Check out the movie "Garbage Warrior" Its about a experimental housing development in NM that has no outside utilities running to it. Its working by using solar and wind power!
This disaster was trivialized by some of the leading energy big wigs like Duke Energy. The Southeastern states, including NC, are the most dependent on coal power. They have used the scare tactics that greedy corporations and political puppets employ by claiming your heating and power bills will rise if we don't continue to use coal. Well...this proves it...they can't properly handle the complete process. (Just like nuclear energy, safely dealing with the waste is an unresolved issue).
I heard Erin Brokovitch was going to get involved. Does anyone have an update as to what's being done? I live in Massachusetts & I never heard anything about this.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
it wasn't 1billion gallons it was 300million big differance. im working on cleaning it up and it isnt toxic no in the least little bit people claimin to have drank the water and vomit later are lieing i live there i drink the same water and work in the ash and im perfectly fine
@racinboy402 - Its been routinely reported as 5.3 million cubic yards of ash, which is over 1 billion gallons. I worked in industry for 20 years and was exposed to toxic chemicals and solvents - as you get older, the health effects start to kick in, and you get numbness in extremities, memory loss, etc. You should wear respiratory protection at all times on this job - do it for the people who love you if you wont do it for your own self.
I wonder just how much of this made it to the Gulf? But one thing is clear we need an Energy Revolution so these types of man-made disasters will be a permeate thing of the past.
@jeremystalked - this TVA spill was over 10 times as big as the BP gulf oil spill, which is estimated about 100 million gallons. Granted, the area affected is smaller than the Gulf of Mexico but the coal ash is toxic and went into a major river system. It wasnt exactly a cover up - see the national news coverage I have posted - but in my opinion, this disaster didnt get nearly as much attention as it should have goteen ....
"A 2007 TVA inventory filed with the EPA showed that in only one year the plant's fly ash by products included '45,000 pounds of arsenic, 49,000 pounds of lead, 1.4 million pounds of barium, 91,000 pounds of chromium, and 140,000 pounds of manganese.' ...the fly ash impoundment in Kingston contained almost five decades of toxic byproducts." (Button; Dewan)
That being said, 'big' is a relative term. The ash spill may have been larger by volume, but not by ecological impact.
What I don't understand is how they can get away with this crap. The tennessee river runs through my city and yet hardly anyone here is even aware of what happened. This is especially disturbing when considering the enormity of the disaster. How can any government that allows this to happen be considered "for the people?"
wind, solar and hydro are completely inadequate to meet even 15% of current energy needs. Anyone who claims otherwise is a LIAR. Nuclear power is the only solution.
@WholeTruth the problem is not hot much energy we can produce, but how we use it. Everyone is so confortable using their 52 inch plasmas 4 aircons, water heaters 3 cars, 40 bulbs per house i mean, come on. We need to stop wasting so much energy an perhaps, yes wind solar and hydro can be a solution for the planets energy needs.
How much energy does the fat lying Gore use at his house, in his limos, on his 100ft house boat? Why did he buy a 4 million dollar condo on the shore in SF, when he claims the seas are going to rise 6 feet?
America has 1-2 years of drinking water left. Thats what we're learning in college, there's nothing we can do but hold on the next few years. This is in the Aquifers. Drinking water is gone.
They R full of Parasites the south lost the war because of hookworm (Dr.Oz archives on Oprah) No one uses sodium borate on top of septics too many septics in Rual USA
I live in England and I like to think I keep reasonably informed about what is going on in the world. Until watching a CNN segment yesterday I am ashamed to say I had never heard about this catastrophe. Erin Brockovich is now lending her expertise in finding a solution to this mess. This is America's worst ever enviromental disaster and should be receiving much more mainstream coverage. If this happened in England it would be on the news 24/7. Good luck in your fight for justice.
"Clean" coal is insane, even if we manage to get carbon capture to work we still have to deal with the effects of mining the stuff. Instead of pouring our money into coal, why not invest it in things that actually work, like wind, solar, and hydro. Even though hyrdo is destructive its still better than taking the tops off of mountains, and having slurry ponds full of billions of gallons.
I am floored that this is the first i've heard/seen of this incident. I'm near indianapolis, IN and just now seen that this had happened. I don't watch the news everynight, but surely this incident would of had more than one spot in headlines. What a tragedy! What a mess.
how can anyone say that this is no big deal? poisoning not only our streams, ground water, and destroying the biogeochemical processes of this land, but the families that live there! i can't imagine how difficult it must be, and for those that think the incident was "blown out of proportion" are ignorant.
we owe it to ouselves to use as much of this commodity as possible, in a responisble manner. compbined power plants can be very clean. this would reduce our use of foreign oil, & oil period.we also need to drill as much as possible off of our shores . o wait a minute that's one of the firtst things obama did was repeal that one. yet he talks about how we need the stimulus because now will be better than later. we'll guess what mr. hypocrit the same goes for drilling oil. phony & a hypocrit .
If ONLY people--not just here in TN, but EVERYWHERE--could invest in safer, renewable, efficient energy sources. Solar is rediculously cheap to manufacture, and we have plenty of hydroelectric potential.
And as for deforestation, if we were to change the use of trees for paper with bamboo JUST for paper production, we could cut the amount of trees harvested each year by half or more!
And think: algae can easily be grown and pressed for oil, which can be used just as easily as crude.
yeah that is sad. how come no one is rasing cane about the fish with 3 eyes and the 2 headed ducks at and around oak ridge? I think you all are just riding the ban wagon. you all should have to go without power for about a week or 2. then you would be begging TVA to fire up those boilers
You can't be serious? I live a few miles from Watts Bar Plant and have WELL water, I have had two dogs with cancer, my mom now has cancer and we are always SICK, AND we are always without electric! What do you know?
Well I hate that you all are having those problems, however you are next to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. Radiation, everywhere. are you telling me that the fly ash has made it down that far to effect your water?
I am rather confused, living ON the Tennessee river, and only a mere 20 minute drive to TVA's power plants.... I've never seen any of this? I enjoyed my summer quite well on the rivers that year??? hmmmm, perhaps much further downriver?
Tennessee native here currently living over in Europe, and I try to keep up on what's happening back home, but I didn't hear anything about this until telephoning with my dad tonight. Really terrible looking. I might have heard a radio blurb, but nothing indicating the scale you see here. Truly an ecological disaster. This should be getting more coverage.
And now we can thank Bush for making a last minute move where these coal operations can dump directly into the rivers without trying to hold anything back.
And we can thank people like you for voting socialism into the presidency. It's great to see a person can become elected President and the majority of the voters can't even tell you not 1 of his policies. But yeah you're right, let Bush take the fall. That's just the Liberals not wanting to take responsibility for ANYTHING.
i cannot believe this happened and is not being covered by national news stations!! TVA could have prevented this in 2006 when it was suggested they rebuild the area to contain this coal ash! this is larger than the exxon valdez spill and will take years to clean up!
