Clean Energy
The case for clean energy
Green Technologies have never been so accessible – and so inexpensive! And with Global Climate Change running rampant, we have no time to spare!
Even though Oil, Gas, and Coal companies are pulling out all of the stops and doing everything in their power to push dirty fuel down our throats, it is expected the renewables will represent the 45 percent of energy used worldwide by 2040.
on the attack!
Loathe to losing their share of the pie, the Fossil Fuel industry is upping their game!
The growth of renewables has threatened their standing and they are taking off the gloves. From hiring consultants with the mission of “outlawing” green energy, to secretly shipping “tar sands” for processing in port cities, they are doing whatever it takes to stay on top of the hill.
Coal extraction by Mountain Top Removal
Mountaintop removal is a method of coal extraction in which the mountain is removed from the coal, rather than the coal from the mountain.
Over 500 Appalachian Mountains have been destroyed and roughly 2,000 miles of streams have been filled or severely degraded by mining waste.
Areas of removal report lower health-related quality of life for residents than other parts of Appalachia & birth defects have risen dramatically.
stay away from our mountain!
The Process for Mountain Top Removal
- CLEARING - All topsoil and vegetation must be removed. Often, trees are not used commercially, but rather burned or illegally dumped into valleys.
- BLASTING – the removal of 600 feet or more of elevations. Millions of pounds of explosives are used.
- DIGGING - Draglines, enormous earth-moving machines, remove as much as 1,400 feet of elevation.
- DUMPING - Coal companies legally dump debris called “spoil” into nearby valleys.
- PROCESSING - Coal is chemically processed, creating coal slurry. This is a mix of water, coal dust and clay containing toxic heavy metals such as arsenic and lead.
- RECLAMATION- Less than 3% of reclaimed mountaintop removal sites are used for economic development. According to an EPA impact statement, it may take hundreds of years for a forest to reestablish on the mine site.
hydraulic fracturing
Millions of gallons of water, along with sand and chemicals, are injected underground at high pressure to fracture rock that surrounds an oil or gas well.
Oil and gas are released and flow into the well.Fracking turns communities into “sacrifice zones.” Clearing land for access roads, drilling and encasing wells, and fracking the well all contribute to pollution. Drinking water is also contaminated.
The process of fracking involves injecting water, sand and 596 chemicals into hard shale rock under high pressure to break it up and extract the gas trapped within. Some of the gas escapes as it rises to the surface, contaminating aquifers on the way. Methane Gas is 72 times stronger than CO2 and stays in the atmosphere for 50 years.
what the frack!
The Gas Industry promised that less than 1% methane vapor would escape from the cement casings.
The Gas Industry sold "Fracking" to the American public by claiming that it was safe and environmentally friendly; however, any methane vapor leakage over 3% makes Fracking more polluting than coal. Independent testing has found that in the Colorado basin, Fracking operations are leaking 4%-7% and in Utah up to 11%. More disturbing to those of us in CA, it was recently revealed that Fracking in the LA basin is leaking methane vapor at up to 17%!
what the frack!
Impact: Earthquakes
Scientific and government research indicate that Fracking can cause earthquakes in two ways. During the Fracking process, earthquakes can be caused to preexisting faults by fluid injection.
The disposal of Fracking wastewater via underground injection can also affect earthquake activity. In states where there are active injection wells, earthquake activity has greatly increased.
More than 2,500 small earthquakes hit Oklahoma in the past five years, mostly linked to drilling and Fracking, according to the journal Science.
stop the keystone pipeline
Impact: Spills
Crossing over 1000 bodies of water, including the main water supply for the Great Plains, Keystone XL puts these bodies of water at risk for contamination. All pipelines spill.
According to TransCanada the Keystone 1 pipeline was predicted to spill once every seven years. It spilled 12 times in its first year and it has spilled more than 30 times over its lifetime.
Data from Cornell University showed the Keystone XL pipeline was built to spill, and when it does it has a devastating effect upon employment and the economy.
The oil firm Enbridge ignored warning signs for more than five years along its 6B Line, and when it spilled in July of 2010 in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River it caused the most damaging onshore oil spill in US history.
stop the keystone xl pipeline
Underneath the Boreal Forests of Canada, in an area the size of Florida, lies a substance known as “Tar Sands” which can be converted to oil. Unfortunately, it is the dirtiest type of fuel in the world and the process of converting tar sands to oil is extremely carbon-laden.
The TransCanada Corporation has built pipelines to ship the tar sands to port towns so that it can be processed into fuel and then shipped to foreign countries. However, TransCanada is not content with the existing pipeline system and has applied to build a giant pipeline, known as Keystone XL Pipeline. This pipeline will ship tar sands directly from Canada, through 6 states, to Texas to be refined.
The new “Keystone XL” pipeline would ship over 830,000 barrels of tar sands every day. Top NASA Climatologist James Hansen has famously said that if the carbon stored in the Canadian Tar Sands is released it will be “Game Over” for the climate, calling Tar Sands the “largest carbon bomb on the planet!”
Up to 4 barrels of water are used for each barrel of tar sands extracted. The “produced” water is placed in “tailing ponds” which are so big they can be seen from space and these “toxic lakes” are death traps for migratory birds and other species. There is evidence that they are now leaking into rivers and other bodies of water, contaminating them.
game over: stop the keystone pipeline
Impact: Economy
TransCanada has intimidated landowners along the pipeline route into signing contractual agreements for their land. TransCanada fraudulently steals land from private citizens through Eminent Domain.
KEYSTONE XL WILL DESTROY MORE JOBS THAN IT CREATES – According to the Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute, the pipeline project will actually destroy more jobs than it creates. According to the State Department, the Keystone XL Pipeline would only create 35 FULL-TIME jobs and the 3,900 direct construction jobs would only last 1-2 years.
Far more jobs could be created by the development of a clean energy economy and infrastructure.
How PLanet Rehab Helps
We continue to be very active in this cause – from writing letters and signing petitions to protests, marches and rallies.
As well as, Planet Rehab continues to educate the public regarding the dangers of fracking, mountain top removal, and all other forms of dirty energy.
We have been actively engaging with multiple environmental organizations to create events that will help to not only put these issue in front of the public, but to dispel the myths and lies propagated by gas companies.
How can You help
Get Informed
Learn more about actions you can take today to reduce your energy consumption, incorporate renewable energy sources into your daily life, and support clean energy initiatives!
Donate
Donate to Planet Rehab and support us as we work with other organizations to advocate for clean energy solutions.
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