So Christmas is over....and over Christmas we have been given an Ecological Disaster that really deserves some attention and scrutiny. Sadly the Media is once again absent, as their coverage is once again steered by Corporate Interests.....Please do read the post below....once again here at Watergate I am going to blog this disaster in detail and study it closely.The first post below has amazing Videos made by the Mountain Defense Organization, as well as the locals in canoes. ( I advise you to see them quickly as the Coal Industry will try to find a way to pull them from Youtube.) The lesson is that the Coal Industry is not safe and not clean....
As a nurse I studied Ecological Disasters and Damage in the Northwest....one aspect I studied and surveyed was Coal Mining. ( for me the study was about Sludge and Fly ash and heavy metals, as well Abandoned Coal Mines used to Dump Contaminated Industrial Wastes....by accident while studying SuperFund Sites, I discovered Abandoned Mines that NO One knew anything about being used for dumping. this required that I learn about Coal Mining and the dangers of Sludge and Coal Waste.....for thousands of acres and thousands of people were effected.) So I take this subject very seriously and am concerned about the TVA Disaster....so I will be blogging it for the next few days.....We all know that living in a Corporatocracy is hazardous to health.
I have other issues I will be blogging where Politics and the Government has collided with our lives....but for this weekend...it's ALL about the TVA disaster. If you have links of more info, please do email me.
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First a Video about TVA and it's History, the irony is that it was born from FDR"S New Deal and the Economic Plight of the Depression.....and as we wait for Obama's to take the Helm , we need to study the Infrastructure Projects of that Era so that we can create a safer more Ecologically Minded Future..... ( if you click the title it links to more videos about the history).
SUNDAY UPDATES OUT OF PAPERS:::
(1)NYT did an update this am that corrects the AMOUNTS, but otherwise pretty crappy article, not questioning WHY NO Government agency has come forward with a Statement ? read more and wonder if there are ANY Investigative journalists at the NYT.
(2) Knoxville News is doing a great Round Up- that includes ALL media- even blogs, read more here and send them links if you have more....
(3) This article explains how a Documentary called "Sludge" perdicted this disaster....( it actually is based on a similiar disaster in Kentuckey and explains how it happens and the damage....read more here and learn about this documentary.... If you want to see the Documentary , Here are contacts:
Those interested in encouraging local movie theaters or local parishes to show the documentary can contact Robert Salyer at: rsalyer@appalshop.org. Or they can contact:
Appalshop
91 Madison Avenue
Whitesburg, KY 41858
606.633.0108
606.633.1009
The "Sludge" Trailer:
you can click here for more trailers and videos about Coal waste.
More on Coal Waste explained really well....
7 comments:
Wow E ~ Quite the news update. Yowsah!
It's unclear to me if anyone knows how exactly this happened? A breach (?) caused by what? Unmaintained aged structures, some kind of controlled release gone bad, or what? How big was the holding pond/sink? Is there still more in there waiting to seep out? The vids look like there is TONS of this sludge, covering miles. And they're calling it a "mudslide"?
The sludgy ash reminds me of Mt St Helens (yes, I was there), which turned to a concrete-like material that formed an impenetrable cover on the soil. Deadly for all life, animals & plants.
Media censorship and government indifference have become the new American Way.
It's interesting to compare how much the US has treated this kind of event to the ways the old Soviet Union did.
It is both frightening and sickening.
Dave::
that is an interesting observation....and dead right...
DK::
it was supposed to be a retention pond for the slurry mix, of slag and fly ash......I can not find out the exact amount or measurements...the "amounts" have been changing by the day...12,000,000 to 54,000,000 pounds according to different Tennessee articles...and yes, it was very old...I have not heard anything about them repairing it, or even setting up berms of any kind of barriers to protect homes...no one seems to care that this is in Drinking water, and that people also use this water source to bath also...
National News did cover a little last night- more than mentioning...NBC actually had footage etc...and so did CBS...( CNN has not covered or ABC, )
Fran::
you are right....big huge frigging yowsah mess...
unreal --- guess this isnt as exciting as a good political scandal --- the media - while collapsing in the face of Bush, also collapses in the face of environmental disasters - not sexy enough.
thanks for talking about this --- the damage we are doing to the ecological system will do us in way before any political crap will
The mine owners should create a massive jobs program, scrubbing and mining coal. It should be supervised by the UMWA.
A program to get rid of sludge should be incorporated as well.
The jobs should be at union wages.
Enigma, GREAT work on bringing this more attention. It's a complete disaster and no one reports it!!!
Now with the attack on Gaza it will get even less *sigh*
The irony of the New Deal tie is just... staggering.
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