Thankfully the press has finally gotten a whiff of the coal ash spill that recently devastated Kingston, Tennessee, 40 miles east of Knoxville. Major news outlets are now covering the story, reporting that the amount toxic sludge is now estimated to be over one billion gallons.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which runs the coal plant has performed preliminary testing of the nearby water supply and so far tests have come back negative.

In August 2007 the EPA released a draft study detailing the human and ecological risks from coal combustion wastes.

As reported by Earthjustice at the time…

By examining 181 “coal combustion waste,” or coal ash disposal sites throughout the country, the report estimates risks to health and the environment from coal ash disposal. The report found that unlined coal ash waste ponds pose a cancer risk 900 times above what is defined as ‘acceptable.’ The report also finds that coal ash disposal sites release toxic chemicals and metals such as arsenic, lead, boron, selenium, cadmium, thallium, and other pollutants at levels that pose risks to human health and the environment.

and

“For decades, coal ash has been disposed in unlined landfills and waste ponds, contaminating the water throughout the U.S.,” said Jeff Stant of Clean Air Task Force. “EPA promised in 2000 to require safeguards for coal ash disposal, yet this long-awaited action demonstrates that they are completely out of touch with what’s happening around these sites. Communities near coal plants deserve far better.”

Considering who has been in charge of Washington for the past 8 years, it’s not surprising that the federal government does not mandate any of the safeguards recommended in the report to reduce the risk and danger of coal ash spills.

And nor do I mandate drinking the water in Kingston, Tennessee either. Just ask the dead fish.

If you weren’t able to join one of the Light up Night for Marriage Equality vigils yesterday evening, please enjoy the video clip below from the event in San Francisco. After watching the video we were very sad to have missed it.

Of all things we can take away from the events of the past few months, and perhaps the most important, is that we can no longer remain invisible. It is easy to ignore, what you cannot see. And we must be seen and heard, to change minds, whether it’s in Washington, or our own neighborhoods.

The fine folks behind Proposition 8 have filed a brief today asking the California Supreme Court to nullify the estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place before the ban went into affect on November 5.

“Proposition 8’s brevity is matched by its clarity. There are no conditional clauses, exceptions, exemptions or exclusions,” reads the brief co-written by Pepperdine University law school dean Kenneth Starr, the former independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton.

Proposition 8’s supporters assert that the Supreme Court lacks the authority or historical precedent to throw out the amendment.

“For this court to rule otherwise would be to tear asunder a lavish body of jurisprudence,” the court papers state. “That body of decisional law commands judges — as servants of the people — to bow to the will of those whom they serve — even if the substantive result of what people have wrought in constitution-amending is deemed unenlightened.”

Attorney General Jerry Brown, will also submit a counter brief maintaining the gay marriage ban cannot be applied retroactively.

Complete story here…

First Rick Warren and now this. What a merry fucking Christmas this is.

First the gays! And now the left-handers! Will traditional marriage ever be safe?