They didn't mention the yuppie suv's and cars that dump tons more pollutants in our country ever day or the millions of miles of asphalt roads that catch the suns heat increasing the earths temp.
you forgot "providing energy for half the country"
I mean those are legitimate complaints you have there, but it isn't like they do that stuff just for kicks. Providing energy for millions of people isn't easy.
yeah, it's not easy to provide energy but there are other ways than killing people and contaminating miles of rivers which provide folks with drinking water not to mention all the dead plant and wildlife! TVA could have prevented this but didn't want to pay the cost.
ok i live right on he rad right across from the steam plant so im boiling my water this is an enviromental hazard the east tennessee epa is taking ths seriously my health is the second thing im worried about the enviromental hazard is what im really worried abut i hope no one gets sick from this and thank u to the clean up workets that are cleaning this up. they r risking there lives. thank you.
I hate to break it to you, but boiling your water won't do anything. The problem is that the toxic heavy metals in the coal ash (arsenic, mercury, etc) can get into the drinking water.
Boiling water kills bacteria, but it doesn't do anything to eliminate chemicals.
I have worked in fly ash for 10 + years everyday. And I am healthy as a horse. And i have seen people retire that have been in it thier whole life, and they are still kickin so I wouldn't worry too much, the media always blows everything out of porportion. the media feed off this stuff!! as long as you eat it up they will keep putting it out there for you..
Yeah the difference is you worked in it. This shit gets into the water table and the food we eat. Working with it and having it wreck your environment to be consumed by the population is a big difference.
umm ,, coal ash is ,, um ,, sorta like dirt , its used in cement also, coal burns at a very high temp , so i'd say most polutants are consumed in combustion
All the organic chemicals would be consumed, but the inorganic chemicals are what is left behind. So its pretty much tiny dirt and rock particles that make up fly ash, but rocks do contain trace amounts of heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, etc.. These are concentrated in fly ash since everything else is burnt off, so a pound of fly ash might contain as much arsenic as 10 pounds of dirt and also in a more water soluble state (but it still ain't rat poison like was said, its used in concrete).
Sooo...when I drink my water from the faucet, the arsenic and lead and all that good stuff won't lead to anything nasty, like cancer or something, right? I mean, I COULD go buy some bottled water, but that would mean driving to the store, and cars kill so many people.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Nobody died, or was even hurt. Nobody will be harmed as a result of this "disaster". And yet people are all over the place complaining about this instead of the dozens of REAL problem our country has. For example cars kill 40,000 people a year and coal sludge kills 0, and yet I don't see ya'll trying to ban cars now?
This disaster is affecting the water supply more than TVA is acknowledging. It has the potential to affect this area and the residents from here to Alabama and Georgia. Fish do not die for no reason. Their claim to dredge settlement will also disturb waste from DOE that we have been told should not be disturbed.
I live 3 mi. from the plant. Why are we not getting the help NYC got after 9/11? Where is FEMA? Our water has on occasion had a sulphur odor since 12-26. Rumor has it that TVA plans to cover it with top soil and "reshape the shoreline". It will still be a toxic dump and the river will never be the same. Is water being tested further downstream. You can see it in the water many miles from the site.
Though I sympathize with your situation, my guess as to why you're not getting the same help as NYC got after 9/11 is because this is not the work of terrorists and over 2,000 people have not died as a result of the spill thus far. Though if it isn't cleaned up correctly, people could very well die.
Oh, but isn't it? This spill came from a coal plant. Coal comes from plant remains. Plants grow all across the world, including - you guessed it - Afghanistan, the home of the Taliban and haven for terrorists.
Firstly, I'm female, thanks. Secondly, we both know you're argument is flawed. I don't know if you're looking for attention or trying to make Tennesseans look like uneducated rednecks or what, but to suggest that this accident was a terrorist attack because plants grow in Afghanistan is ludicrous.
OK LISTEN IT DOESNT MaTTER HOW BIG THE CITY IS WE ARE STILL PEOPLE. AND WE DESERVE E SAME TREATMENT S BIG CITIES IM SAYING WE BECAUSE I CAN SEE THE STEAM PANT FROM MY YARD. SO U COME ON DOWN TO TENNESSEE ND DRINK ARE WATER SLICK.
Ha! You should know better than to think FEMA is going to help. I hear there is a 'rebranding' effort going on to change the public face of FEMA though.
I hope everyone reading this understands that just because this isn't a big city doesn't mean what happened isn't a disaster. How would you all like it if arsenic ended up in your drinking water because TVA pulls it's drinking water out of the Tennessee River, RIGHT where this crap is going to end up.
Not only uranium is in the Kingston ash, but cadmium, lead, mercury, and all sorts of nasty heavy metals. So, this stuff isn't something people should play in.
I believe TVA is doing something right now about it. They're jackasses if they don't.
what a mess...and people have problem w/nukes? The winds & waters will pass this legacy of cancer to how many? The incompetents that let this occur will probably be making more $ than they did last year.Whomever allowed this to occur should be in prison !!
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
this coal factory was actually scientists trying to find new ways to get energy, and guess what? They messed up this area and now the eart is suffering. Sadly, a normal coal plant wouldn't do this damage. Destroying the earth while finding new ways to get energy is terrible.
Yeah an thats bullshit anyway. I think we're done with coal produced electricity, seriously I'm getting of the grid ASAP. This is an instance where the other waste byproducts come to light b/k the truth is TVA an countless other plants produce waste in the air, ground, an water.
@coachbrp, Oh my god, do you guys have to make everything political?
The TVA was designed to bring power to as many people as possible in the Tennessee valley area, and while their use of coal is detestable, this was still just an accident.
Obama's in favor of dealing with climate change anyway, so odds are the coal plants may even be replaced (not realistic, but it could happen).
How can the Clean Coal lobby ever repair the damage done to their propaganda campaign and get on with the job at hand trying to fool the American public?
Umm buddy, currently there are ONLY 104 operating nuclear reactors in the U.S. They produce roughly 20% of the United States' electricity. Where does this 10,000 figure come from?
Thank you mountain justice for your support of education, economic justice and environmental health. Sorry to hear about the recent tragedy in Tennessee.
By the way everyone, it's ALL ONE BACKYARD.
All water is connected, we were taught this long ago, and many of us understand these connections innately.
I live in cleveland,tenn.30 mi.above chattanooga.lets not forget our friends at olin & dupont chems.they realease waste into th' Hiwassee river that feeds into th'Tenn.river.they have do not eat warnings on large mouth bass& catfish.Limits of 1 lb.a mo.consumption on all other fish.Bowater paper is taking 258,000 acs.of mostly virgin timber from th' cherokee national forest.i have livedin this area since 1986& have not eaten a fish in 15 yrs.I only saw 1 whitetail buck this yr.Let Walk
I see all the jokers popping out and complaining that this is too bad. Idiots, this much excessive ash was generated due to *your* bizarre electric need -- like huge malls, big games and what not, and similar suck.
whose need? the working class people who live in the shaddows of these environmental disasters waiting to happen? or the rich, who profit from raping the environment?
its too bad it todays world the rich have say so in what goes and does not. if you have the money you can buy the world and the law, but in the end you cant buy your way into heaven, just because yo have tons of money doesnt make it right.
