
goal of securing a clean energy future for all of Virginia?

Those are the topics we’ll be talking about during a special breakout session this Saturday at the
Virginia Conservation Network’s Legislative Workshop in Richmond.

Where: House Room 3, Capitol Building
1 Capitol Square
Richmond, VA 23219

When: Saturday, Dec 6th from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Click here to RSVP at the Virginia Conservation Network’s website:
http://citizen-networks.org/vcn/events/legislativeworkshop120608/details.tcl

The VCN Workshop is a great place to meet fellow grassroots activists, green Virginians, and staff
members from environmental organizations across the state – including fellow members of the Wise Energy
for Virginia Coalition.

You’ll learn about the Virginia conservation community’s shared legislative agenda in 2009, and have
the opportunity to attend break-out sessions on topics from uranium mining to energy efficiency.

It’s the place to be to gain the insight, skills and knowledge to help make change a reality in
Virginia in 2009.

We hope to see you there!