tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77786770107384149022021-12-03T13:41:47.282-05:00life in the headwaters of the Cumberland River...seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-63069839988925355582013-03-19T12:37:00.000-04:002013-03-19T12:40:52.709-04:00

I'm trying to figure out how and what to post more often at this blog...I may have too many blogs to manage! Until I figure this out, please check out my blog, HollerPhenology if you're interested in life cycles of other species in this neck of the woods.

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-42063431748136834882012-01-09T17:33:00.000-05:002012-01-09T17:33:58.655-05:00

Many thanks to Anne at Flour Sack Mama for this post! I hope you'll read the full story and check out more of her blog...lots of good stuff about life and concerns of the people up here in the Cumberland Mountains of east Tennessee!Flour Sack Mama: Appalachian Residents Concerned about Gas Exploration: When they see the large trucks rumble along the mountain highway through their community, Eagan

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-91413270841130874602011-10-20T16:22:00.000-04:002011-10-20T16:24:11.686-04:00

Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its schedule to develop standards for wastewater discharges produced by natural gas extraction from underground coalbed and shale formations.Right now we don't have national standards for disposal of wastewater discharged from natural gas extraction activities -- a fact that has been of concern to citizens and activists for many years.Read

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-44354425353266950902011-05-17T15:22:00.000-04:002011-05-17T15:22:09.066-04:00

The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today unveiled a national management plan to address the threat posed by white-nose syndrome, which has killed more than a million hibernating bats in eastern North America since it was discovered near Albany, New York in 2006. “Having spread to 18 states and four Canadian provinces, white-nose syndrome threatens far-reaching

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-68999616113169568152011-05-11T08:53:00.000-04:002011-05-11T08:53:12.228-04:00

WVU Study Finds Poorer Health Near Mountaintop Mining - WBOY-TV - WBOY.com: "A new study conducted by the West Virginia University School of Medicine finds poorer health in Appalachian counties where coal is mined, especially those with mountaintop mining operations.The study, “Health-Related Quality of Life Among Central Appalachian Residents in Mountaintop Mining Counties” appears in the May

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-86372877510301985812011-05-09T15:34:00.000-04:002011-05-09T15:34:33.658-04:00

Environmental Illness in U.S. Kids Cost $76.6 Billion in One Year: "It cost a 'staggering' $76.6 billion to cover the health expenses of American children who were sick because of exposure to toxic chemicals and air pollutants in 2008, according to new research by senior scientists at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.Published in the May issue of the journal 'Health Affairs,' three

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-72429192886568197282011-05-04T09:39:00.000-04:002011-05-04T09:39:36.172-04:00

This article by John Sullivan (ProPublica, co-published with the Columbia Journalism Review) talks about consequences of shifts in journalism as well as the history of the public relations field. Here's an excerpt: The Gulf oil spill [3] was 2010's biggest story, so when David Barstow walked into a Houston hotel for last December's hearings on the disaster, he wasn't surprised to see that the

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-82925520811818833362011-04-22T15:43:00.000-04:002011-04-22T15:43:48.192-04:00

Earth Day Challenge: Help monitor nature's responses to climate change - HollerPhenology: "Ultimately, we and all these other living beings are in this situation on Earth together. That's why I'm putting out this Earth Day challenge to anyone reading this blog who hasn't already signed up for the Nature's Notebook project.

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-82405362134243408952011-04-20T19:38:00.002-04:002011-04-21T15:43:53.590-04:00

Citizen groups in Tennessee recently took on a quest for adequate oil and gas regulations. One of the issues is that of abandoned or "orphan" wells. I found an article about 3,200 abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico today at Common Dreams: The unplugged wells haven't been used for at least five years, and there are no plans to restore production on them, according to the federal government.

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-89998695872212252062011-04-16T14:12:00.000-04:002011-04-16T14:12:28.957-04:00

Cost-Cutting at the Environment's Peril | AlterNet: "One idea driving these decisions is that, economically, the country can’t afford to protect the environment right now. But as Monica Potts argues at The American Prospect, in a review of two new books that cover the economy and the environment, green policies are good for business. In reviewing Climate Capitalism by L. Hunter Lovins and Boyd

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-2138091566256511592010-12-16T14:00:00.000-05:002010-12-16T14:00:33.762-05:00

Friends of Blair Mountain | Working to preserve Blair Mountain: Please check out the updated website for Friends of Blair Mountain. They are trying to save this historic landscape from destruction by mountaintop removal mining."Blair Mountain in Logan County, West Virginia, was the site of the largest open class war in U.S. history. In 1921, after a generation of violent suppression and

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-50646191424874070212010-10-14T17:02:00.001-04:002010-10-14T17:07:25.559-04:00

Earthbytes: For Many in Appalachia, the Coal Ash Problem Starts "On Coal River" I posted an article earlier today at my Earthbytes blog on a screening of the documentary, On Coal River. The event is being hosted by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Students Promoting Environmental Action in Knoxville. For details -- and to see a trailer -- follow the link above.

