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Posts Tagged ‘Coal’

New EPA rules tougher than many anticipated

Posted in Coal, Energy, tagged , , , , , on March 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Texas coal-burning power plants – especially those fueled by lignite – could face closures under proposed national standards for coal emissions of mercury and other toxins unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency. The standards, which are far tougher than the electric power industry had anticipated, could lead to the shuttering of several coal units in [...]

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Urgent Action Needed! – Coal Ash Battle in US Senate

Posted in Coal, Energy, Toxics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

The Senate is about to hear legislation pertaining to coal ash waste regulation. There is an amendment proposed to slash EPA’s funding so that they cannot enforce safeguards at coal ash waste landfills. The following is a message from our friends with Environmental Integrity Project. Please take a few moments to contact your senator and [...]

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Student Activists Shut Down Coal Meeting

Posted in Coal, Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Great news from St. Louis! Students and other activists from “Green Action” (at Washington University in St. Louis) and Missourians Organized for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) entered the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark to disrupt a meeting of the National Coal Council – a federal advisory committee to the U.S. secretary of energy (see their extremely dramatic [...]

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Who didn’t contribute to yesterday’s rolling blackouts?

Posted in Renewables, tagged , , , , , , on February 3, 2011 | 2 Comments »

Yesterday, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said cold weather had knocked out about 50 of the 550 power plants in Texas, totaling 8,000 megawatts.  We can’t tell you which plants were down because that information is considered “confidential under market rules.”  According to ERCOT’s website, its market rules “are developed by participants from all aspects of [...]

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Rolling Blackouts, who’s to blame?

Posted in Coal, Global Warming, tagged , , , , on February 2, 2011 | 12 Comments »

A massive winter storm rolled through Texas last night causing 7,000 megawatts worth of power plants to shut down and in the wee hours of the morning, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid operator, declared an energy emergency. ERCOT called on state energy suppliers to cut about 4,000 megawatts worth of power [...]

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Where’s the Outrage? TCEQ Approves Las Brisas Pollution Permit

Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Energy, Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 26, 2011 | 8 Comments »

In a completely un-shocking and saddening display of administrative arrogance, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) commissioners Bryan Shaw and Buddy Garcia granted an air permit for the proposed Las Brisas coal plant. Commissioner Carlos Rubinstein abstained from voting due to being briefed on the permit when he previously served as deputy executive director. [...]

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Las Brisas coke-fired plant air permit considered by TCEQ tomorrow

Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Global Warming, TCEQ, tagged , , , , on January 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

On Wednesday, January 26th, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will consider the air quality permit application for the Las Brisas Energy Center, a planned petroleum coke-fired power plant that just last month, two administrative law judges said does not meet emission standards. Public Citizen, the SEED Coalition and Sierra Club have all argued [...]

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TPPF Energy Report Shows Lack of Vision

Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, Renewables, solar, Texas Legislature, tagged , , , , on January 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Keynote’s promotion of coal leans heavily on unrealistic view of the Texas energy market In a forum held last Thursday the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) unveiled a report that attempts to sway the debate about Texas energy policy off its current trajectory – namely ideas put forward by high-profile Republicans officials like Lt. [...]

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Dewhurst backing off his old coal shutdown position

Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Global Warming, natural gas, tagged , , , on January 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

After Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst‘s remarks, made during his session-opening luncheon just a week ago,  about his plans to push for “regulatory and fiscal incentives” to phase out the heavy-polluting coal plants that were built back to the 1970s and replace them with natural gas plants, the Lt. Governor is now back pedalling saying he’s NOT pushing for [...]

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Foreign imports of coal could drive energy prices up

Posted in Coal, tagged , , on December 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

China and India may increase imports of coal by 78 percent to 337 million metric tons next year, with China buying more than it exports next year.  This would  further drive up prices from the highest in two years as the imports divert supplies from Europe to Asia. China added about 51 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity last year, [...]

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Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act up for a vote in Congress tomorrow

Posted in Coal, tagged , , , on December 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

The explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine killed 29 miners and introduced the country to a caricature of a heartless CEO, Massey Energy’s Don Blankenship (who just last week announced his retirement). If ever there was a moment for forward progress on workplace health and safety, it was in the wake of the Massey [...]

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“Las Brisas” Coal Plant Recommended for Denial, Again!

Posted in Coal, Global Warming, tagged , , , , on December 1, 2010 | 5 Comments »

The Las Brisas coal (pet coke) plant proposed for Corpus Christi has had its air permit recommended for denial by the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) for the second time. The SOAH judges presiding over the case have stated in their “proposal for decision” that: At this time, we are unable to recommend that [...]

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No Environmental Groups in the Navajo Nation

Posted in Coal, Consumers, Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

I’m not (by any stretch of the imagination) an expert on Native American affairs, but there is an interesting and rather sad drama playing out in the Navajo Nation (a semi-autonomous Native American homeland covering parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico). The Nation also encompasses the Hopi Reservation, represented by the Hopi Tribal Council. [...]

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TCEQ Sunset Town Halls – Victoria

Posted in Air Quality, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, Sunset, TCEQ, Texas Legislature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 23, 2010 | 5 Comments »

Texans living around the Victoria region attended a town hall in September to express their concerns about the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on a number of different issues, including the proposed White Stallion coal plant in Bay City. On the panel were Sunset Commission Chairman Sen. Glenn Hegar, former TCEQ commissioner Larry Soward, [...]

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Study finds Texas coal plants foul neighboring states’ air

Posted in Air Quality, Coal, tagged , , , , on November 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Coal-fired power plants in Texas are responsible for dozens of bad air days in neighboring states each year, according to a new analysis released by the Sierra Club.  The report attributes as many as 64 days of harmful levels of smog in Oklahoma to Texas’ coal plants. It also ties the plants to as many as 20 [...]

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