• Land

No Accountability in Sight for Indiana’s Coal Ash Ponds

• Coal Ash
• coal ash ponds
• Indiana

by Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer The state of Indiana is home to 80 pits of coal ash, the toxic byproduct of burning coal, more than any other state in the country. These pits are not lined, allowing the ash to contaminate groundwater and rivers across the state. As the Indianapolis Star reports, power companies […]

• Water

Coal Ash Barges in India Continue to Capsize, Jeopardizing Public Health, Mangroves, Fishers

• cement
• coal
• Coal Ash
• India
• mangroves
• tigers
• toxic
• UNESCO World Heritage Site

Since March, five barges filled with toxic fly ash have capsized en route from India to Bangladesh, according to Rishika Pardikar last week in The Third Pole.  The fly ash, which is used to make cement in Bangladesh, is particularly harmful in river systems such as those of the Sundarbans, an area that contains a highly endangered Bengal tiger reserve and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Why This Matters: Rivers are often touted as an environmentally friendly and cheap mode of transportation – even here in the U.S. (e.g., the Mississippi River). But there are many other users who rely on these waterways in India for fishing and other livelihoods.

• Energy

Duke Energy ordered to clean up its coal ash mess

• coal
• Coal Ash
• Duke Energy
• electric vehicles
• EVs

This week, as Sierra Magazine reported, North Carolina environmental regulators ordered Duke Energy to excavate and remove toxic coal ash from unlined storage sites at six power plants. Toxic chemicals concentrated in coal ash have been shown to cause cancer and nerve damage, and to impair brain development. Spills of this toxic substance have occurred […]

• Energy

Toxic coal ash poisoning Texas groundwater at 100% of power plants

• Coal Ash
• drinking water
• Kingston spill
• Texas
• TVA

Coal ash is an incredibly toxic byproduct of coal-derived energy that activists have pushed for years for regulators to address and are now finally having success. Water contamination from coal ash ponds (the pits where the sludge is stored) is widespread and we’re learning more about the extent of the pollution constantly. In fact, a recent analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project revealed that toxic coal ash pollutants are leaking into groundwater surrounding 100 percent of Texas’s power plants for which data are available

• Politics

Cory Booker’s presidential bid addresses environmental justice

• Alabama
• Coal Ash
• Cory Booker
• Environmental Justice
• National Geographic

Last Friday New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D) announced his campaign for president. Booker, who is one of only 3 sitting African American senators, made his announcement on the first day of Black History Month likely as a symbol of his commitment to racial justice. The senator specifically has been outspoken on the issue of […]