Yogaville Environmental Solutions to co-sponsor informative pipeline events

Yogaville Environmental Solutions (YES), a new undertaking by Yogaville to educate about and advocate for sustainable energy policies, is cosponsoring with Friends of Buckingham two events on Sunday, April 19, to discuss the Atlantic Coast Pipeline proposal and its impact on Buckingham County, including the impact of a planned compressor station near Route 56.

The first event will take place at Union Hill Baptist Church at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 19. Speakers William Huston and Nadia Steinzor will discuss health and safety issues related to compressor stations. Compressor stations run loud, powerful turbines constantly to push gas through the pipeline. These stations regularly release methane, nitrous oxides and other volatile organic compounds into the air. These releases contaminate the air, water and soil within up to 15 miles of the station, and nearby residents report serious health impacts, including nosebleeds, headaches, nausea and abdominal pain.

Noise is a major complaint, and safety is also an issue because of numerous explosions and leaks that have occurred at compressor stations.

At 7:30 Sunday evening, the two will speak again at Sivananda Satsang Hall at Yogaville to discuss next steps and share success stories from other pipeline projects.

Huston is part of the all‐volunteer Shaleshock Media, www.shaleshockmedia.org, and he has been working nearly full-time researching and documenting the shale gas invasion of our area for the last four years. Steinzor is the Eastern Program Coordinator of the Oil & Gas Accountability Project
at Earthworks, a national organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the impacts of mining and energy development.

Yogaville, a peaceful 700-acre spiritual community established in 1979 and situated alongside the James River in rural Buckingham, Virginia, is home to 270 permanent residents who have chosen to live in a community dedicated to peace, non-violence, selfless service, and respect for all faith traditions. Some 10,000 guests and program participants from all over the world visit the internationally recognized site each year — to study Yoga, to rest, to relax, to heal, and to enjoy the silence of the Light Of Truth Universal Shrine (LOTUS), a unique interfaith shrine dedicated to all faiths.

In addition to these events, Yogaville will also hold a brief interfaith prayer for Mother Earth and a tree planting on Saturday. Yogaville Environmental Solutions (YES) will be officially launched at this event.