CounterSpill

Environmental concerns, economical contradictions, and social ties give America's coal industry an endless variety of perspectives -- making it a daunting story to be told.

The 2008 coal ash flood may have cast a long shadow on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s tactics, but the association has recently begun to pursue more sustainable methods of cultivating power.

As part of a court settlement, the TVA said it plans to pay $10 million in fines for violations to the federal Clean Air Act and shut down 18 of its dirtiest coal-fired power plants within the next six years.

In the coastal regions of Washington state, environmental groups are fighting a new proposal to ship coal from their shores.

Peabody Energy is asking for permits to build a $500 million terminal to sell and ship coal to China. Due to industrialization and manufacturing growth, China is building coal power plants at an increasing speed and need more of the resource than ever before.

On Nov. 10, the Obama administration announced a decision to study alternative routes for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, a move that delays the approval process until after the 2012 election. 

Due to "a number of concerns have been raised through a public process," President Obama said he felt the decision, which was originally scheduled to be delivered this month, requires more time and research.  

Several thousand delegates from 194 countries have traveled to Durban, South Africa to discuss climate change initiatives and debate the extension of the Kyoto Protocol. 

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP17, opened with a keynote address by Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa. After discussing the droughts and perceptible climate change seen in Africa, he urged his fellow world leaders to remove politics from their decisions. 

Thousands protested against the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa as issues under debate at the summit remain unsolved.

Representatives from organizations such as Oxfam, Jubilee South, Center for Civil Society, and numerous others joined together on Dec. 5 to create a thousands-strong protest march through the streets outside the conference hall. 

Tennessee Valley Authority's chief operating officer Bill McCollum briefed the TVA board of directors on the utility's plans for future nuclear operations, just one month after the Japan disaster.

According to The Chattanoogan, McCollum told directors "safety is TVA's top priority" in designing the plants, and will incorporate lessons learned from Japan while they continue to unfold.

Two high-polluting coal plants in Chicago will be closed down years earlier than previously expected due to pressure by environmental groups and city officials. 

Midwest Generation made agreements with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and organizations within the Chicago Clean Power Coalition Wednesday to shut the two plants down rather than invest in costly upgrades.