Blogging for a Healthy Gulf
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Reports of a spill of coal ash waste at the Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Alabama again confirm the dangers of burning dirty coal to make electricity. Even when toxic byproducts like mercury and arsenic are removed before they are released from the smokestack, these poisons must still be disposed of. Several spills in the last three weeks demonstrate that when stored in the customary ponds at a plant site, coal ash and other residues threaten nearby residents and waterways.
The spill in Alabama is also noteworthy because the pond that is reported to be leaking contains material slated for sale as recycled construction material. Entergy recently claimed that coal waste should pose no obstacle to the conversion of its Little Gypsy generating plant to burn coal and pet coke because it asserts that it will recycle the waste as it claims to at its Westlake facility. (Note: we have been unable to confirm sales of waste material in quantities greater than 36 lbs. from that facility.)
According to John Atkeison, Climate and Clean Energy Director for the Alliance for Affordable Energy, "Making electricity from coal contributes nothing special except a grave and growing threat to the climate and poisons in the air and water."
"Our creeks, bayous and rivers and all who rely on clean water are threatened by dirty coal plants. It's time we got serious about clean energy solutions," said Aaron Viles, Campaign Director with Gulf Restoration Network, a member of Louisiana's Say Yes to Clean Energy coalition, which is challenging the spread of coal-fired power plants across the state.
According to media reports, after the TVA coal-ash spill the Alabama Department of Environmental Management inspected all the coal ash retention ponds and announced they were safe.
"This clearly demonstrates need for better regulation of coal waste and the coal plants themselves," says Jordan Macha, Conservation Organizer for the Sierra Club. "The EPA must improve regulations to better protect our communities and the environment."
"Coal is dirty, destructive and unsustainable," said Maylee Orr, Executive Director of Louisiana Environmental Action Network. We must phase out the use of coal while increasing the use of sustainable energy sources. Our natural resoucres, our health and our economic future depends on the choices we make today. Say yes to clean energy and no to dirty coal."
The Associated Press reported this morning that, "Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated. An Associated Press analysis of the most recent Energy Department data found that 156 coal-fired power plants store ash in surface ponds similar to the one that collapsed last month in Tennessee."
Recent coal waste spills include the infamous billion gallon disaster in Kingston, TN, which has been economically wrecked as well as environmentally assaulted. The TVA has also admitted to poor maintenance and releases into the Ocoee River in East Tennessee.
"Clean coal is a lie that was made up by a marketing department," said Paul Orr, Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper. "The removal of coal is destroying whole mountain ecosystems in Appalachia. The burning of coal releases carbon, carbon that was neatly sequestered into the earth over millennia, into the atmosphere in huge quantities in the face of mounting global climate change problems. And now we are realizing how dangerous and destructive the leftover coal ash is."
Clean, renewable solutions exist to our energy needs. These tragic incidents underscore the need to both prioritize energy efficiency and require that utility companies purchase a certain portion of their energy from renewable sources, instead of relying on the dirty, 19th century technology of burning coal.
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Brought to you by SAY YES TO CLEAN ENERGY COALITION
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GRN would never advocate rushing into coastal protection and restoration. We're certainly opposed to the "Great Wall of Louisiana" approach to storm defense. But we feel a great sense of urgency to get big restoration projects underway sooner rather than later.
We therefore greet this news of a new Corps of Engineers investigation into coastal protection and restoration alternatives with a mixed mind. If the Corps and the state would simply keep the levees BEHIND the wetlands as opposed to in front of the wetlands, this study likely wouldn't be necessary.
In addition, we remain concerned about the Corps failure to meet Congressional mandates (deadlines, content requests, etc.) for the LaCPR (cat 5) plan. On that note, check out our new campaign, here.
Aaron Viles is GRN's campaign director. |
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Happy New Year! I hope everyone's 2009 is off to a great start.