This event is a tragedy,At the location that this happened is a major water supply that covers Kentucky,Tennessee,and Alabama. Lead,arsenic,mercury,sulfur,and the possibility of radioactivity from the fly ash are contaminating public water.Are we just going to wait until thousands of people get sick or die before something is done?There is a media blackout on this disaster and that is a shame.
We have a similar but smaller problem with coal ash in San Antonio Texas. A construction project on a piece of land where they had buried coal ash back in the 40's. The contractor removed the ash by loading it in open topped trucks with an excavator. They let the ash fall 8 to 10 feet in high winds. This blew dry coal ash into homes and businesses in the area. I can only say look out for the dry stuff. If your mouth feels like you have a penny in it and your tongue gets sore go to the doc.
(This coal plant would not have been necessary had the antis not managed to delay Watts Bar reactor 1 and prevent Watts Bar reactor II from being constructed)
I agree wholeheartedly with the notion that we, as United States citizens, need to calm down on the consumption front, but your assumptions about Chernobyl are incorrect. The reason that reactor melted down was due to political fear by the people running them and the desire not to lose face with the Soviet political machine at the time.
Nuclear energy is the cleanest option we have at the moment that can sustain modern society. Solar is just not there yet and neither is wind.
Where exactly do you want to store the radioactive waste?
In your back yard? Or mine?
And the cement and other products needed to build a nuclear plant also pollute, and are running scarce. Especially cement. It's one of the worst products for pollution in the world and requires enormous amounts of energy to make.
You would need thousands and thousands of nuclear plants to replace coal at the current level of population growth and consumption.
Well, I can tell you one thing and that is it won't be in your backyard or mine and really...there's not that much nuclear waste. In fact all of it that's ever been produced is much less than this spill. It would only take up a football field area stacked 10 meters high. We need electricity and nuclear power, with reprocessing, can provide that better than any other current source.
The CBS news report (12/24) on the spill is posted on You Tube. The story is also on the front page of the NY Times (12/25) and the Knoxville News Sentinel and Nashville's Tennessean have good coverage about what happened. It was 350 million gallons of coal ash - from a TVA coal burning power plant that generates electricity - located about 50 miles west of Knoxville along a tributary of the Tennessee River. Coal ash contains heavy metals
Too bad for the states using Tennessee River for water supply. Their utility bills going to be tripled at least or suffer exposing to contaminated water. Why they don't bury the coal ash with nuclear waste is beyond me...
Solar and wind are not "clean" energy sources either. There's a lot of details to go into about the manufacturing process of solar cells, they use heavy metals which means in the panel cracks there's a pollutant. Also, they're pretty low on efficiency ~10% and have to be cleaned to keep that up. As for wind, the turbines kill birds. There's a lot of other problems as well but I doubt this is the place to discuss that.
"turbines kill birds" blah blah blah, do some more research!!!!
Birds getting clobbered by a turbine blades is not a common occurence, and those that do are generally flocking birds which are certainly not rare, eg. Sparrows, pigeons etc.
Pelicans eat / kill more pigeons than turbine blades.
Of course, I guess you would prfer environmental spills over the odd dead bird, hmmmm, strange you!
Actually, if thay had have built the retaining walls to hold water rather than sludge, this would not have happened. You see, when building a retaining wall of any kind, you have to account for the least viscous fluid that could ever be present, in the case of an open air retention system, this fluid is rain water. It's rain / surface water that caused this collapse. I guess the engineers designed a very good dam to hold the sludge, only they forgot to account for rain water eroding their wall.
I said this is not the place to get into a "green energy" debate. I like how you posted two replies to yourself though, cute. As for the birds. It is a problem and there ARE groups that would complain about it, there always are. Also people don't want wind farms near them. Maintenance costs are high, roads have to be built for service, they have to be placed in high wind areas, too much wind, too little wind, CO2 (omg global warming *sarcasm*), pricey. Wind/Solar not as good as people "believe".
This has nothing to do with Clean Coal technology. Clean Coal will prevent the coal Ash and toxic treatment chemicals from being created in the first place, so terrible events like this will not happen again.
Heyo - Kenfo0 you are right. Every single form of power generation creates waste. The issue in my opinion is simply which system generates the most electrons for the least amount of waste? Right now my money is on Solar. Did you know that a 12 mile square solar facility that is only 15% efficient per foot could power the ENTIRE UNITED STATES with enough left over to sell to the world @ a massive profit? Think about it, man. BTW - modern solar tech is almost 30% efficient.
solar power is fine once the price comes down. right now, EVEN AFTER GOVT TAX CREDITS(ie, my taxes paying for someone to try to power their own home) the payback is over 20 years for an avg homeowner. one could invest that money and pay for their future power needs for 20 years, and so right now it is no bargain. perhaps in SoCal and desert SW, but not for majority of America. Take away envrionmental lawsuits, and nuke power is so much cheaper, it is a no-brainer.
that's great, and i mean it. but we have coal and nuke now. why not work at finding innovative ways to deal with their negative aspects? the typical "environmentalist" reasoning can be likened to saying " a father didn't secure his child in a car seat/seatbelt and the child died. therefore, we must develop alternative transit because cars kill people". ridiculous. deal with the problem at hand.
wow...awkward...i think you are not following the thread. You: "Thier currently using nanotech to make solar power many times more efficient and hopfully less expencive in the long run.". Me: "that's great, and i mean it....".
HOORAY FOR CLEAN COAL!! OUR BRIGHT ENERGY FUTURE IS ONLY A FEW MORE RIVERS OF FILTH AHEAD OF US! I know I for one will sleep much better knowing the competent, careful hands of these 'green-minded' companies with their excellent record 'clean' coal technologies will be leading us into a bright energy future - a future that we've been living in for more than 100 years now! COAL: BECAUSE THE PAST IS EVEN COOLER WHEN ITS THE FUTURE!