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-62460618494115564172010-05-25T18:13:00.001-04:002010-05-25T18:14:13.752-04:00

Many Americans still don’t know that many of us get our electricity at the expense of fellow citizens whose communities are being ripped apart by mountain top removal coal mining. That’s why ilovemountains.org has teamed up with Ashley Judd and The Alliance for Appalachia to get the message out to America’s living rooms. They've put together a powerful new ad that uses President Johnson’s “

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-35181087006366344292010-05-16T11:38:00.000-04:002010-05-16T11:38:12.690-04:00

Bad news from friends to the east of me in Virginia...I've pasted their press release below. Click on the headline of this post to see and article by Debra McCown at TriCities.com.You can visit SAMS website here. For Immediate Release Jane Branham, 276-679-7505 Hannah Morgan, 276-494-5686 Community is outraged at approval of Ison Rock Ridge surface coal mine permit Despite pressure from

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-72119941288422520592010-05-12T15:51:00.000-04:002010-05-12T15:51:17.916-04:00

Check out this awesome series of videos: Wisdomkeepers. Wisdomkeepers are the guardians of nature's mysteries within the Lakota ceremonies and their practices, the medicine that is ruled by them, the songs that infuse our senses and our spiritual body, and the forces they produce that are identical to nature and its motivating power. These oral and entirely spontaneous transmissions, given

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-21503355315676388832010-05-12T12:23:00.000-04:002010-05-12T12:23:03.647-04:00

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to manage all of my blogs. Sometimes I think I have too many to get back to on a regular basis -- like this one -- but I like to follow many of the others at Blogger. So, I edited the appearance, adopted some different widgets, and am trying out the newer editor...and will stay awhile, hoping to be more consistent with posting.

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-89871339395514245142010-03-02T14:04:00.000-05:002010-03-02T14:04:39.935-05:00

Just last week I was kidding with someone that we here in Tennessee ought to buy a potential mine site and mineral rights that's for sale on the Cumberland Plateau just to keep somebody from blowing up the mountains there. Today I learned that the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC) has a plan to do just that -- not in Tennessee, but in Twilight, West Virginia...Earthbytes: Help Turn the

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-70895314324180007942009-09-20T15:37:00.005-04:002009-09-20T16:02:29.832-04:00

Swan Pond community residents need your help on Monday. TVA discharged a bunch of coal ash particles onto their community during a test burn of high sulfur coal on Friday.Please see my blog at Earthbytes for more information and phone numbers for the offices of Sen. Yager, TDEC Commissioner Fyke and Gov. Bredesen.(Coal ash coats a vehicle in the Swan Pond community. Randy Ellis photo.)

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-3112912485552391752009-09-11T13:59:00.002-04:002009-09-11T14:03:57.516-04:00

The U.S. Environmental Agency has sent 79 mountaintop removal permits back to the drawing board! Read more and see useful links at my Earthbytes blog.

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-73334563613671620612009-09-08T11:34:00.002-04:002009-09-08T12:23:41.451-04:00

Release date: 09/08/2009 Contact Information: Latisha Petteway, petteway.latisha@epa.gov, 202-564-3191, 202-564-4355 WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is making information publicly available from electric utilities on the management of coal combustion residuals contained in surface impoundments and similar management units. Following the coal ash spill at a Tennessee

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-52256663646032374822009-09-01T17:45:00.001-04:002009-09-01T18:31:03.816-04:00

State report: Dangerous levels of selenium in water, fish near coal mines - Latest News - Kentucky.comFrom the article:"What makes us the maddest is that the division has had this information for a while now," said Judith Petersen of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance. "And they not even asking the coal industry to monitor for it."State officials did not immediately respond to the charges.The groups

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-55103944609217541452009-08-30T13:38:00.000-04:002009-08-30T13:38:22.460-04:00

Will the recession kill King Coal? - How the World Works - Salon.comAndrew Leonard references a Reuter's analysis by Bruce Nichols and Eileen O'Grady who explain how the recession works to de-emphasize coal-fired power and encourage natural gas production and use. Leonard also links to a great James Hansen article in the Guardian earlier this year in which he labels coal-fired plants as death

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-87999298934283429742009-08-29T19:43:00.002-04:002009-08-29T19:47:34.920-04:00

I posted a link at the Daily R-r-r-ibbitt to an article in the New York Times on the TVA ash dump site in Perry County, Alabama. I added some photos of Perry County folks who came to the TVA public meeting a couple of months ago to protest. This situation is pure and simple social injustice. It also points out the fact that the problem with coal-fired energy production is a cycle or chain of

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-24045458452489279532009-08-27T21:02:00.000-04:002009-08-27T21:02:04.229-04:00

I think the coal industry has shot itself in the foot yet again! See my blog at the R-r-r-ibbit on the continuing astroturf saga in Appalachia. You'll find links there to some great articles on the latest deceptions, this time courtesy of FACES of Coal.The Daily R-r-r-ibbit

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7778677010738414902.post-79149816184510958532009-05-03T13:04:00.003-04:002009-05-03T13:24:27.360-04:00

That means coal ash is dirty, too, and if the industry insists on reusing it for construction or mine reclamation, it must do so very carefully…It would be great if recycling coal combustion residues for construction of roads and golf courses was a good idea. We have more that 120-million tons of it to work with every year. Even as I write, the Tennessee Valley Authority is scrambling to find

seabird10http://www.blogger.com/profile/18030997632106279059noreply@blogger.com0