As I was wading through all the emails I received during two weeks of holiday vacation, I found a couple that bode well for cypress forests this year!
A fellow cypress protector in Georgia, Gordon Rogers, the Satilla Riverkeeper, had his opinion column published in the Marietta Daily Journal and The Macon Telegraph.
http://www.mdjonline.com/content/index/showcontentitem/area/1/section/17/item/125114.html
http://www.macon.com/203/story/574734.html
Here's to saving the cypress of the Southeast in 2009!
Dan Favre is GRN's Campaign Organizer.
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Since Gulf Restoration Network's inception, the members of our Board of Directors have been a constant source of wisdom, information, and inspiration in the fight to protect the Gulf Coast's environment and communities. This year will mark GRN's 15th Anniversary, and, to acknowledge this milestone, several board members have contributed their thoughts on the past year and their hopes for the future.
After you've taken a look at what they have to say, click here to comment with your own reflections on the New Year.
GRN's current chair, Robert Hastings of Prattville, AL says,
"Having grown up along the Gulf coast (in Pensacola), I have witnessed first-hand (for more than 60 years) many changes in the Gulf and its coastline. Beaches where I once swam, fished, and beachcombed are now covered by condominiums, motels, and beach-front houses. The bayou where I learned to swim has been closed because of pollution. Thankfully, some coastal areas remain natural and have become even more valuable and worthy of protection. Organizations such as the Gulf Restoration Network have played a significant role in helping to protect and restore natural areas along the Gulf coast, reduce water pollution, and protect fisheries populations in the Gulf. With our help GRN will continue this mission of protecting America's magnificent Gulf of Mexico."
Page Williams of Houston, TX says,
"I begin the new year, 2009, with high hopes for the future of the Gulf of Mexico, thanks to Barack Obama's appointment of Jane Lubchenco to head NOAA. With her special interest/expertise in marine protected areas, perhaps we shall see a revival of interest in a string of MPAs across the Gulf. Perhaps our fishery management council will finally be guided toward ecosystem management, instead of their spectacularly unsuccessful single-species management policy. Perhaps science will replace politics as the driving force behind Gulf fishery management. Finally, I dare to hope!!"
Jose Miranda of New Orleans, LA says,
"My first year of board service with the GRN has been extremely rewarding and quite an eye-opener. My professional background is financial, which means that I often feel quite inadequate at board meetings where everyone is an expert in fisheries and environmental issues. I can still remember the eyes rolling when in the middle of a fisheries discussion I asked "What are menhaden?". However, Lynn, our star financial person, seems quite pleased to have a board member with whom she can discuss financial statements presentation.
GRN's board members and staff are the most knowledgeable, and dedicated bunch with whom I have ever had the pleasure of working. We all contribute in our way. The mission is far too important to sit around and expect others to do the work.
God bless and have a happy and environmentally safe 2009."
Share your own reflections on the New Year and GRN's 15th Anniversary, click here to add your comments.
Raleigh Hoke is GRN's Mississippi Organizer
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As a “Save Our Cypress” intern over these past months I have worked to educate the public on the dangerous of using cypress mulch, push for more sustainable mulch alternatives, and hold corporations accountable for their destruction of the Gulf Coast. Through all of this, I have gained invaluable knowledge about the Gulf Coast, confidence in grassroots organizing, and stronger people skills.
Starting out I was a little shy about talking to complete strangers about environmental issues, but I set my fears aside and dove right in and I couldn’t be happier that I did! I spent the bulk of the semester interacting with people, and whether it was reaching out to rally them for an event or tabling at garden shows around the city with the Mulch Matters Kit, I built my public speaking skills and confidence. The Mulch Matters Kit contains samples of sustainable mulches and the truth behind the dangers of cypress mulch. Along with my outreach, garden clubs, teachers, or Girl Scout Troop leaders across the Gulf Coast can use the kit to educate their communities as well. So far, we have had great success with these kits and people have been passing them on to their friends’ organizations, building a strong network of people united for a healthy Gulf.