I live in Knoxville and I'm horrified by how long it took for mainstream media to cover this story. I truly appreciate the groups that are devoted to raising the awareness of MTR practices and the impact of coal. Thanks for helping to get this latest tragedy out there where everyone, especially younger generations, can see and appreciate what is happening to Tennessee and the Appalachians.
wow.. what a waste.. some people are so abusive and never care about the effects later..
lovelplants 1 month ago
Check out the movie "Garbage Warrior" Its about a experimental housing development in NM that has no outside utilities running to it. Its working by using solar and wind power!
danny347 5 months ago
This disaster was trivialized by some of the leading energy big wigs like Duke Energy. The Southeastern states, including NC, are the most dependent on coal power. They have used the scare tactics that greedy corporations and political puppets employ by claiming your heating and power bills will rise if we don't continue to use coal. Well...this proves it...they can't properly handle the complete process. (Just like nuclear energy, safely dealing with the waste is an unresolved issue).
wpatterson017 1 year ago
I heard Erin Brokovitch was going to get involved. Does anyone have an update as to what's being done? I live in Massachusetts & I never heard anything about this.
promiseIsaih60 1 year ago
So...it's 2010. This happened 2 years ago. I think I barely remember hearing about it, but it's on 60 Minutes right now. Ain't that a bitch.
xtremegt2 1 year ago 2
We are killing this planet, our children's children will suffer if we don't stop and open our eyes to what we are doing.
WARFOX101 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
it wasn't 1billion gallons it was 300million big differance. im working on cleaning it up and it isnt toxic no in the least little bit people claimin to have drank the water and vomit later are lieing i live there i drink the same water and work in the ash and im perfectly fine
racinboy402 1 year ago
@racinboy402 - Its been routinely reported as 5.3 million cubic yards of ash, which is over 1 billion gallons. I worked in industry for 20 years and was exposed to toxic chemicals and solvents - as you get older, the health effects start to kick in, and you get numbness in extremities, memory loss, etc. You should wear respiratory protection at all times on this job - do it for the people who love you if you wont do it for your own self.
mountainjustice 1 year ago 6
@racinboy402 Then how come some cleanup crews wear hazmat suits and require that all vehicles leaving the site be spray-washed?
tollboothjason 1 year ago
I wonder just how much of this made it to the Gulf? But one thing is clear we need an Energy Revolution so these types of man-made disasters will be a permeate thing of the past.
h2opower 1 year ago
Welp, I didn't hear about this before today. So I guess the cover-up has been working.
jeremystalked 1 year ago 6
@jeremystalked - this TVA spill was over 10 times as big as the BP gulf oil spill, which is estimated about 100 million gallons. Granted, the area affected is smaller than the Gulf of Mexico but the coal ash is toxic and went into a major river system. It wasnt exactly a cover up - see the national news coverage I have posted - but in my opinion, this disaster didnt get nearly as much attention as it should have goteen ....
mountainjustice 1 year ago 5
@mountainjustice
"A 2007 TVA inventory filed with the EPA showed that in only one year the plant's fly ash by products included '45,000 pounds of arsenic, 49,000 pounds of lead, 1.4 million pounds of barium, 91,000 pounds of chromium, and 140,000 pounds of manganese.' ...the fly ash impoundment in Kingston contained almost five decades of toxic byproducts." (Button; Dewan)
That being said, 'big' is a relative term. The ash spill may have been larger by volume, but not by ecological impact.
JACKSONSIBLEY 1 year ago
Ah yes, the new South - America's toilet bowl!!
heyzog 1 year ago 2
you should all check out RockTron if you want to see the potential of this stuff.
abbot124 1 year ago
What I don't understand is how they can get away with this crap. The tennessee river runs through my city and yet hardly anyone here is even aware of what happened. This is especially disturbing when considering the enormity of the disaster. How can any government that allows this to happen be considered "for the people?"
f0nn1x 2 years ago
@f0nn1x thats a really good point lol idk why but i like ur comment bc ur not bitchen like most ppl..u made a great point :P
HamiltonHuskie14 2 years ago
I can't wait until the greedy consume all resources, and begin to devour themselves and their fellow kind.
heliogenic 2 years ago
Wow. There really are Super Villains in the world.
vesselsofthedivine 2 years ago
hehehe i live like literally 1 minute from the steam plant! everything smelled like dead fish for WEEKS... you can still smell it... plehh
oriosafinch 2 years ago
wind, solar and hydro are completely inadequate to meet even 15% of current energy needs. Anyone who claims otherwise is a LIAR. Nuclear power is the only solution.
WholeTruth 2 years ago
Are you sure about this statement?
What research did you do to come to this conclusion?
Has there been any downside to Nuclear power in the past and currently?
What have we done with the waste?
Did you know we have dumped some waste straight into our Ocean?
Have you researched the Nuclear accidents around the world?
Wind and Solar could have meet a lot more of our needs if the big energy companies didn't slow down it's use many years ago.
MLBinwa 2 years ago
@WholeTruth the problem is not hot much energy we can produce, but how we use it. Everyone is so confortable using their 52 inch plasmas 4 aircons, water heaters 3 cars, 40 bulbs per house i mean, come on. We need to stop wasting so much energy an perhaps, yes wind solar and hydro can be a solution for the planets energy needs.
cramtoro 2 years ago
How much energy does the fat lying Gore use at his house, in his limos, on his 100ft house boat? Why did he buy a 4 million dollar condo on the shore in SF, when he claims the seas are going to rise 6 feet?
WholeTruth 2 years ago
First time I hear about this as well.
It's safe to assume the heads of the company do not live in the area.
alleyghost 2 years ago
TVA should be repealed.
campsteveo 2 years ago
America has 1-2 years of drinking water left. Thats what we're learning in college, there's nothing we can do but hold on the next few years. This is in the Aquifers. Drinking water is gone.
eluviation 2 years ago
They R full of Parasites the south lost the war because of hookworm (Dr.Oz archives on Oprah) No one uses sodium borate on top of septics too many septics in Rual USA
nohealthcare62 2 years ago
Be careful what is taught to you in college. A lot of them have an agenda and stretch the truth or completely make things up.
gdwag01 2 years ago
I live in England and I like to think I keep reasonably informed about what is going on in the world. Until watching a CNN segment yesterday I am ashamed to say I had never heard about this catastrophe. Erin Brockovich is now lending her expertise in finding a solution to this mess. This is America's worst ever enviromental disaster and should be receiving much more mainstream coverage. If this happened in England it would be on the news 24/7. Good luck in your fight for justice.
movement26 2 years ago
Comment removed
TechManFFFF 2 years ago
"Clean" coal is insane, even if we manage to get carbon capture to work we still have to deal with the effects of mining the stuff. Instead of pouring our money into coal, why not invest it in things that actually work, like wind, solar, and hydro. Even though hyrdo is destructive its still better than taking the tops off of mountains, and having slurry ponds full of billions of gallons.
nn123654 2 years ago 12
I am floored that this is the first i've heard/seen of this incident. I'm near indianapolis, IN and just now seen that this had happened. I don't watch the news everynight, but surely this incident would of had more than one spot in headlines. What a tragedy! What a mess.
sporkbiking 2 years ago 5
fly ash is actually fairly radioactive which is why property values plummet around storage ponds and plants
its why you have cases of cancer neighborhoods everytime they are downwind of these things
grapesoda4me420 2 years ago
how can anyone say that this is no big deal? poisoning not only our streams, ground water, and destroying the biogeochemical processes of this land, but the families that live there! i can't imagine how difficult it must be, and for those that think the incident was "blown out of proportion" are ignorant.
katartimus 2 years ago 2
we owe it to ouselves to use as much of this commodity as possible, in a responisble manner. compbined power plants can be very clean. this would reduce our use of foreign oil, & oil period.we also need to drill as much as possible off of our shores . o wait a minute that's one of the firtst things obama did was repeal that one. yet he talks about how we need the stimulus because now will be better than later. we'll guess what mr. hypocrit the same goes for drilling oil. phony & a hypocrit .
circusboy90210 2 years ago
coal ash is a commodity? Oh yeah, I forgot - TVA says it can be used in making bowling balls.
