On Monday, the Montana State Land Board decided to delay a decision on leasing the state-owned parcels of coal in the Otter Creek tracts. “The board said more time is needed for the public to examine the proposed bid-letting.” The real reason was likely to let them figure out how to maximize the monetary return, but we’ll go with their publicly stated purpose. They have given us another thirty days to comment on the leases.
The Otter Creek tracts are a small part of Montana’s 5.1 million acres of school trust lands. These lands are used to provide revenue for our public schools and university system. By now we all know that the US gets about 50% of our electricity by burning coal which is the filthiest source of power going. Burning coal is a leading cause of smog, acid rain, global warming, and air pollution. Coal plants put millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each day, endangering our fragile planet.
Yesterday, Physicians for Social Responsibility along with the American Lung Association and the American Nurses Association, released a report on the devastating human health impacts of the entire life cycle of mining and burning coal and disposing of wastes. The report found that,
Coal pollutants affect all major body organ systems and contribute to four of the five leading causes of mortality in the U.S.: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
They also found that the impacts of coal pollutants fall disproportionately on children, contributing to decreased lung development, asthma, increases in infant mortality, reduced IQ and mental retardation. And,
Unless we address coal, the U.S. will be unable to achieve the reductions in carbon emissions necessary to stave off the worst health impacts of global warming.
Is this really the way we want to support Montana children? Contributing to their health problems today and reducing their survival chances in the future? Many countries have already come to the conclusion that burning coal is not a viable source of power for the future. “Australia is turning away from coal. Just one of the power stations under construction around the country is set to be fueled by coal, with investors instead turning to gas and wind to provide the electricity of the future.” In Washington state there is only one remaining coal-fired power plant and some see this new report as one more reason to make Washington the first “Coal Free State“.
Is coal really the legacy we want to leave Montana’s children? The Otter Creek coal could not come on line for at least a decade and by then we will be well into the global push to replace our dirty energy sources with cleaner alternatives. There are many, many good reasons why mining the Otter Creek tracts is a really bad deal for Montana, but most of all we should not claim that we are helping our kids by becoming the “Saudi Arabia of Coal“. Please let the members of the State Land Board know that we don’t want our children to inherit a planet that we made worse using a false justification of helping them. Please write or call the Land Board.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer — (406) 444-3111, governor@mt.gov
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Denise Juneau — In-State Toll-Free 1-888-231-9393, Local (406) 444-3095 OPISupt@mt.gov
Attorney General Steve Bullock – (406) 444-2026 contact doj@mt.gov
State Auditor Monica Lindeen – (406) 444-2040 mlindeen@mt.gov
Secretary of State Linda McCulloch – (406) 444-2034 sos.mt.gov
Filed under: Button Valley News, Climate Change, Energy Industry, Montana Environment, Montana News | Tagged: clean coal, Climate Change, Coal, Energy Industry, Otter Creek | Leave a Comment »

Amy Gannon says many trees on the Mount Jumbo saddle have pitch polka-dotting their trunks — a sign that they were trying to flush out the tiny beetles that bore into the tree. The trees still have green needles for now, but next year they’ll likely be covered with red needles and dead.