News of KFTC and our issues
Report: Coal-fired plants cause deaths, asthma attacks
June 19, 2012
Coal-fired power plants owned by PPL - the owner of Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities - and seven other energy companies contribute to thousands of deaths, asthma attacks and hospital visits, according to a report issued Tuesday by an environmental group.
Mountaintop Removal Moratorium Introduced
June 19, 2012
Recognizing the mounting humanitarian crisis from mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachian coalfields, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) joined Congressional representatives from across the nation today and introduced H.R. 5959, The Appalachian Communities Health Emergency (ACHE) Act.
Kentucky surface miners hit hard by black lung, study finds
June 17, 2012
A new assessment of black lung disease by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a higher than expected rate of the disease among workers on surface mine operations. The occurrence of the disease is higher in Central Appalachian states, including Kentucky.
EPA should hang tough in coalfields
June 14, 2012
Compared with poisoned water, elevated rates of cancer and birth defects, floods, blasting, ubiquitous dust, close encounters with coal trucks, poverty and the knowledge that anyone who protests the abuses is taking a personal risk … ask Marie Gunnoe, or the delegation of Kentuckians shut out from meeting with U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers.
Concerns About Coal Ash Raised During LG&E Air Permit Hearing
June 12, 2012
Coal ash blowing off landfills has been a problem for residents living near the Mill Creek and Cane Run power plants. Cane Run is scheduled to stop burning coal in 2016, but the company has indicated it’s still profitable to use coal at the newer Mill Creek facility.
Coal and Kentucky
June 10, 2012
It's the job of federal and state regulators to ensure that coal is mined safely and in a way that doesn’t do violence to the environment. The U.S. EPA has shown some concern about the environment, concerns that Kentucky officials apparently do not share. And mine safety laws and their enforcement continue to fall short of what is needed to protect miners' lives.
Coal mine safety bills stalled
June 10, 2012
More than two years after the worst single mining tragedy in 40 years – at Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia – legislation to address some of the conditions that led to that diaster is stalled in Congress.
E. Ky. Power looks to replace energy from old coal plants
June 8, 2012
News article on EKPC's request for proposals for replacing 300MW of power from their oldest coal-fired power plants over the next few years.
Report Ranks Three Kentucky Power Plants Among Nation's Biggest Polluters
June 7, 2012
Three Kentucky coal-fired power plants are named among the biggest polluters in the nation in a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project. The report concludes that at several power plants — including the Green River, Shawnee and Mill Creek plants in Kentucky — the cost of lost human life outweighs the value of electricity the plant produces.
Voter suppression laws on the rise
June 7, 2012
Efforts to suppress voter participation in this year's important national efforts are on the rise throughout the country, including in Florida where the U.S. Department of Justice has had to intervene. These efforts are directed largely at minorities.
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