Whew! Maybe now the terrible bowling ball shortage will be over once and for all.
mountainjustice 2 years ago 3
If ONLY people--not just here in TN, but EVERYWHERE--could invest in safer, renewable, efficient energy sources. Solar is rediculously cheap to manufacture, and we have plenty of hydroelectric potential.
And as for deforestation, if we were to change the use of trees for paper with bamboo JUST for paper production, we could cut the amount of trees harvested each year by half or more!
And think: algae can easily be grown and pressed for oil, which can be used just as easily as crude.
TheMonstreMash 2 years ago
Thanks TVA for the extra $50 added to our electric bill. TVA sucks!
Ladyhawkwright 2 years ago
In Kingston at the park they are still letting the poor ducks swim in the residue and ash covered water. What a sad sight. >:|
Ladyhawkwright 2 years ago
yeah that is sad. how come no one is rasing cane about the fish with 3 eyes and the 2 headed ducks at and around oak ridge? I think you all are just riding the ban wagon. you all should have to go without power for about a week or 2. then you would be begging TVA to fire up those boilers
fitterdawg 2 years ago
You can't be serious? I live a few miles from Watts Bar Plant and have WELL water, I have had two dogs with cancer, my mom now has cancer and we are always SICK, AND we are always without electric! What do you know?
Ladyhawkwright 2 years ago
Well I hate that you all are having those problems, however you are next to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. Radiation, everywhere. are you telling me that the fly ash has made it down that far to effect your water?
fitterdawg 2 years ago
I am rather confused, living ON the Tennessee river, and only a mere 20 minute drive to TVA's power plants.... I've never seen any of this? I enjoyed my summer quite well on the rivers that year??? hmmmm, perhaps much further downriver?
j4ckj0hn5on 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Tennessee native here currently living over in Europe, and I try to keep up on what's happening back home, but I didn't hear anything about this until telephoning with my dad tonight. Really terrible looking. I might have heard a radio blurb, but nothing indicating the scale you see here. Truly an ecological disaster. This should be getting more coverage.
priser24 3 years ago 2
Comment removed
priser24 3 years ago
And this, boys and girls, is why there is no such thing as "clean coal."
aichpvee 3 years ago
And now we can thank Bush for making a last minute move where these coal operations can dump directly into the rivers without trying to hold anything back.
mkisieli 3 years ago
Comment removed
joshill23 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
And we can thank people like you for voting socialism into the presidency. It's great to see a person can become elected President and the majority of the voters can't even tell you not 1 of his policies. But yeah you're right, let Bush take the fall. That's just the Liberals not wanting to take responsibility for ANYTHING.
joshill23 3 years ago
i cannot believe this happened and is not being covered by national news stations!! TVA could have prevented this in 2006 when it was suggested they rebuild the area to contain this coal ash! this is larger than the exxon valdez spill and will take years to clean up!
livinsimply 3 years ago 2
I'm also pretty amazed this wasn't a big story.
JohnnyGeologist 3 years ago
You dont get it do you? The media is owned by people who will protect the people who did this.
OUtsidethenine4eva 3 years ago
They didn't mention the yuppie suv's and cars that dump tons more pollutants in our country ever day or the millions of miles of asphalt roads that catch the suns heat increasing the earths temp.
ruppertknickerbocker 3 years ago
I just posted a before and after video. Residents aren't getting answers from TVA, just placations and rhetoric.
mgtillyer 3 years ago
The Coal Industry: From leveling those unsightly Appalachians to adding nutritious mercury to your tunafish - we are here for you!
Minnow22 3 years ago
you forgot "providing energy for half the country"
I mean those are legitimate complaints you have there, but it isn't like they do that stuff just for kicks. Providing energy for millions of people isn't easy.
JohnnyGeologist 3 years ago
yeah, it's not easy to provide energy but there are other ways than killing people and contaminating miles of rivers which provide folks with drinking water not to mention all the dead plant and wildlife! TVA could have prevented this but didn't want to pay the cost.
livinsimply 3 years ago
ok i live right on he rad right across from the steam plant so im boiling my water this is an enviromental hazard the east tennessee epa is taking ths seriously my health is the second thing im worried about the enviromental hazard is what im really worried abut i hope no one gets sick from this and thank u to the clean up workets that are cleaning this up. they r risking there lives. thank you.
stagelightingkid 3 years ago
I hate to break it to you, but boiling your water won't do anything. The problem is that the toxic heavy metals in the coal ash (arsenic, mercury, etc) can get into the drinking water.
Boiling water kills bacteria, but it doesn't do anything to eliminate chemicals.
JohnnyGeologist 3 years ago
I have worked in fly ash for 10 + years everyday. And I am healthy as a horse. And i have seen people retire that have been in it thier whole life, and they are still kickin so I wouldn't worry too much, the media always blows everything out of porportion. the media feed off this stuff!! as long as you eat it up they will keep putting it out there for you..
fitterdawg 2 years ago
Yeah the difference is you worked in it. This shit gets into the water table and the food we eat. Working with it and having it wreck your environment to be consumed by the population is a big difference.
crownroyal111 2 years ago 3
umm ,, coal ash is ,, um ,, sorta like dirt , its used in cement also, coal burns at a very high temp , so i'd say most polutants are consumed in combustion
levisnteeshirt 3 years ago
All the organic chemicals would be consumed, but the inorganic chemicals are what is left behind. So its pretty much tiny dirt and rock particles that make up fly ash, but rocks do contain trace amounts of heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, etc.. These are concentrated in fly ash since everything else is burnt off, so a pound of fly ash might contain as much arsenic as 10 pounds of dirt and also in a more water soluble state (but it still ain't rat poison like was said, its used in concrete).
BrownTown5555 3 years ago
Sooo...when I drink my water from the faucet, the arsenic and lead and all that good stuff won't lead to anything nasty, like cancer or something, right? I mean, I COULD go buy some bottled water, but that would mean driving to the store, and cars kill so many people.
Wouldn't wanna risk it.
mellifluouschimes89 3 years ago
Show people what this area looked like before! We love our land. This is outrageous and devastating. This is a REAL problem.
lisamarieseriously 3 years ago 3
thousands will die,
the mainstream media won't talk about it for days...
population control
gzngahrofdanorth 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Nobody died, or was even hurt. Nobody will be harmed as a result of this "disaster". And yet people are all over the place complaining about this instead of the dozens of REAL problem our country has. For example cars kill 40,000 people a year and coal sludge kills 0, and yet I don't see ya'll trying to ban cars now?
