Jeremy Scahill, author of Dirty Wars, interviewed by Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman & Juan González

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Coal Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Coal

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  • Capitol Climate Action: Mass Civil Disobedience in D.C. Against Use of Coal at Capitol Hill Power Plant

    Over a thousand activists representing a broad alliance of civic groups are converging on Washington, D.C. today for the country’s largest mass civil disobedience against global warming. Dubbed the "Capitol Climate Action," people are demonstrating against coal at the Capitol Hill Power Plant, which still uses coal to heat and cool several key buildings, including House and Senate offices, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court,...
    Mar 02, 2009 | Story

  • Power Shift '09: 12,000+ Students Attend Largest Youth Summit on Climate Change in US History

    This weekend, an estimated 12,000 young people were at the D.C. Convention Center for Power Shift ’09, the largest youth summit on climate change in history. College and high school students from all fifty states, all Canadian provinces, as well as a dozen countries, came together to discuss organizing for a clean energy revolution on the local and national levels. We hear some of their voices. [includes rush transcript]
    Mar 02, 2009 | Story

  • Spill at Tennessee Coal Plant Creates Environmental Disaster

    Parts of Tennessee remain buried under toxic sludge today after a major disaster at a coal plant. A forty-acre pond containing toxic coal ash has collapsed, spilling out millions of gallons of coal ash. Environmentalists say the spill is more than thirty times larger than the Exxon Valdez, but the story has received little national attention. Greenpeace is calling for a criminal investigation. [includes rush transcript]
    Dec 24, 2008 | Story

  • West Virginia Grandfather Takes on the Coal Industry: Ed Wiley on His Battle Against Mountaintop Removal Mining

    It’s been described as “the government-sanctioned bombing of Appalachia.” The controversial coal mining practice known as mountaintop removal has been used widely in West Virginia. The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams. Its use has expanded under the Bush administration. We speak with Ed Wiley, one of the leading activists behind the grassroots effort to stop mountaintop...
    Apr 29, 2008 | Story

  • "What this Rule Change Amounts to is a Declaration of War Against the Appalachian People": Opponents of Mountaintop Removal Decry Bush's New Mining Rules

    The Bush administration is poised to issue regulations today that would legalize and expand the controversial coal mining practice known as mountaintop removal. The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams. We speak with Appalachian activist Vernon Haltom of Coal River Mountain Watch. [includes rush transcript]
    Aug 24, 2007 | Story

  • Were the Deaths of the 12 Coal Miners Preventable? A Look At the History of Safety Violations at the Sago Mine

    Last year, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration filed 200 alleged violations against the Sago mine. 46 citations were issued in the past three months–18 of them were considered "serious and substantial." We speak with investigative reporter Ken Ward of the Charleston Gazette (WV) who closely monitors the mining industry. [includes rush transcript]
    Jan 05, 2006 | Story

  • Whistleblower Warns the Bush Administration Is Cutting Back Mining Safety Regulations

    We speak with Jack Spadaro, the former head of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, a branch of the Department of Labor. Spadaro discusses how we was forced out of his job as he attempted to investigate a 2000 mining accident. We are also joined by Hillary Hosta with the West Virginia-based Coal River Mountain Watch. [includes rush transcript]
    Jan 05, 2006 | Story