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The Akron Beacon Journal
www.ohio.com/bj
Power to Pollute
January 7, 2000
This is a series about power, pollution and the people
who wielded the power to pollute. It is about Ohio's 30-year
war with the federal Clean Air Act, and how the state's
coal-burning electric utilities became the dirtiest in America.
It is about the near-death of the Ohio coal industry, which
politicians pledged to save. And it is about the severe
environmental and health problems caused by the pollution
that pours from those power plants.
Day 1
Sunday, Jan. 7, 2001
In their quest to produce power, Ohio's coal-burning electric
utilities have become the dirtiest in America. Their pollution
contributes to the sickness and deaths of thousands of people
and the environmental scarring of one of the prettiest places
on Earth. Now, regulators say the utilities lied to keep
those dirty power plants operating. If regulators are right
-- and documents suggest they are -- the cost to Ohio utilities
could be staggering. And someone will pay.
Stories
Day 2
Monday, Jan. 8, 2001
They said Ohio coal had to be saved. They even spent nearly
three decades and billions of dollars trying to find ways
to clean the state's dirty coal. But behind the rhetoric,
Ohio lawmakers did little to save the state's coal miners.
Thousands of coal jobs were ultimately lost. And all for
the benefit of a more savvy and more powerful industry:
Ohio's electric utilities.
Stories
Day 3
Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001
Ohio coal took a beating in the 1990s, but not coal barons
Mitch and Wayne Boich. They made huge campaign donations,
enjoyed access to public officials, and got richer. But
there was a price to pay.
Stories
Day 4
Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001
The East Coast hates us. Our coal-fired power plants. Our
political defiance to the federal Clean Air Act. What we've
done to its air and its stunning scenery. The East Coast
hates Ohio, and now it's fighting back.
Stories
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