BrownTown5555 3 years ago
That's a fucking lame comparison, man.
darkoriano 3 years ago
I can't believe the media isn't all over this. What is going wrong with our country?
StaceAce01 3 years ago 2
so much for "clean coal"
derlambic 3 years ago
This disaster is affecting the water supply more than TVA is acknowledging. It has the potential to affect this area and the residents from here to Alabama and Georgia. Fish do not die for no reason. Their claim to dredge settlement will also disturb waste from DOE that we have been told should not be disturbed.
harveyoneeye 3 years ago 2
I live 3 mi. from the plant. Why are we not getting the help NYC got after 9/11? Where is FEMA? Our water has on occasion had a sulphur odor since 12-26. Rumor has it that TVA plans to cover it with top soil and "reshape the shoreline". It will still be a toxic dump and the river will never be the same. Is water being tested further downstream. You can see it in the water many miles from the site.
harveyoneeye 3 years ago 3
Though I sympathize with your situation, my guess as to why you're not getting the same help as NYC got after 9/11 is because this is not the work of terrorists and over 2,000 people have not died as a result of the spill thus far. Though if it isn't cleaned up correctly, people could very well die.
justxlindsey 3 years ago
"this is not the work of terrorists"
Oh, but isn't it? This spill came from a coal plant. Coal comes from plant remains. Plants grow all across the world, including - you guessed it - Afghanistan, the home of the Taliban and haven for terrorists.
So, you'd better think again, mister.
CrowsTurnOff 3 years ago
Firstly, I'm female, thanks. Secondly, we both know you're argument is flawed. I don't know if you're looking for attention or trying to make Tennesseans look like uneducated rednecks or what, but to suggest that this accident was a terrorist attack because plants grow in Afghanistan is ludicrous.
justxlindsey 3 years ago
Did you honestly take my post seriously?
CrowsTurnOff 3 years ago
1. This is not a terrorist attack.
2. It's not in one of the biggest cities on the planet, our nation's leading financial center.
3. I have yet to hear of any immediate deaths resulting from this.
4. Exactly how much help did NYC get? We've still got a pretty big hole in the ground where the WTC used to be.
particle409 3 years ago
OK LISTEN IT DOESNT MaTTER HOW BIG THE CITY IS WE ARE STILL PEOPLE. AND WE DESERVE E SAME TREATMENT S BIG CITIES IM SAYING WE BECAUSE I CAN SEE THE STEAM PANT FROM MY YARD. SO U COME ON DOWN TO TENNESSEE ND DRINK ARE WATER SLICK.
stagelightingkid 3 years ago
"where is FEMA"
Ha! You should know better than to think FEMA is going to help. I hear there is a 'rebranding' effort going on to change the public face of FEMA though.
I hope everyone reading this understands that just because this isn't a big city doesn't mean what happened isn't a disaster. How would you all like it if arsenic ended up in your drinking water because TVA pulls it's drinking water out of the Tennessee River, RIGHT where this crap is going to end up.
InfInIty13X 3 years ago 2
TVA will be held accountable through lawsuits.
The citizens affected by this have lost their property value, equity, and livelihoods.
The property resell value is nullified, and TVA is at fault.
The ground is now toxic, as is the water.
Read this scientific american article:
Fly ash uranium sometimes leaches into the soil and water surrounding a coal plant, affecting cropland and, in turn, food.
rwestyt 3 years ago
Not only uranium is in the Kingston ash, but cadmium, lead, mercury, and all sorts of nasty heavy metals. So, this stuff isn't something people should play in.
I believe TVA is doing something right now about it. They're jackasses if they don't.
Ghostwalker2061 3 years ago
TVA is crooked. It's despicable that they aren't showing any real concern over what's going on here. Good footage.
InfInIty13X 3 years ago
can some one tell me what the hell is going on hear exactly what happened hear
jellycolors 3 years ago
This didn't happen in Harriman. It was in Kingston.
alikat1970 3 years ago
Correct - Kingston TN
Right off I40 between Knoxville and Nashville
Check it out
mountainjustice 3 years ago
according to right-wingers, if you give a damn about this you're an environmentalist and a "hippie fag"
randomusername2000 3 years ago 7
What did you expect? Its just another program run by big brother.
huskiefan06 3 years ago
UR DISGUISTING.
stagelightingkid 3 years ago
I suppose we can just forget about big brothers' failed response to Hurricane Katrina. Or its misguided policy of printing endless money.
huskiefan06 3 years ago
Will all of the toxic chemicals flow down to Watts Bar Lake?
Tadab92 3 years ago
what a mess...and people have problem w/nukes? The winds & waters will pass this legacy of cancer to how many? The incompetents that let this occur will probably be making more $ than they did last year.Whomever allowed this to occur should be in prison !!
tracerxy 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
this coal factory was actually scientists trying to find new ways to get energy, and guess what? They messed up this area and now the eart is suffering. Sadly, a normal coal plant wouldn't do this damage. Destroying the earth while finding new ways to get energy is terrible.
DestinyHopeCyrus2009 3 years ago
what the tell are you talking about, the Kingston coal plant is 50+ years old...
The only additions ongoing are a new scrubber to make the air cleaner...
BrownTown5555 3 years ago 3
Yeah an thats bullshit anyway. I think we're done with coal produced electricity, seriously I'm getting of the grid ASAP. This is an instance where the other waste byproducts come to light b/k the truth is TVA an countless other plants produce waste in the air, ground, an water.
Womproot 3 years ago
Say goodbye to that ecosystem. Unless we act.
tehsma 3 years ago
Too bad Obama is on TVA's side.
coachbrp 3 years ago
@coachbrp, Oh my god, do you guys have to make everything political?
The TVA was designed to bring power to as many people as possible in the Tennessee valley area, and while their use of coal is detestable, this was still just an accident.
Obama's in favor of dealing with climate change anyway, so odds are the coal plants may even be replaced (not realistic, but it could happen).
BryZad 3 years ago
This video is about 5 minutes from my house, TVA is being frowned upon, but they aren't in legal trouble. We have to do something!!!
kroyster21 3 years ago
How can the Clean Coal lobby ever repair the damage done to their propaganda campaign and get on with the job at hand trying to fool the American public?
brotherjupiter 3 years ago
And where do you get the cement and other materials that would be required to build the thousands of plants necessary to replace coal?
You would need about ten thousand nuclear plants in the US alone.
Add to that the ones needed in China and India and other developing countries and that's a lot of cement and nuclear waste.
queerplanet 3 years ago
Umm buddy, currently there are ONLY 104 operating nuclear reactors in the U.S. They produce roughly 20% of the United States' electricity. Where does this 10,000 figure come from?
vtdhawkins 3 years ago
Just another reason to begin building nuclear power plants again. The renaissance is coming...
vtdhawkins 3 years ago
only days after G W Bushed signed into law
that coal slur spills are legal !
