Page Shields | Can coal be clean?

Letters

With all of the controversy surrounding the construction of a coal plant in Wise County, VA it bears repeating that coal is not clean energy. The phrase “clean coal technology” fosters hope that scientists will find a way to take harmful elements, especially carbon, out of coal. Unfortunately this is a lost hope as the…

No more big bangs?

Chris Graham

We may have seen the last community Fourth of July celebration in Staunton. At least that’s what I’m hearing. “Our committee is going to meet at the end of the month to make decisions about whether this festival goes on next year or not,” America’s Birthday Celebration organizer Terri Corey told me before Saturday’s big…

McDonnell flip-flops on debates

Chris Graham

“This letter is nothing more than grandstanding by a struggling campaign,” the campaign manager said regarding a letter from a political rival issuing a challenge for a series of debates across the Commonwealth. “For a politician who claims to be all about straight talk, this letter is more about publicity than public service,” the campaign…

Billy Parish | The first step is the hardest

Contributors

The House recently passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act , an important step toward protecting our environment and building a clean energy economy. ACES has generated a lot of strong opinions, for and against, especially in the environmental community. Now, I’m not a scientist or a policy wonk, but I did help start…

Jennifer Rogers | Protecting the public from harmful chemicals

Contributors

I recently read an article about Bisphenol-A (BPA) that eerily reminded me of the movie, “Thank You for Smoking.” In the movie, the “merchants of death” or MOD Squad, as they call themselves, are lobbyists for the alcohol, gun, and tobacco industries and meet for lunch while plotting to keep vital information about the harmful…

Earth Talk | ‘Clean’ coal?

Contributors

Dear EarthTalk: As I understand it, “clean” coal really isn’t—yet the Bush Administration gushed strongly for it. What is Obama’s take on it? – John Zippert, Eutaw, Ala. Barack Obama and George W. Bush differ in many ways, but both have embraced so-called “clean coal” for providing an ongoing supply of cheap and readily available…