Rev. Holly Shipley could think of no other way to describe it.

"To me, it's a plain, outright sin."

An up-close look at mountaintop removal brought a similar reaction from Dr. Matthew Sleeth. Standing on half of a mountain — the other half having been blasted away for its coal — “I was never so certain I was seeing hubris and sin."

Shipley, Sleeth, Mary Alice Pratt and Rev. David Miller were in Lexington June 26 to at a meeting of the Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass and shared their reflections about mountaintop removal.  All had been on a mountaintop removal tour in early May.

Miller said his interest in the issue was prompted by students he works with at Union College in Barbourville who had attended a faith and justice conference. The important of being involved was reinforced when he drove past some mountaintop removal operations near Hazard.

“It seemed to be more than ugly,” Miller recalled. “There was something of a spiritual nature going on.”

“This is an interfaith issue because it is a universal struggle against a system of domination," Miller added.

Panel members “not only see what is happening but our connection to it,” said Mary Alice Pratt.

Shipley recognized "my own sin of leaving a light on. I'm part of it, I admit it.”

Sleeth agreed, and recognized the need for individual action as well as collective action.

"Ultimately the power lies in those who use energy. We vote when we turn the lights on.

Click here to learn more about KFTC's religious leaders tour of MTR sites

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Fletcher has already committed $2.4 million dollars of state money to two coal-to-liquid projects.

Without a public announcement, the state awarded a $400,000 grant in May to Peabody Energy to conduct a feasibility study on a $3 billion coal-to-liquid fuel plant near Sturgis, in Union County, according to records.

And it committed $2 million in February to help a company called EnviRes LLC develop technology in the Ashland area to gasify coal, biomass and other carbon-bearing materials.

[...]

And, in fact, the Peabody feasibility study isn't even expected to be completed until April 2008, when next year's session would be ending.

House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said yesterday that the contracts are further evidence that a special session to pass tax incentives for such companies is not needed.

Read the rest of the article

Also in the papers today, the Lexington Herald-Leader has a scathing editorial  against coal-to-liquid fuel and the need to have a special session to subsidize it.

You almost felt sorry for Bill Caylor of the Kentucky Coal Association and Jim Mayer of the Southern States Energy Board as they tried to convince viewers of KET's Kentucky Tonight that global warming is a hoax and that, even if it's real, there's no proof that fossil fuels are to blame.

The coal clique is paddling against a powerful tide of science, industry leaders and public opinion on this one.

That's why it would be economic suicide for Kentucky to hitch its future to an energy technology that offers no reductions in carbon emissions.

Read the rest of the article

Central Kentucky KFTC Members are taking their messages to the streets, taking advantage of the warm weather and time before the governor’s election heats up to contact new people, recruit members, spread ideas, and build real grassroots power in the community. 

Local members have tabled at over a dozen locations in recent weeks, but plan to increase that substantially, especially at small community events all over Central Kentucky.

“These community festivals are really important,” said KFTC member Tayna Fogle.  “It’s about connecting with people one-to-one, getting out there and really trying to get people involved.”

We’ll be tabling in the community at least once or twice a week through the Fall, but here’s a short calendar of some of the larger, more notable community tabling events we’ll be participating in.  Feel free to join us!

Fourth of July – Wednesday, July 4^th from 9am to 6pm (with setup at 6:30am).  Our booth is located in the section across the street from the Transit Center. 

Super Sunday  – Sunday July 15^th in Douglas Park in Lexington.

Kentucky State Fair – Thursday, August 16^th – Sunday, August 26^th from 9am to 10pm in Louisville, KY.  KFTC Members from across the state will set up information tables to spread the word about our organization and our campaigns on Mountaintop Removal Mining and Restoration of Voting Rights for Former Felons. 

UK Campus Ruckus - Saturday, August 18^th at 10pm – 1am. 

UK Student Center Spectacular – Sunday, August 19^th at 9pm–midnight

Roots and Heritage Festival – Friday, September 7^th – Sunday, September 9^th in Lexington. 

In an increasingly organized opposition to liquid-to-coal fuels and a “special interest” legislative session, KFTC, along with Mountain Justice Summer and the MTR Roadshow organized a public forum with 40 participants last night in Lexington to raise awareness of the issue.  

Forum participants included John Blair from Indiana, Mel Tyree from West Virginia, and Teri Blanton and Geoff Young, both from KFTC.

“The Economics of Coal to Oil… well, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” said John Blair, Founder of Valley Watch in Evansville, IN.  “$300 million to Peabody coal?  I didn’t realize that the health and well-being of Kentuckians is so good that we have that much extra money to throw away!”

KFTC Coal-to-Fuel Letter-Writing Party – Sunday, July 1^st at 2pm at the Lexington KFTC Office (274 Southland Drive – if coming from Nicholasville Rd on Southland, turn left at “Trumps” and drive straight back).  We’ll write lots of letters to the editor as part of a push to make a big splash – especially on the Herald-Leader Letters to the Editor page.  Please join us! 

“I’d love to have my own tax-free business with a guaranteed profit margin,” mused KFTC member Geoff Young.  “Sign me up for that!”

Participants in the forum discussed coal-to-liquid both on a very long-term and global scale, as well as a very local and short-term scale here in Kentucky. 

Senator Bunning’s office was invited to send a representative to the forum, but declined. 

An action that several speakers encouraged people to take is to write letters to the editor to make a big impact in papers throughout the state.  KFTC is coordinating directly-effected activists in Eastern Kentucky, authors, musicians, and others to send large numbers of letters to the editor all at once this week and next week.