While I had been to a few events with the GRN prior to being an intern, I had never organized an event from the ground up. Collectively, the Cypress team worked on rallying people nationwide for a “Cypress Day of Action” that took place in early December to show big corporations like Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, and Home Depot that communities do care about protecting the Gulf, and to put pressure on them to stop selling cypress mulch altogether. We had a special event in Atlanta at the Home Depot corporate headquarters. I specifically focused on rallying student groups at different universities in Atlanta. It was hard, and at first I felt discouraged, but I kept my head up and continued calling and calling for weeks. Although only a few student groups responded, it was enough to make the day a great success . Persistence really pays off.
I also organized an event here in New Orleans at a Home Depot in Mid-City. As this was my first event to organize solo, I was a little anxious, but excited at the same time. The event ended up being a hit–over 25 people came out in the rain to show their support for the Gulf (double what I had expected). We were able to reach out to many people in the community to ask them to help hold Home Depot accountable for continuing to sell cypress mulch when the clear-cutting of cypress forests for mulch is damaging our natural storm defenses, wildlife habitats, and water filtration systems. We had a great response from the public that day, and I was very pleased to see everyone coming out to show their support. It turned out to be a really fun day!
Overall, I learned more than I had ever expected to during my semester at GRN. I had such an amazing time I am going to continue my work here as an intern through next semester as well. The work environment here at GRN is very positive and everyone is passionate about the conservation and restoration of the Gulf Coast. Working with such amazing people for such an important cause has been the highlight of my semester, and I look forward to doing it all over again next semester.
Jen Pipitone is a Senior at Loyola University studying Sociology. |
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An edgy online action... The Fast Food Junkies are still at it – trashing our forests to make their throw away packaging! And during the holidays even more so…
This is a busy season for food on the go, and all that food is still being wrapped in Southern forests. Before Thanksgiving we made over 500 calls to the CEO of Wendy’s/Arby’s, Mr. Roland Smith, to make sure he took some Dogwood Alliance activism with him to the turkey table. Now this week, before Christmas, we can send him another message loud and clear -
Click here to send a message on your own fast food billboard!
We’ve whipped up a very special holiday gift for Mr. Smith and we need you to deliver it to him. Take a few minutes out of the hustle and bustle to put your own thoughts on a fast-food billboard.
Use your creativity and humor to let him know that our forests should not be used for fast food packaging!
We’ll create a forum with the photos, and we want to be sure to include yours. If you can do more than one, that’s great! http://www.dogwoodalliance.org/sg/default.php
We look forward to seeing your fast food billboard.
 For more information on the Fast Food Packaging Campaign and Dogwood Alliance, visit www.nofreerefills.org and www.dogwoodalliance.org.
Dan Favre is the Campaign Organizer for Gulf Restoration Network. |
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It’s unconventional, but we figured in these economic times, people don’t need to feel more depressed. We need to start dealing with global warming pollution now but talking about the climate crisis doesn’t have to be a downer. That’s why local conservation groups working on solutions to global warming invited concerned citizens down to the Marigny for the Crawl for the Climate. Over a hundred curious people filled up Frenchmen street to get tips to save the climate in a festive atmosphere. Marigny clubs supported the event by offering free cover, drink specials, and live music to crawlers.
The message at the crawl was clear: global warming is a problem that has solutions.
Yes, there are solutions. The scary predictions are just that: predictions. There are many ways we can avert the crisis.
We make personal decisions everyday that affect our own carbon footprint (see some carbon saving recommendations below). This list is hardly exhaustive and we encourage you to do as much as you can on a personal choice level, but that is not the end of it. We also need state and federal leadership to tackle the big global warming pollution emitters. It will take a concerted and united effort to pull back from our fossil fuel burning ways, but it can be done! Click here to take action now.
