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1. Eight years ago, car accident took the lives of two local girls2. The Best of Athens 2012 - People3. ‘OU’? There’s a reason great institutions don’t go by their initials4. OU Police issue alert about 'armed and dangerous' man near Union and Shafer5. Best of Athens - Dining6. For local biz, cooperative status has been mostly a good thing7. The Best of Athens 2012 - Nightlife8. Experts deliver dire warnings about fracking impacts9. Best of Athens - Places10. 'Armed and dangerous' bank robber no longer a local threat, OUPD says11. The Best of Athens 2012 - Students Only12. The first round of 2012 Best of Athens results...13. Feds’ new rule about Burmese pythons relies on misinformation14. OU releases $$ report on football team’s Boise trip15. Group works toward total elimination of garbage16. OU prof's new book sparks nostalgia for short-story era17. Cuban Sol brings new exotic flavor to Athens area18. Attorneys for student who lost arm seek big damages from OU 19. Former deputy gets fines, no jail time in sex-with-informant case20. Touring museum highlights African-American inventors
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Thursday, October 29,2009
The banner was gone by the time Duke Energy President James Rogers delivered the keynote address at the ARC conference at 9:15 a.m. Officers at the Athens and OU police departments said police were not involved.
Duke Energy is one of the largest producers of electricity in the country and operates coal-fired power plants in Indiana, Ohio and the Carolinas.
A few protesters stood outside the conference with banners supporting "green energy" but decrying new coal power projects, including the 1,000-megawatt power plant that American Municipal Power (AMP) is developing in southern Meigs County.
"I want to believe that the ARC is going to be a catalyst for making Appalachia a green-collar economic role model, but that is definitely not going to happen if coal stays in the picture," an anonymous spokeswoman for Rising Tide said in a release.
Rogers does not agree. During his speech, he said the energy industry must build "a new generation" of coal-burning power plants that emit less carbon dioxide and other pollutants without putting an "undue burden" on those who depend on coal for jobs and affordable energy.
"When we make the transition to low carbon, it has to be affordable and fair," Rogers said.
Rising Tide, however, claims that funding "clean-coal" technologies will not address the fundamental problems of the coal industry.
Mountaintop-removal coal mining and coal processing that creates big sludge ponds are destructive practices that will continue to negatively impact Appalachia despite technological advances, according to the Rising Tide release.
State leaders seem to favor Rogers' position over that of the anti-coal environmentalists.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who attended the conference, supports the AMP coal-burning power plant planned near Letart Falls because he said the plant will use advanced technology to reduce pollution.
Strickland announced in June that AMP will receive a $30 million bridge loan for the project from the advanced-energy portion of the state's job stimulus plan.
The plant will bring thousands of temporary construction jobs and millions of dollars to southeast Ohio, as well as permanent power-plant jobs and spin-off jobs in the coal industry and support businesses. However, environmental groups including the Sierra Club are campaigning against it.
The state has issued AMP all the necessary permits for the plant, and construction could begin this winter despite hearings on appeals filed by the Sierra Club and its allies.
Activists challenge 'clean coal' at confab in Athens
Environmental activists staged a small protest and hung a banner from the Richland Avenue bridge early Tuesday morning to tell the state and regional leaders attending the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) conference at Ohio University that clean energy does not come from coal.
The theme of the conference at the OU Baker Center was " new energy, new jobs" and featured panel discussions on topics such as wind power, green enterprise, and developing a cleaner coal power industry.
The banner was gone by the time Duke Energy President James Rogers delivered the keynote address at the ARC conference at 9:15 a.m. Officers at the Athens and OU police departments said police were not involved.
Duke Energy is one of the largest producers of electricity in the country and operates coal-fired power plants in Indiana, Ohio and the Carolinas.
A few protesters stood outside the conference with banners supporting "green energy" but decrying new coal power projects, including the 1,000-megawatt power plant that American Municipal Power (AMP) is developing in southern Meigs County.
"I want to believe that the ARC is going to be a catalyst for making Appalachia a green-collar economic role model, but that is definitely not going to happen if coal stays in the picture," an anonymous spokeswoman for Rising Tide said in a release.
Rogers does not agree. During his speech, he said the energy industry must build "a new generation" of coal-burning power plants that emit less carbon dioxide and other pollutants without putting an "undue burden" on those who depend on coal for jobs and affordable energy.
"When we make the transition to low carbon, it has to be affordable and fair," Rogers said.
Rising Tide, however, claims that funding "clean-coal" technologies will not address the fundamental problems of the coal industry.
Mountaintop-removal coal mining and coal processing that creates big sludge ponds are destructive practices that will continue to negatively impact Appalachia despite technological advances, according to the Rising Tide release.
State leaders seem to favor Rogers' position over that of the anti-coal environmentalists.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who attended the conference, supports the AMP coal-burning power plant planned near Letart Falls because he said the plant will use advanced technology to reduce pollution.
Strickland announced in June that AMP will receive a $30 million bridge loan for the project from the advanced-energy portion of the state's job stimulus plan.
The plant will bring thousands of temporary construction jobs and millions of dollars to southeast Ohio, as well as permanent power-plant jobs and spin-off jobs in the coal industry and support businesses. However, environmental groups including the Sierra Club are campaigning against it.
The state has issued AMP all the necessary permits for the plant, and construction could begin this winter despite hearings on appeals filed by the Sierra Club and its allies.
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