Divided House: Obama Policy on Coal Waste at Odds with Itself

President Barack Obama's appointments for key environmental offices are diametrically opposed to one another, according to environmental expert Jeff Stant. Stant, a longstanding watchdog and environmental regulation advocate, states Obama's recent environmental office appointments reflect a horrifyingly divided approach to addressing the nation's largest industrial pollution problem: coal combustion waste.

Says Stant, "Obama's recent nominations to lead the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] and the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining [OSM] reflect a divided approach that collectively don't make any sense."

"Obama's nominations of Lisa Jackson and Joseph Pizarchik collectively makes no sense. On the one hand we have Jackson, who would be heading up the EPA - an entity whose sworn purpose is to protect the environment and our interaction with it. And then on the other hand we have Pizarchik to head the Department of Interior's OSM. This is a fellow whose entire career has represented big business and its exploitation of the environment - to the detriment of ecosystems and inhabitants of that environment, humans included."

Why the Divided House?

When asked how US President Obama's choices reflecting such an apparent division could have been made, Stant post several possible scenarios.

"It's not exactly clear. Perhaps the President's decision may have been based on partial ignorance of these people's backgrounds. On the other hand, perhaps he's just trying to walk the middle of the line -- appease both sides. On the one side, we have the voice of concern from people who care about the environment and who are represented in general by the EPA. On the other side, Obama cannot deny the very real force of big business backed by big money and aggressive lobbyist presence."

"No matter what the reason, my greatest concern is that this seemingly opposing set of agendas may result in an overall neutralizing effect in the coal waste issue. By this I mean this will leave things pretty much in a status quo situation. Nothing will get done."

Jeff Stant banks this statement on years of experience as a leader of movements starting at the grassroots level, and whose work takes him on frequent visits to Capitol Hill to address the ongoing environmental problems brought on by coal waste.

About Coal Waste

Each year US coal-fired power plants produce more than 126 million tons of solid coal combustion waste, with about 100,000 tons of this comprising toxic metals (*U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2005). After burning coal at their power plants, electrical power utilities usually send their toxic waste back to the coal mining companies that sold the coal to them. The mining companies usually either dispose of this waste in open pits, or bury it in the ground from which the coal originally came. In either scenario, toxins from this waste eventually leach into nearby groundwater and arrive in the tap water thousands of American families drink every day.
About Jeff Stant

Jeff Stant has been a champion to various environmental causes for more than 30 years. With experience as the former Director of the Hoosier Environmental Council and author of numerous reports spelling out the many environmental effects caused by the dumping of coal combustion waste. Jeff's recent work includes the publication of his findings following a two-year research project. His two-thousand page environmental impact report - issued in conjunction with the Clean Air Task Force - blew the lid off of one of the largest unregulated coal waste dumping operations in the United States.

Freelance writer John Melendez helped co-author the report and periodically interviews Jeff Stant for updates on events years following its issuance.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Melendez is a freelance writer reporting on technology, the environment, sustainability, alternative energies and "green" issues. John Melendez is a writer for hire. To email him, go to http://www.emailmeform.com/fid.php?formid=19595

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