MEDIA RELEASE www.WiseEnergyForVirginia.org
June 1, 2012
Appalachian Voices Tom Cormons (434) 981-6506
Sierra Club, Virginia Chapter Glen Besa (804) 225-9113
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards Sam Broach (276) 523-1702
Long-term energy trends show need to diversify
Southwest Virginia economy
Coal industry rally distracts from real solutions, clean energy groups say
Abingdon — Long-term energy trends have been impacting coal jobs in the region, not federal rules that are enacted to protect public health, water quality and the environment, a coalition of clean energy groups said today.
The groups take issue with the national PR campaign being waged by the coal industry, including a “Rally for Coal Jobs” tomorrow in Washington County, which uses the jobs issue to attack the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In fact, Virginia coal jobs have actually increased 18% since 2009, when EPA began stepping up scrutiny of mountaintop removal operations and enforcement of clean water and air laws. This uptick is due to an increase in underground mining, which employs more Virginia miners per ton of coal than surface mining.
In the longer term, however, there has been a sharp decline in coal jobs caused by factors including the ongoing depletion of coal reserves in Southwest Virginia and the more recent drop in natural gas costs, which make gas a more competitive fuel for electric utilities. In addition, the expansion of mountaintop removal coal mining in the last two decades, a heavily mechanized form of surface mining, has led to a loss of jobs. Virginia coal employment dropped 67% between 1984 and 2009, as mountaintop removal coal mining displaced underground mining, according to federal data analyzed by Appalachian Voices.
“This rally is another example of the coal industry trying to confuse folks about what’s really important,” said Sam Broach, president of the Appalachia-based Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards. “We need to begin the transition to an economy that provides lasting jobs and clean energy. The coal industry is just trying to defend mountaintop removal, which kills jobs and kills people in our communities.” Numerous peer-reviewed studies link mountaintop removal mining to a range of maladies, from heart and kidney disease to cancer and birth defects, and premature death (seehttp://crmw.net/resources/health-impacts.php).
“The precipitous decline in coal jobs took place well before EPA began stepping up enforcement of clean air and water laws in recent years,” said Tom Cormons, Virginia Director of Appalachian Voices. “If the coal industry and its friends are really concerned about jobs in Southwest Virginia, not just corporate profits, why weren’t they holding rallies for economic diversification in the 90s when the actual decline was occurring?”
“Politicians need to spend their time and effort working to diversify the economy and bring new kinds of jobs to Southwest Virginia,” said Glen Besa of the Sierra Club’s Virginia chapter. “They shouldn’t be attacking environmental protections, because the future economic vitality of the region will depend on healthy communities.”
The Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition includes Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Sierra Club and Southern Environmental Law Center, and works in partnership with numerous other organizations.
No comments:
Post a Comment