COAL PLANT FAILS IN PENNSYLVANIA COAL COUNTRY
Health Risks and Controversy Remain At Sites on Navajo Nation And Nevada
Press statement
KARTHAUS, Penn. – An international energy developer financed by Wall Street equity firm The Blackstone Group has abandoned plans for a proposed 300-megawatt waste-coal power plant in rural Pennsylvania.
Sithe Global, which is also behind the proposed Toquop coal plant in Nevada and the Desert Rock plant on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico, announced Tuesday it was canceling its proposed $600 million River Hill plant near Karthaus, Penn. due to financing difficulties.
Progress on Sithe’s other two coal projects has also stalled as a result of permitting and financing difficulties and intense opposition from local communities who say the potential harm to their air, water and health far outweighs any economic benefits from the plants.
“We have suspected for a long time that the River Hill project was very tenuous at best,” said Randy Francisco, of the Sierra Club in Pennsylvania. “It says a lot about the viability of these dirty coal plant proposals when they can’t get taxpayer bailouts and they can’t make them pencil out even with the backing of a company with pockets as deep as Blackstone’s.”
Anna Frazier, coordinator of the Navajo group Diné CARE, said that Sithe’s proposed Desert Rock plant is also on equally shaky ground after suffering one setback after another over the past year. Desert Rock’s pollution permit was withdrawn by the EPA in Septermber, a permit for the transmission right-of-way needed to get the power to Southwest markets was overturned earlier in 2009, and the Department of Energy denied Sithe a request for $450 million in federal stimulus dollars late last year.
“The Navajo communities of Northwest New Mexico have always been opposed to Desert Rock, so we are encouraged by the cancellation of the River Hill project,” said Frazier. “In an area that is already under siege by pollution from fossil-fuel development, Desert Rock has been a six-year black hole that has wasted millions of dollars that could have been used to bring clean-energy projects to the Four Corners region.”
Sithe’s proposed Toquop plant near Mesquite, Nev., originally proposed as a natural gas-fired plant, also has been on the drawing board for years but still does not have a pollution permit or an approved BLM environmental impact analysis, and last year the project lost rights to water it needs for to operate.
“We’ve been trying to persuade Sithe for years to focus on developing Nevada’s vast solar and wind resources instead of outdated and dirty coal,” said Mesquite Mayor Susan Holecheck. “Hopefully, Sithe’s decision to abandon the Pennsylvania plant is a signal that we can soon put the nail in Toquop’s coffin, too, and get it out of the way for clean-energy jobs and economic development in Nevada.”
Tim Wagner
Program Director
Resource Media
150 S. 600 E. Suite 2B
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Office: 801-364-1668
Mobile: 801-502-5450
www.resource-media.org
Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights
February 24, 2010
Indigenous Peoples: Pollution and Diabetes
Bitter Sweet or Toxic?
Indigenous people, diabetes and the burden of pollution
Contamination of First Nations, Mohawk and O'odham lands linked to diabetes
By John Schertow
The Dominion
Excerpts:
WINNIPEG—Diabetes is now widely regarded as the 21st century epidemic. With some 284 million people currently diagnosed with the disease, it’s certainly no exaggeration—least of all for Indigenous people.
... There is growing evidence that diabetes is closely linked with our environment. More than a dozen studies have been published that show a connection between Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); carcinogenic hydrocarbons known as Dioxins; and the “violently deadly” synthetic pesticide, DDT and higher rates of the disease.
O'odham and Diabetes
The Tohono O’odham Nation’s experience bears a close resemblance to Grassy Narrows: the world’s highest rate of diabetes can be found in the southwest Arizona nation. According to Tribal health officials, nearly 70 per cent of the population of 28,000 has been diagnosed with the illness. The O’odham People make up the second largest Indigenous Nation in the United States.
Lori Riddle is a member of Aquimel O’odham Community and founder of the Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment (GRACE).
GRACE was instrumental in the 10 year struggle against a hazardous waste recycling plant that operated without full permits on O’odham land for decades. Owned by Romic Environmental Technologies Corporation, the plant continuously spewed effluents into the air until it was finally shut down in 2007.
The Romic plant was not the first contributor to the O’odham’s toxic burden, explained Riddle. Looking back to her childhood, she recalled: “For nearly a year, [when] a plane would go over our heads, you could see the mist. We never thought to cover our water. The chemicals just took over and they became a part of us.”
From the early 1950s until the late 60s, cotton farmers in the Gila River watershed routinely sprayed DDT onto their crops to protect them from bollworms. According to the Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), each and every year, the farmers used roughly Twenty-three pounds of DDT per acre.
In 1969, the State of Arizona banned the use of DDT; by this time the river was gravely contaminated. According to the ATSDR, farmers then switched to Toxaphene, a substitute for DDT—until it was banned by the US government in 1990.
Because of these chemicals, Riddle explains, the O’odham were forced to abandon their traditional foods and adopt a western diet. Farms also went into a recession, forcing many families to leave their communities. Companies, such as Romic, began moving on to their territory, exasperating the situation. “It’s taken a toll on our quality of life,” she says. “I’ve cried myself to sleep.”
The O’odham are dealing with what Riddle terms “cluster symptoms” including miscarriages, arthritis in the spine, breathing problems, unexplainable skin rashes, and problems regenerating blood cells. This in addition to diabetes, which frequently leads to renal failure, blindness, heart disease, and amputations.
Read article ...
http://intercontinentalcry.org/indigenous-people-diabetes-and-the-burden-of-pollution/
.
