Having Obama in the White House is a good thing, right? Well, I'm much happier with him than who was there, although before he took office, for any "hard-core reformists" out there, you have to start seeing that simply put, the system is flawed, it's not a thing one person can change. You take any woman or man and put them in this same position and the results, well, among other things you get the continued debauchery of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Most recently, the coal-industry was given 42 new permits for mountain-top removal coal mining by Obama and the EPA. This method is of course a most environmentally destructive method of coal extraction, which IS the dirtiest form of energy we have, and also coincidentally (yeah right) happens to disproportionally burden our poorest residents in Appalachia. So this guy is pro-environment and pro-poor? I have no idea how a measure like this promotes anything except the same old business as usual for the Empire, taking any positive steps away from progressive climate change legislation, and letting the coal industry continue to thrive as a profit-centered lobbier driving US energy policy. What's next? Clean Coal? Do we have to blow up mountains and displace low-income residents for that too? Will the EPA EVER protect the environment? Will the moneay spent on clean coal, mountain top removal mining and other dirty, finite means of energy generation ever get allocated to the clean forms we all know we need by now? Unfortunately, not with ruling like these.
Check this out for more info:http://climategroundzero.org/2009/03/operation-appalachian-spring-shut-down-mountaintop-removal/ AND http://www.ilovemountains.org/
More info:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2009/los-angeles-times-05-31-2009.html
Yes, We Can! Destroy Mountains for Coal, That Is: Obama Disappoints on Appalachian Coal
Far from ending the "Appalachian apocalypse," as the devastating practice of mountaintop-removal coal mining is aptly nicknamed, the Obama administration has decided to give its blessing to dozens of new mountaintop removals. In a letter to Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W. Va., the EPA says it will OK 42 out of 48 mine projects it's reviewed so far, including two dozen mountaintop-removal projects. While coal-friendly politicians insist that the economy and communities of Appalachia are dependent on the mining technique -- which blows off entire tops of mountains and dumps waste directly into streams -- in reality, mountaintop-removal mining tears communities apart and employs few people. Meanwhile, it pollutes streams, destroys species habitat, and scars Appalachia's stunning landscape.
"Obama's actions to slow mountaintop removal don't amount to a hill of beans," declares Center for Biological Diversity biologist Tierra Curry, an Appalachian native. "Rubberstamping 88 percent of pending mining permits is not change we can believe in. Allowing 24 more mountains to be blown up in one of the oldest, most diverse ecosystems on earth is enough to make the preacher cuss."
www.biologicaldiversity.org