If you live in Central Kentucky and you’d like to meet other people interested in this issue and to get some help writing letters, feel free to drop by the Lexington KFTC office on Sunday.

Tomorrow at 1pm the House Appropriations and Revenue committee will be meeting to learn more about coal-to-liquid technology and the governor's proposed incentives to coal to liquid companies.  Polwatchers has a report on the meeting:

FRANKFORT -- Saying state House members need more information on energy incentives, House budget chairman Harry Moberly Jr., will hold a meeting of his committee Thursday in anticipation of a special legislative session next week.

"We feel that we need more information.  Neither the governor nor the Senate has been working with us," Moberly, D-Richmond, said today.

Read more...

KFTC is asking their members and other opponents of subsidies for coal-to-liquid technology to call the legislative message line (800-372-7181) and leave a message for members of the House Appropriations and Revenue committee, especially if your representative is on the committee. (Find out who your representative is here)  Our message is: "Subsidizing coal-to-liquid fuel is an irresponsible gamble that Kentucky can't afford. Don't waste tax dollars on a special session for a bad idea."

This evening at 8pm KET's public affairs program, Kentucky Tonight, will be hosting a panel discussion on issues surrounding coal-to-liquid.  The panel will be composed of:

Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association

Jim Mayer, acting director of American Energy Security, an initiative of the Southern States Energy Board

Rick Clewett, co-chair of the Bluegrass Sierra Club conservation committee

Tom FitzGerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council

We are encouraging members and allies to email or call into the show to make sure all the issues surrounding this boondoggle are discussed.  Some suggested topics of discussion might include:

• The economic feasibility of CTL technology and why private companies need state funds to build these plants.
• The increased destruction of the Appalachian mountains to provide the coal for this "alternative" energy source.
• CTL diesel fuel producing twice the amount carbon dioxide as petroleum based diesel fuel.

Visit our coal-to-liquid pages and check out our two CTL fact sheets (#1 and #2) for more information on the issue.

Update:

The video for the episode is now available online.  Be sure to listen for KFTC member Carl Shoupe calling out Kentucky Coal Association president Bill Caylor for disrespecting a coal miner's daughter.

Please take a moment and visit the WKYT poll and click "no" on their poll asking if people support coal-to-liquid Fuel. This direction of energy policy leads to far more Mountaintop Removal Mining, more carbon emissions, and a dirtier environment with no real hope of solving our energy problems.

www.wkyt.com/wymtnews

It just takes 30 seconds!

The polls is slightly down the page on the left.

Please email your friends and spread the word!

A new generation of KFTC members and activists are organizing to make Kentucky a better place, to spread the word about KFTC and all its campaigns, and to mobilize people to respond to Action Alerts and come out to key events.  And they’re doing all of this by using a tool that many of us know nothing about – a networking website called Facebook. 

“For many young people, Facebook is a cultural phenomenon... it's a much more effective way to contact people than e-mail, phone, or snail mail in some communities like on college campuses.  As a result, organization who really know how to utilize it can really see their numbers grow.” Says Joe Gallenstein, a Central KY KFTC member and the creator of KFTC’s Facebook site.

Created by Joe in October of last year, the KFTC Facebook site has steadily gained in popularity and has now soared to over 1,100 members and 24 Coordinators across the state who actively recruit new people, participate in online discussions, and more. 

Participants can use the site to exchange information, talk about KFTC issues, network, learn, and take part in event like call-in days to the legislature.  It’s allowing for a new kind of grassroots organizing that can reach individuals that traditional organizing has so far missed. 

“I think Facebook is a great way to try to get youth involved with KFTC. It allows us to reach a broader base of people. It's also a great way to connect everyone and discuss issues and events that many Kentuckians may not even know about,” said Shanna Brooks, a Rowan County Chapter member. 

"Facebook is a great virtual networking tool to bring together and educate students about issues facing the well-being of our state," added Chuck Clenney, a Central KY Chapter member who came to his first meeting after connecting to KFTC through Facebook. 

“KFTC has recognized that to reach the youth, you have to meet them where they are. Facebook is one of the most popular networking sites and virtually every college student has one, so it only makes sense to try to reach the youth in this way. During a recent member drive, I invited all of my Kentucky friends to the group, and a large number of them joined. I know that a lot of these people had never heard of KFTC before. Now the door has been opened to talk to them about what KFTC does and to get them involved” said Beth Bissmeyer, a Berea College student from Louisville and a KFTC Facebook Coordinator. 

But Facebook organizing doesn’t begin and end online – it’s been successful in getting hundreds of people to contact their legislator in response to KFTC action alerts, dozens of new people out to special events, and in this past Primary Election, nearly 750 people to pledge to vote. 

“I think those number are phenomenal. The response shows what a great tool Facebook can be for reaching out to a part of the community that usually is not very active in elections,” responded Joe Gallenstein. 

Efforts of so many KFTC members and supporters has given KFTC the largest of all Kentucky political Facebook groups – larger even than the ones in support of candidates for major offices, etc – something these activists are very proud of. 

KFTC members organizing through Facebook say that they don’t think that it will ever be a substitute for walking door-to-door, calling members on the phone, or having community events and connecting with people face to face. 

 
How to get involved in KFTC Facebook Organizing

If you have a Facebook account already, look up Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, join our group, invite your friends and join the fun!

If you’d like to sign up to be on Facebook, visit www.Facebook.com, then look us up! 

We still need more Facebook Coordinators, especially in Louisville and Eastern Kentucky, so let us know if you’re interested.   

This is a really interesting interview that leads with a conversation about coal-to-liquid and then talks goes into a broader discussion of coal in the US and worldwide.

Listen to it on NPR's website.