So now that they got rid of their poisonous slur the company will continue as usual.
NO clean up will occur forget about it
its now legal and no repercussions against the company.
Americans will not fightback and so will be treated as weak minded clowns over and over again.got a coal slur just open the gates and let it flow.
Chk G W Bush newly signed presidential laws
shocking
dave777blaster 3 years ago
what are you talking about? can you site a reference? we can't keep up with everything-- but what are you talking about legal?
CoalBlackRain 3 years ago
Executive orders signed into law recently
that allows coal companies and those that use coal to pollute river streams and lakes with their operations.
dave777blaster 3 years ago
Thank you mountain justice for your support of education, economic justice and environmental health. Sorry to hear about the recent tragedy in Tennessee.
By the way everyone, it's ALL ONE BACKYARD.
All water is connected, we were taught this long ago, and many of us understand these connections innately.
wereallneighbors 3 years ago 2
I live in cleveland,tenn.30 mi.above chattanooga.lets not forget our friends at olin & dupont chems.they realease waste into th' Hiwassee river that feeds into th'Tenn.river.they have do not eat warnings on large mouth bass& catfish.Limits of 1 lb.a mo.consumption on all other fish.Bowater paper is taking 258,000 acs.of mostly virgin timber from th' cherokee national forest.i have livedin this area since 1986& have not eaten a fish in 15 yrs.I only saw 1 whitetail buck this yr.Let Walk
ancienthead 3 years ago
I see all the jokers popping out and complaining that this is too bad. Idiots, this much excessive ash was generated due to *your* bizarre electric need -- like huge malls, big games and what not, and similar suck.
eshoppie 3 years ago
whose need? the working class people who live in the shaddows of these environmental disasters waiting to happen? or the rich, who profit from raping the environment?
jokerswildnyc 3 years ago 3
Hooorrayyyyy America!!!!!!!! Woooooooohooooo!!!
toastyovens 3 years ago
People should be outraged that this isn't getting more mainstream media attention. Unbelievable.
nukem911 3 years ago 6
dude! I live there
djkret111 3 years ago
its too bad it todays world the rich have say so in what goes and does not. if you have the money you can buy the world and the law, but in the end you cant buy your way into heaven, just because yo have tons of money doesnt make it right.
biomansoil 3 years ago
This event is a tragedy,At the location that this happened is a major water supply that covers Kentucky,Tennessee,and Alabama. Lead,arsenic,mercury,sulfur,and the possibility of radioactivity from the fly ash are contaminating public water.Are we just going to wait until thousands of people get sick or die before something is done?There is a media blackout on this disaster and that is a shame.
undaunted7786 3 years ago 2
This is just about 40 miles from where I live. We don't have city water coming to our house though.
gyloir 3 years ago
Coal ash can be added to concrete. It's a shame that price is a factor.
big2twobucks 3 years ago
We have a similar but smaller problem with coal ash in San Antonio Texas. A construction project on a piece of land where they had buried coal ash back in the 40's. The contractor removed the ash by loading it in open topped trucks with an excavator. They let the ash fall 8 to 10 feet in high winds. This blew dry coal ash into homes and businesses in the area. I can only say look out for the dry stuff. If your mouth feels like you have a penny in it and your tongue gets sore go to the doc.
big2twobucks 3 years ago
That's brutal. Infrastructure needs to be properly maintained.
fatmoleman 3 years ago
(This coal plant would not have been necessary had the antis not managed to delay Watts Bar reactor 1 and prevent Watts Bar reactor II from being constructed)
soylentgreenb 3 years ago
You want coal. It runs most of the electricity in this country. Without it, most of the economy would shut down.
You want to breed more kids.
You want to go shopping.
You want you want you want.
This is the price.
CubistCafe 3 years ago
"You want coal. It runs most of the electricity in this country. Without it, most of the economy would shut down."
Not in my country, we had the good sense to ignore the anti-nuke morons.
soylentgreenb 3 years ago 2
Yes, and when your reactors do the same thing, let's hear what you have to say.
Chernobyl wasn't exactly Clean Energy.
You think there is some way to produce energy and consumer without waste and pollution.
There isn't.
There is only one solution.
Stop breeding and cut down on your consumption habits.
Otherwise the planet will soon be uninhabitable.
CubistCafe 3 years ago
I agree wholeheartedly with the notion that we, as United States citizens, need to calm down on the consumption front, but your assumptions about Chernobyl are incorrect. The reason that reactor melted down was due to political fear by the people running them and the desire not to lose face with the Soviet political machine at the time.
Nuclear energy is the cleanest option we have at the moment that can sustain modern society. Solar is just not there yet and neither is wind.
phuturephunk 3 years ago
Define clean?
Where exactly do you want to store the radioactive waste?
In your back yard? Or mine?
And the cement and other products needed to build a nuclear plant also pollute, and are running scarce. Especially cement. It's one of the worst products for pollution in the world and requires enormous amounts of energy to make.
You would need thousands and thousands of nuclear plants to replace coal at the current level of population growth and consumption.
queerplanet 3 years ago
Well, I can tell you one thing and that is it won't be in your backyard or mine and really...there's not that much nuclear waste. In fact all of it that's ever been produced is much less than this spill. It would only take up a football field area stacked 10 meters high. We need electricity and nuclear power, with reprocessing, can provide that better than any other current source.
brickd 3 years ago
instead of posting some vid of sludge, hows about some meaningful info? when, where, possible impact,etc?
kenfo0 3 years ago
The CBS news report (12/24) on the spill is posted on You Tube. The story is also on the front page of the NY Times (12/25) and the Knoxville News Sentinel and Nashville's Tennessean have good coverage about what happened. It was 350 million gallons of coal ash - from a TVA coal burning power plant that generates electricity - located about 50 miles west of Knoxville along a tributary of the Tennessee River. Coal ash contains heavy metals
mountainjustice 3 years ago
yeah, i read about it in NYT then saw this vid....just meant that vid w/explanation is more effective.
kenfo0 3 years ago
Has this been on CNN? I'm curious, as I do not watch TV.
bicycledays 3 years ago
Too bad for the states using Tennessee River for water supply. Their utility bills going to be tripled at least or suffer exposing to contaminated water. Why they don't bury the coal ash with nuclear waste is beyond me...
mewletter 3 years ago
omg. hope everyone is safe.
this would be a perfect project for the application of bioremediation.
see ted talks vid on mushrooms for more info or look up bioremediation.
w0r1dpeace 3 years ago
yet another WIN by fossil fuels.
