Easy E-Actions No Matter Where You Live
Save Appalachian Power and AEP’s Energy Efficiency Programs
Climate Risks Are Real—It’s Time for Companies to Act Accordingly
No Dangerous LNG in Our Communities!

Activate the Donate Button for Some Summer Satisfaction
Reminder: We have a summer fundraising drive on, and we really need your help to achieve our goal. If you are not yet a member, or if your membership has lapsed, we need you to join/rejoin OVEC, too—power in numbers! Read about our drive and why we urgently need your contribution here, or skip the extra reading and donate/join here.

July 30: Calling All Air Breathers and Water Drinkers to Speak Up!
We’ve said it before, and sadly we have to say it again. The idea of converting coal into a liquid fuel is nuts. It’s the stuff of desperate regimes. (Hmmm.) The energy input versus energy output equation is dubious at best. The amount of water used to make one barrel of fuel from coal is nuts. Investing in any new major source of greenhouse gas is nuts. And government subsidies—not that any have been sought that we know of so farwell that would be uber nuts in this time of climate crisis.

“Water for Our Children” by Jude Binder

One has to wonder, too, about the wisdom of giving a permit to Domestic Synthetic Fuels, headed by Kevin Whited. In 2016, another Whited-affiliated company, Green Kinetics Gateway LLC, promised to build a waste-to-energy project at a Maryland landfill. That project so far has gone nowhere, and MD officials are still trying to recoup a $250,000 loan to Whited’s company due a year ago.

Now Kevin Whited’s Domestic Synthetic Fuels is applying for an air permit as part of a scheme to build a toxic coal liquefaction plant along the Ohio River in Mason County, WV.

Come out for the air quality permit hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, July 30 at 6 p.m. at the Mason County Courthouse, 200 Sixth Street, Point Pleasant, WV, 25550.

Can’t come to the hearing? Please do submit comments by e-mail to DEP by the end of the hearing tomorrow night or better, by 6 p.m. to play it safe). Find all details you will need here. Learn more in this blog from OVEC organizer Alex Cole: For Sanity’s Sake: Come to a Hearing to Oppose Coal-to-Liquid Plant in Mason County.

Find the hearing on Facebook here and please do invite others to come out.

August 5: Charleston-Huntington Solar Co-op Info Session
Come learn about the Charleston-Huntington Solar Co-op on Monday, August 5 at 5:30 p.m. at the Charleston Public Library. RSVP and find out more on Eventbrite, here. The deadline to join the co-op is August 30.

You can also find out more about the event on Facebook, where you can help spread the word.

August 6: Restore the Voting Rights Act Press Conference and Rally
Stand up for voting rights!  
When: 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Where: Outside the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse, 300 Virginia St East, Charleston, WV 25301

Please join OVEC and several other members and supporters of the WV Citizens for Clean Elections (WVCCE) coalition for a press conference/rally to mark the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). We will call on Congress to restore the protections in the VRA and ensure that every eligible voter can make their voice heard free from discrimination—so important in the 2020 elections! 

The VRA was signed into law 44 years ago, on August 6, 1965.  It was the most comprehensive piece of legislation passed to ensure that voting rights were awarded to all citizens, especially racial minorities.

When five justices on the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the VRA in the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder case, they made it easier for states and localities to revert back to discriminatory practices that restrict the voting rights of black, brown, Native American and Asian American people. Since the decision, a number of states have implemented laws that disenfranchise voters, and disproportionately impact young people and communities of color – including voter ID laws, gerrymandering and voter purges. 

Earlier this year, Congress introduced the Voting Rights Advancement Act (HR 4), which would restore our ability to prevent racial discrimination in voting so that we can build the truly representative 21st century democracy we deserve.

Join the event on Facebook here, and please invite your friends to come out, too.

August 6: ROAR! Re-Imagine Our Appalachian Region with Hemp
Join us from 7-8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 6 at the OVEC office for this month’s ROAR, featuring Connie Jerie Laishley of Appalachian Forest Herbs in East Lynn, WV. She’ll lead a discussion about the history of hemp, its legality, its many uses including CBD oil. She’ll share consumer advice about how to read labels, along with information on reputable sources.

Our office is located at 725 14 St. West, Huntington, WV, 25704. Join the event on Facebook here, and  please do invite your FB friends.

August 7: Cracker Plant/ Appalachian Petrochemical Storage Hub Public Meeting
When: Wednesday, August 7, from 6-8:30 p.m.
Where: St. Clairsville Recreation Center, 102 Fair Ave., St. Clairsville, OH 43950

Come find out more about the proposed PTTG ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, OH,  the proposed Appalachian Storage Hub petrochemical mess, and what the community can do to protect our air, water, and the future of the Ohio River Valley. Hear what local woman Bev Reed has to say about the cracker plant in this WV Public Broadcasting article. Also see DOE Official Tells W.Va. Lawmakers Petrochemical Development is a Top Priority.

Come to the meeting to learn more. Plus, search for  “Concerned Ohio River Residents” on FB or by visit www.nocrackerplantOV.com.

ICYMI

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