Some do it yourself solutions:
1. Save water! Water treatment plants use a lot of electricity. So, turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
2. Powder! Powder detergents take less water to make and less fuel to transport.
3. CFL! Change bulbs to compact fluorescents, they use 75% less energy.
4. Kill the Vampires! Electronics use a lot energy even when they are off. So, plug electronics and cell phone chargers into power surge protectors and switch off the surge protector when not in use.
5. Park the car! Use public transportation or rideshare.
6. Inflate! Properly inflated tires make cars use fuel more efficiently.
7. Turn down the heat! Turn your water heater thermostat to 120°F.
8. Burn carbs, not carbon! Ride your bike or walk to your destination.
9. Slow the flow! Install low flow shower heads.
10. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!!!
We must start now though. Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are already under severe stress because of oil and gas canals, subsidence, and navigation projects. We need to rebuild the coast but we cannot ignore climate change because the effects of global warming could easily overwhelm our reconstruction efforts. We must address coastal restoration and climate change simultaneously and quickly if Louisiana is to remain strong and thriving over the next century.
For more tips on how to lower your carbon footprint you can visit the New Orleans BuildSmart Learning Center. Phone: (504) 208-9761 Map
Thanks goes out to
• Lazizza
• Tomatillo’s
• Blue Nile
• Dragon’s Den
• The Other Planets
Read press coverage about the crawl here. The Crawl for the Climate was also featured on WTUL radio New Orleans 91.5 FM. You can listen to interviews with Climate Crawl sponsors and The Other Planets, one of the bands who played live at the crawl here.
Conservation groups that sponsored the crawl are the Gulf Restoration Network, the Sierra Club, the Alliance for Affordable Energy, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and the US Green Building Council.
Casey DeMoss Roberts is the Special Projects Coordinator for the Gulf Restoration Network.
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Folks from the alternative weekly in Atlanta, Creative Loafing, came out to our Crab Boil to Save Cypress at the Home Depot headquarters last week. Amazingly enough, the photos their professional took are quite a bit better than mine. Check out the slideshow:
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/sideshow/2008/12/10/boiling-crabs-to-save-the-swamps-from-home-depot/
Dan Favre is the Campaign Organizer and Cypress Guru at GRN. |
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We say it a lot: the Gulf is an amazing natural treasure. Here's some fantastic proof of that from a charter boat captain out of Orange Beach, AL. The largest pod of orca or killer whales documented in the Gulf. The charter boat captain estimated there were as many as 200 whales from four distinct pods - a superpod! Apparently they were drawn to a school of tuna.
Aaron Viles is GRN's Campaign Director |
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All over the country on Thursday, December 4th, at over 50 scheduled events, Home Depot was urged to stop selling unsustainable cypress mulch! Thanks to everyone who helped make the December 4th Cypress Day of Action a success.
 I just got back from Atlanta where our soggy Day of Action at the Home Depot Corporate Headquarters made a splash! The fifty pounds of Louisiana blue crabs I brought from Lake Pontchartrain were a big hit, and we made sure corporate executives at Home Depot heard about the cypress mulch issue. From having a crab boil and holding banners in plain view of their giant headquarter building to passing out flyers to employees leaving work and dropping off over 10,000 petitions, we made our presence in Atlanta felt (check out pics on GRN's flickr page). We got a blurb in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and you can head over to read our press release.
At the same time we were boiling crabs in Atlanta, activists from all over the country were calling CEO Frank Blake asking him to come down to have some crabs and learn about how the company can help save cypress forests.
 In New Orleans, over 25 people came out to our local event (more pics on flickr), and successful actions are being reported in Brooklyn, South Carolina, and throughout Louisiana. If you made it out to a store,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
and let us know how it went!
Yesterday, we came one step closer to ensuring real and lasting protection for our cypress forests! Thanks for all you’ve done to save our cypress.
Dan Favre is the Campaign Organizer at GRN. |
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