Why waste time on new "clean coal" shit when we've had wave, air and solar energy just waiting to be picked up. Just for the cash.
ibstrd 3 years ago
Solar and wind are not "clean" energy sources either. There's a lot of details to go into about the manufacturing process of solar cells, they use heavy metals which means in the panel cracks there's a pollutant. Also, they're pretty low on efficiency ~10% and have to be cleaned to keep that up. As for wind, the turbines kill birds. There's a lot of other problems as well but I doubt this is the place to discuss that.
psykhotic 3 years ago
Whoever gave this comment a thumbs down is an idiot. Everything mentioned is spot on...
mesana 3 years ago
"turbines kill birds" blah blah blah, do some more research!!!!
Birds getting clobbered by a turbine blades is not a common occurence, and those that do are generally flocking birds which are certainly not rare, eg. Sparrows, pigeons etc.
Pelicans eat / kill more pigeons than turbine blades.
Of course, I guess you would prfer environmental spills over the odd dead bird, hmmmm, strange you!
lollollolster 3 years ago
Actually, if thay had have built the retaining walls to hold water rather than sludge, this would not have happened. You see, when building a retaining wall of any kind, you have to account for the least viscous fluid that could ever be present, in the case of an open air retention system, this fluid is rain water. It's rain / surface water that caused this collapse. I guess the engineers designed a very good dam to hold the sludge, only they forgot to account for rain water eroding their wall.
lollollolster 3 years ago 2
I really feel for the people with property involved as it'll be useless for anything for the rest of their lives.
When will more people decide to keep an eye on the big corporations rather than believing then then they state something is safe...................
Who is really to blame the corporations or the consumers of their products that allow them to continue unchecked.
I could go on and on about this, but...........
lollollolster 3 years ago
I said this is not the place to get into a "green energy" debate. I like how you posted two replies to yourself though, cute. As for the birds. It is a problem and there ARE groups that would complain about it, there always are. Also people don't want wind farms near them. Maintenance costs are high, roads have to be built for service, they have to be placed in high wind areas, too much wind, too little wind, CO2 (omg global warming *sarcasm*), pricey. Wind/Solar not as good as people "believe".
psykhotic 3 years ago
"lol clean coal"... That is like saying clean burning gasoline. I swear people get dumber by the day. Must be something in the water... o wait!
whataclusterfuck 3 years ago 3
this wouldnt have occured if clean coal actually existed
xXCoD4pWn3rXx 3 years ago
This has nothing to do with Clean Coal technology. Clean Coal will prevent the coal Ash and toxic treatment chemicals from being created in the first place, so terrible events like this will not happen again.
mspeichts 3 years ago
Id like to see one of these "clean coal" plants that the politicians and industry people keep talking about. Where can I go to see one?
mountainjustice 3 years ago
i'd like to see you produce power w/no negative environmental impact. can't be done. the issue is proper planning, oversight and accountability.
kenfo0 3 years ago
Heyo - Kenfo0 you are right. Every single form of power generation creates waste. The issue in my opinion is simply which system generates the most electrons for the least amount of waste? Right now my money is on Solar. Did you know that a 12 mile square solar facility that is only 15% efficient per foot could power the ENTIRE UNITED STATES with enough left over to sell to the world @ a massive profit? Think about it, man. BTW - modern solar tech is almost 30% efficient.
remasterus 3 years ago
solar power is fine once the price comes down. right now, EVEN AFTER GOVT TAX CREDITS(ie, my taxes paying for someone to try to power their own home) the payback is over 20 years for an avg homeowner. one could invest that money and pay for their future power needs for 20 years, and so right now it is no bargain. perhaps in SoCal and desert SW, but not for majority of America. Take away envrionmental lawsuits, and nuke power is so much cheaper, it is a no-brainer.
kenfo0 3 years ago
Thier currently using nanotech to make solar power many times more efficient and hopfully less expencive in the long run.
dexxtteer 3 years ago
that's great, and i mean it. but we have coal and nuke now. why not work at finding innovative ways to deal with their negative aspects? the typical "environmentalist" reasoning can be likened to saying " a father didn't secure his child in a car seat/seatbelt and the child died. therefore, we must develop alternative transit because cars kill people". ridiculous. deal with the problem at hand.
kenfo0 3 years ago
Wow...akward...I think you have me mistaken for someone else...
dexxtteer 3 years ago
wow...awkward...i think you are not following the thread. You: "Thier currently using nanotech to make solar power many times more efficient and hopfully less expencive in the long run.". Me: "that's great, and i mean it....".
kenfo0 3 years ago
ouch!
ProfessorHoffman 3 years ago
HOORAY FOR CLEAN COAL!! OUR BRIGHT ENERGY FUTURE IS ONLY A FEW MORE RIVERS OF FILTH AHEAD OF US! I know I for one will sleep much better knowing the competent, careful hands of these 'green-minded' companies with their excellent record 'clean' coal technologies will be leading us into a bright energy future - a future that we've been living in for more than 100 years now! COAL: BECAUSE THE PAST IS EVEN COOLER WHEN ITS THE FUTURE!
remasterus 3 years ago
is it possible this happened on purpose
joeyjupiter77 3 years ago
maybe by an environmental whacko to "make a point"? what good could come to the TVA had they done it? none.
kenfo0 3 years ago
there's no way in hell the EPA is cleaning this up in "four to six weeks."
say goodbye to all animal life in that area
kiloky 3 years ago 3
this is pretty death metal.
x0utsideofthis 3 years ago
How sad
j0se007 3 years ago
is this clean coal technology?
SaveOurPlanetBeVegan 3 years ago
merry xmas
SaveOurPlanetBeVegan 3 years ago
wow... wtf? how did an accident at this magnitude happen?
feerof 3 years ago
Because they had stupid American's taking care of what ever it was that spilled.
Benstewart599 3 years ago 2
yeah rednecks, take that
hkgoldendotcom 3 years ago
I live in Knoxville and I'm horrified by how long it took for mainstream media to cover this story. I truly appreciate the groups that are devoted to raising the awareness of MTR practices and the impact of coal. Thanks for helping to get this latest tragedy out there where everyone, especially younger generations, can see and appreciate what is happening to Tennessee and the Appalachians.
knoxvillegirl77 3 years ago
What are they doing to clean this???????
3dscott 3 years ago
i love it how human treating this planet...lov'in it!!!
aznlilboiz 3 years ago
thats crazy
jameskazmare 3 years ago
this is sickening...
earth's gonna strike back with a disaster, just watch.
HwarangOfFaith 3 years ago
crap this ruined the riverlife its holiday
HawtBabeFTW 3 years ago
clean coal ftw amirite?
itwasstinky 3 years ago
So Much for clean coal mccain!!!!!!!!!!!
rafyfukinl 3 years ago
Terrible.
Odenkay 3 years ago
how are you careless enough to spill coal well there goes our world
vicacyus 3 years ago
humans-1 earth-0
xSubliminaLx 3 years ago 2
our ecosystem :(
oneofthevivs 3 years ago
its a snow white christmas~
tall1992 3 years ago