Letters to the President - Bokoshe Oklahoma Elementary School:

In a sixth grade classroom at Bokoshe Elementary School nine out of seventeen students suffer from chronic asthma. Eighty coal ash trucks a day rumble through town carrying loads of toxic coal ash to be dumped 1.5 miles from the Bokoshe Elementary School. Feeling their voices were unheard the six grade class wrote letters to the President sharing their concerns for their community.I spent a week in Bokoshe on this trip. I met the students, spent time in their classrooms, and listened to their stories. Here is what they shared with me.

(click here to see and hear their stories)

be strong, be safe, Carlan

6th Graders Take on Energy Giant in Bokoshe, Oklahoma:

Fearing for the health of their small eastern Oklahoma town, sixth grade students in Bokoshe are publicly speaking out against a toxic coal fly ash pit near their school.The students selected their town’s number one concern as part of an environmental component of the national Learn and Serve America Program that encourages civic participation and awareness. More information can be found at www.Learnandserve.gov. The operators of the disposal pit, Making Money Having Fun, LLC and several state regulatory agencies have come under fire for failing to adequately protect residents from fugitive dust that has covered the community for years. Fly ash is the result of burnt coal from the power plant and is a toxic mixture of heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, chromium and lead. Residents contend they were never told the material was hazardous when the disposal pit began operation 8 years ago. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently considering classifying fly ash, or coal combustion waste, as a hazardous material. Power producers such as AES and local electric co-ops oppose the potential EPA safeguards.

Nine fifth and sixth grade students in a class of 17 at the Bokoshe school have asthma or other respiratory conditions.The students, concerned individuals, and families of Bokoshe have scheduled a media event for Tuesday, December 7, 2010. The students will have the opportunity to share their stories regarding health issues with asthma during the event. A new sign created by the citizens of Bokoshe will be unveiled.

be strong, be safe, Carlan

In The Air We Breathe - Bokoshe, Oklahoma:
Eight trucks make ten trips each daily down Highway 31 between the AES Coal burning power plant to Bokoshe, Oklahoma carrying coal ash. The distance is a short ten miles. The eighty loads a day carry a heavy toil for the people of Bokoshe.

Fourteen out of twenty families in Bokoshe suffer from joint disease, emphysema, and cancer. In 1988 the EPA reviewed the potential health hazards of exposure to coal ash. No decision was made. Ten years later in 1998 the EPA again reviewed coal ash. No decision was made. Today, the EPA is again reviewing the potential health hazards of coal ash. The residents of Bokoshe know what the health hazards of exposure to coal ash are.

To hear their story ( click here ).

be strong, be safe, Carlan

When the telephone rings:

We never know what message awaits us when we hear the ring of the telephone. Quite different from reading an email. Over the years that familiar ring has delivered many different types of messages and stories to me. Friday afternoons usually bring a different message then do Monday mornings. Yesterday afternoon (Friday) when my phone rang I received a message I have been waiting to hear for nearly six years now.
This past August a Federal Court in Denver heard the case regarding Lucy A. Willie and other families of the Burnham, NM. community on the Navajo Nation whose lives, health, and way of life have been affected by the mining and extraction of coal. Some of the families have lost their homes and grazing permits to the mining operation. Ceremonial and grave sites have been desecrated. Lucy and her family were in the direct line of the mine expansion. For the past six years the constant threat of a knock on the door with an order to leave her home lingered in Lucy's daily thoughts. You know the story if you have followed this blog and viewed the stories on Question of Power.

Little did I realize the ring of my telephone yesterday would be a ring for social justice. The court decision was released. The mining permits issued by the U. S. Office of Surface Mining had been done improperly over the years. The permits neglected to include consideration for the National Environmental Protection Act, clean water, ethnographic studies, and historic and cultural resources. For Lucy, her family, and community members, the decision brings peace to their lives. The immediate threat of being removed from their homes for mine expansion has for the present time been removed.

I spoke with Lucy on the phone shortly after I received the call. Her voice carried a very happy tone. We laughed together. Then she said, "almost a year to the day since Ambrose has passed, I know he is happy to hear the news." I told Lucy how proud I was of her for standing so very strong through these times. Persevering with purpose and passion. Believing and standing for social justice.

This Friday phone call had a very good ring to it.

be strong, be safe, Carlan

TEDx Saturday September 18:

Update on my presentation with Tedx. The entire day will be live streamed on the internet. You can log on here to join the live web cast:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tedxabq

I will be sharing the Question of Power stories at 2:26 PM MDT. If you have a moment please join us.

be strong, be safe, Carlan

TEDx - Ideas Worth Spreading:

I am honored to present the idea and stories of Question of Power at TEDx in Albuquerque on Saturday September 18. I will be sharing stories of the untold human costs of coal from Bokoshe, OK., Burnham, NM., Uniontown, AL., and Kingston, TN. The TED program is about "ideas worth spreading". If you have not visited their website please take a moment and do so. If you can be in Albuquerque on Saturday I will look forward to seeing you there.

be strong, be safe, Carlan

Living in Coal Ash: Uniontown, Alabama:
For the past twelve months 88 rail cars filled with coal ash from the TVA coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee have traveled 300 miles to Uniontown, Alabama daily. The Arrowhead Landfill, once only used for household waste, is now the depository for material from a designated Super Fund site. Individuals, families, and the community of Uniontown have changed in the past year.

Click here to see and hear the story.

be strong, be safe, Carlan