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We are a group of environmental advocates united in providing a one-stop source for Virginia's environmental news. We each focus on different issues, but share the vision of a Commonwealth that preserves and protects its natural resources. Please join us!
Who pays for elections? In Virginia, we're pretty lucky since we know who pays for our elections. The good folks at www.vpap.org do a great job of keeping us up-to-date on who is donating money to whom, and how that money is spent.
Today is no different as VPAP reported a $100,000 donation from Richard Gilliam (founder of Cumberland Resources) to Governor McDonnell's political action committee. Now for most of us $100,000 seems like an awful lot.
Let's take a quick moment to put that amount of money into perspective:
In 2007, the average winning campaign for Virginia State Senate spent $490,950.98. Off the top, this $100,000 gift would be a little more than one-fifth the costs to win a Senate race. Now, I know it cost more to win a competitive Senate race so if we take out all those races where the winner received more than 75% of the vote the average becomes $684,338.47. For this hefty price tag a $100,000 contribution only buys 14.6% of a Senate seat.
To take it one step further, Mr. Gilliam has donated $230,000 to Republican PACs or candidates since the beginning of 2010. That's more than 33% of the cost of a competitive seat in the Virginia Senate.
Gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell has erred in touting offshore drilling for oil and gas as a way to replenish state coffers. Federal law limits the sharing of oil and gas revenue to the Gulf states of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. According to all reports, Congress is not likely to expand this program. In fact, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has rejected a proposal to expand the program.
So, even if one supports oil and gas drilling, it would be erroneous to do so on the grounds that the commonwealth would benefit from any of the revenue.
Despite McDonnell's public statements to the contrary, offshore oil and gas drilling in Virginia is not 'already set.' The U.S. Minerals Management Service has only just begun to review a potential lease sale in Virginia; thus no decision has been made.
The Southern Environmental Law Center opposes a potential lease sale in Virginia because the minuscule amount of oil and gas it would yield is simply not worth the enormous consequences that the drilling would have on commercial and sport fishing, coastal tourism and ocean life, including endangered whales and turtles. (Not to mention that the area in question overlaps with sensitive Department of Defense and NASA operations in the Atlantic.)
Rather, federal and state leaders should be focusing time and money on developing noncarbon based energy sources including the tremendous offshore wind potential that Virginia has.
"'No coal is clean coal,' opponents of Surry plant declare" is the headline in today's Virginian-Pilot, in which almost every dirty detail involved with the "$6 billion coal-fired energy plant that Old Dominion Electric Cooperative wants to put on 1,400 acres in the center of the tiny Surry County town, about 18 miles from Williamsburg" is fleshed out.
"Dr. Christine Llewellyn of Virginia Commonwealth University Hospital said the plant could cause more asthma attacks, chronic bronchitis, and other ailments for residents living nearby."
"The coal, brought in from the mountains, would be harvested by blowing up mountains, [Glen] Besa [Virginia director of the Sierra Club] said. Emissions from the power plant would wind up in waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay, he said.
"Coal for energy generates more carbon dioxide, and mercury in the waters is largely from coal-fired power plants," [Besa] said."
"Peter DeFur, an environmental scientist who works with the American Lung Association, said the plant would increase train and truck traffic in the village and that heavy metals from the plant, like arsenic and nickel, would never go away."
Today's Virginian-Pilot also editorializes on the Democratic gubernatorial candidates' positions as it involves the Surry coal plant:
Despite his sweeping proposals, McAuliffe has been conspicuous in his squishiness on some of the most pressing environmental issues facing Virginia. He has failed to take a position on a proposed coal plant in Surry County that would pollute the Chesapeake Bay and James River and damage air quality for residents in Hampton Roads and Richmond.
Rounding out the foursome is Brian Moran, who has carved out the most vividly green and aggressive environmental positions of the campaign. Moran is the only candidate to commit to fighting the Surry plant. He's also the lone opponent of drilling for either natural gas or oil off Virginia Beach. He's pledged to make progress on wind energy development, but he's realistic about the need to strengthen Virginia's nuclear energy capacity, critical to providing power for a growing state while the infrastructure is put in place for renewable sources.
On June 9th, Virginians will go to the polls to vote in the Democratic Primary for their nominees for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General. Republicans will select their nominees at their convention the end of May.
Sierra Club invited all four of the candidates for Governor, the three Democrats: Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran, and the Republican: Bob McDonnell to submit answers to an environmental survey that we have posted to our website, virginia.sierraclub.org.
The next Governor could be charting our course to a clean energy future or defending the coal industry until sea level rise is swallowing Virginia Beach. The next governor could actually make a real difference in cleaning up the Chesapeake rather than merely using the Bay as a back drop for a photo up. The next Governor could insure that the embarrassing boondoggle otherwise known as the King William Reservoir is finally laid to rest by standing up to developers in Newport News and the Peninsula.
So it will be up to us who that next Governor will be. As we close in on the Republican and Democratic nomination decisions, take the time to go out and see the candidates and ask the tough questions. We hope the survey responses provided by the candidates will help guide you in making this important decision.
A community rally in support of good jobs to speed Virginia's economic recovery will be held tomorrow, Wed., Feb. 25, 11am at the Capitol Square Bell Tower, 900 Bank Street in Richmond. Economic policy advisors, faith leaders, community advocacy organizations, and workers are joining together to call on businesses and elected officials to put Virginia back on track by creating an economy that works for everyone.
On the heels of passage of the economic recovery package, workers and community leaders will discuss the need to ensure that the money flowing into Virginia creates good jobs so that working people can speed the state's economic recovery by spending money again.
The event also follows the release of a new report by the Center for American Progress (CAP) that shows greater unionization Could pump $49 Billion into the U.S. economy, including $947 Million into Virginia.
For more info, contact Karen Backus, SEIU, 404-229-7592.
User comments or postings reflect the opinions of the responsible contributor only, and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Sierra Club and/or the League of Conservation Voters. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any posting. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters accepts no obligation to review every posting, but reserves the right (but not the obligation) to delete postings that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate.
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Here's an LTE appearing in today's 
"'No coal is clean coal,' opponents of Surry plant declare" is the headline in 
Politics matter.
