Washington Post reporter, David Fahrenthold, writes about a new report by the National Wildlife Federation in the news today. It paints a shockingly stark picture of the fate of our beloved beaches thanks to global warming–that the region could lose more than half of the beaches along its ocean coasts. Fifty-eight percent of the region’s beaches could completely disappear due to sea level rise caused by global warming. Read the report summary here>>
This report comes out as we enter into a new phase of our campaign to stop the coal-burning plant in Wise County. Kaine is about to appoint two new members of the Air Board, a body which reviews permits for polluting facilities. There are no requirements for appointment; merely that a “significant portion of their income within the previous two years” not come from the businesses they regulate. ”The term
This fight mirrors the fight that has been happening in Kansas, where local opposition to a coal plant and the Governor’s strong leadership has effectively blocked the utility from building a new coal plant. Governor Sebelius recently vetoed the plant for the third time, despite national controversy.
To say that Governor Kaine has yet to display this kind of visionary leadership would be bitterly ironic. He’s consistently supported the plant, a position that has landed him the moniker Dirty Rotten Scoundrel, gotten him dogged at nearly every public appearance, made the subject of numerous articles relating to Dominion Power’s controversial coal proposal, and prompted Huffington Post’s Glenn Hurowitz to question whether he’s flushing his political future down the toilet.
If global warming continues unabated, projected rising sea levels will significantly reshape the region’s coastal landscape, threatening waterfowl hunting and recreational saltwater fishing in Virginia and Maryland that contribute roughly $725 million to the region’s economy. Seafood lovers take note: Chesapeake Bay waters produce some 500 million pounds of seafood worth billions of dollars each year, including blue crab, rockfish and eastern oyster.
