Greetings and Hello,
I have, for some time now, felt the need to express my interests and concerns regarding the fight to preserve our environment, here at home and abroad, in writing. I do send in written opinions regarding specific issues when signing various petitions aimed at our political representatives in Washington or in our state capitols (mine is Springfield, Illinois). But I feel the need to do more and express more my interests and my thoughts on issues of the environment, hence my decision to start a blog. Yes, I know, there are numerous blogs on this topic, and I know I am late coming into this game. Yet, I definitely think that the issues and debates surrounding how we, as people, as social beings, and as producing beings, use and treat our natural environment are of paramount importance in today's world that is crowded with important issues.
The essential thing is, the quality of our environmental resources and processes are directly related to our quality of living, both in the absolutely essental aspects of living, such as available clean water and clean air, and in the aesthetic and spiritual aspects of living, such as being able to enjoy a healthy and beautiful state or national park, and to have the knowledge that the various wild animals, insects, reptiles, and plants that we love (and need) have not been lost to extinction.
This is why I am motivated to start yet another blog on environmental concerns. I hope that I can make this idea materialize into something worthwhile and interesting, both for myself and for any interested readers. Thank you for your choice to visit and read this blog. Certainly, to involve yourself in matters of our precious environment can not harm you. On the contrary, it can help lift you up, educate you, and prepare you to be an active, involved person in this most important struggle to find some balance and sanity in the current mad rush to exploit what is left of the earth's resources.
The item for today's news is the ongoing efforts of our Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to regulate what is known as coal ash. Coal ash is the residual matter left over from the combustion of coal which takes place at coal energy plants which produce much of our nation's electricity. The EPA is proposing "the first-ever national rules to ensure the safe disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants" (LaTisha Petteway, petteway.latisha@epa.gov, 202-564-3191, 202-564-4355). Some of you may recall the huge release of stored coal ash from the contaiment site owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The TVA produces much of the electricity for residents living in rural areas of Tennessee and other states, I believe. The spilled coal ash covered millions of cubic yards of land and river. Coal ash has harmful substances in it such as heavy metals including lead and chromium. The EPA is proposing new regulations that would require more stringent requirements for the storage and handling of coal ash, and to also redesignate coal ash as being a toxic product. Such a designation would create new limits on how coal ash is handled, shipped, and so forth. There are many businesses that creatively use recycled coal ash in various products that are used in industry and agriculture. They object to the proposed toxic label.
The EPA has proposed two approaches for dealing with the problems of handling and disposing of coal ash. One option, Subtitle C, is stringent and is compulsory. The other option, Subtitle D, is much more voluntary in nature, and would be enforced primarily by citizen actions, i.e., lawsuits. The texts of both approaches can be found at the website: http://www.epa.gov/coalashrule .
While you are there, please take a couple of minutes to express your support for one of these options. I would be pleased if you decide to support subtitle C. But it is important, in any case, that our EPA hears from its constituents. They do value what people have to say and they take people's thoughts and opinions into consideration when they deliberate on which policy to adopt. So please, take the time and let the EPA know what you think at http://www.regulations.gov/ . Enter "EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640" into the search field and click "Search". Follow the links to submit a comment. Who knows, you may reside next to a coal ash containment site and not even know that you are. Wouldn't you want to have the strongest and current protections to minimize the risk of having that toxic sludge slide into your back or front yard?
Thank you.
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