Archive - Mar 24, 2009

Terrific breaking news on the mountaintop removal front!

The Environmental Protection Agency is putting on hold hundreds of mountaintop coal-mining permits until it can evaluate the projects' impacts on streams and wetlands.

The decision was announced Tuesday by EPA administrator Lisa Jackson. It targets a controversial practice by coal mining companies that dump waste from mountaintop mining into streams and wetlands.

It could delay 150-250 permits being sought by companies wanting to begin blasting mountaintops to access coal.

Last week we asked you to take 30 seconds and spare one mouse (or trackpad) click to help fund the climate movement--and you came through with flying colors!

Thanks to you, the 1Sky entry in the Green Mountain Coffee/Just Means Changing Climate Change Challenge rocketed from 8th place to third place -- just 66 votes short of second. The vote itself won't determine which entries receive the four $200,000 grants, but your votes will show that 1Sky's role in the climate movement has strong support. The contest now moves on the next stage, so we will keep you posted.

Thanks again to all of you who voted for our and all the other entries, including our good friends at Energy Action Coalition. It's your continued willingness to step up that keeps this movement strong.

As climate legislation in 2009 seems more and more possible (presuming we make it so), the climate bill is coming under increasing fire from the right. Meanwhile, the climate community is getting better and better at linking the economy to a cap on carbon - that's the name of the game with congressional swing votes right now.