Indigenous people, diabetes and the burden of pollution
Contamination of First Nations, Mohawk and O'odham lands linked to diabetes
By John Schertow
The Dominion
Excerpts:
WINNIPEG—Diabetes is now widely regarded as the 21st century epidemic. With some 284 million people currently diagnosed with the disease, it’s certainly no exaggeration—least of all for Indigenous people.
... There is growing evidence that diabetes is closely linked with our environment. More than a dozen studies have been published that show a connection between Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); carcinogenic hydrocarbons known as Dioxins; and the “violently deadly” synthetic pesticide, DDT and higher rates of the disease.
O'odham and Diabetes
The Tohono O’odham Nation’s experience bears a close resemblance to Grassy Narrows: the world’s highest rate of diabetes can be found in the southwest Arizona nation. According to Tribal health officials, nearly 70 per cent of the population of 28,000 has been diagnosed with the illness. The O’odham People make up the second largest Indigenous Nation in the United States.
Lori Riddle is a member of Aquimel O’odham Community and founder of the Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment (GRACE).
GRACE was instrumental in the 10 year struggle against a hazardous waste recycling plant that operated without full permits on O’odham land for decades. Owned by Romic Environmental Technologies Corporation, the plant continuously spewed effluents into the air until it was finally shut down in 2007.
The Romic plant was not the first contributor to the O’odham’s toxic burden, explained Riddle. Looking back to her childhood, she recalled: “For nearly a year, [when] a plane would go over our heads, you could see the mist. We never thought to cover our water. The chemicals just took over and they became a part of us.”
From the early 1950s until the late 60s, cotton farmers in the Gila River watershed routinely sprayed DDT onto their crops to protect them from bollworms. According to the Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), each and every year, the farmers used roughly Twenty-three pounds of DDT per acre.
In 1969, the State of Arizona banned the use of DDT; by this time the river was gravely contaminated. According to the ATSDR, farmers then switched to Toxaphene, a substitute for DDT—until it was banned by the US government in 1990.
Because of these chemicals, Riddle explains, the O’odham were forced to abandon their traditional foods and adopt a western diet. Farms also went into a recession, forcing many families to leave their communities. Companies, such as Romic, began moving on to their territory, exasperating the situation. “It’s taken a toll on our quality of life,” she says. “I’ve cried myself to sleep.”
The O’odham are dealing with what Riddle terms “cluster symptoms” including miscarriages, arthritis in the spine, breathing problems, unexplainable skin rashes, and problems regenerating blood cells. This in addition to diabetes, which frequently leads to renal failure, blindness, heart disease, and amputations.
Read article ...
http://intercontinentalcry.org/indigenous-people-diabetes-and-the-burden-of-pollution/
.
Call Congress Thursday: No Loans for Nuclear Reactors
NATIONAL CALL-CONGRESS DAY IS TOMORROW
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25
TELL CONGRESS: NO MORE LOANS FOR NUCLEAR REACTORS
February 24, 2010
Dear Friends:
A quick reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, February 25, is the National Call-Congress Day to stop the Obama Administration's proposed $54 Billion loan program for new nuclear reactor construction--otherwise known as a giant taxpayer giveaway to wealthy nuclear corporations.
You can reach every member of Congress through the Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121.
We ask that your call your House Representative and both of your Senators, if at all possible.
Our asks are these:
*we want them to publicly oppose the President's request for a tripling of the Department of Energy loan "guarantee" program to $54 Billion.
*we want them to vote against this program in committee if possible and on the floor if it comes to the floor.
We are supplementing the Call-Congress Day with your letters.
*If you haven't written to your Representative yet this week, please do so here. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1821
*If you haven't written to your Senators yet this week, please do so here. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1986
Please drop us a quick e-mail (to nirsnet@nirs.org) and let us know that you called, and any response you receive.
This is a National Call-Congress Day, being sponsored by several groups, including NIRS, Public Citizen, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Beyond Nuclear, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and others.
Let's keep those phones ringing all day long! Help us spread the word! Make sure everyone has the opportunity to participate. Your actions matter!
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte Nuclear Information and Resource Service nirsnet@nirs.org http://www.nirs.org
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25
TELL CONGRESS: NO MORE LOANS FOR NUCLEAR REACTORS
February 24, 2010
Dear Friends:
A quick reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, February 25, is the National Call-Congress Day to stop the Obama Administration's proposed $54 Billion loan program for new nuclear reactor construction--otherwise known as a giant taxpayer giveaway to wealthy nuclear corporations.
You can reach every member of Congress through the Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121.
We ask that your call your House Representative and both of your Senators, if at all possible.
Our asks are these:
*we want them to publicly oppose the President's request for a tripling of the Department of Energy loan "guarantee" program to $54 Billion.
*we want them to vote against this program in committee if possible and on the floor if it comes to the floor.
We are supplementing the Call-Congress Day with your letters.
*If you haven't written to your Representative yet this week, please do so here. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1821
*If you haven't written to your Senators yet this week, please do so here. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1986
Please drop us a quick e-mail (to nirsnet@nirs.org) and let us know that you called, and any response you receive.
This is a National Call-Congress Day, being sponsored by several groups, including NIRS, Public Citizen, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Beyond Nuclear, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and others.
Let's keep those phones ringing all day long! Help us spread the word! Make sure everyone has the opportunity to participate. Your actions matter!
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte Nuclear Information and Resource Service nirsnet@nirs.org http://www.nirs.org
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