SUBJECT: APPEARANCE CONCERNING CARBON REGULATIONS 

DATE: 29 JULY 2014 

SOURCE MATERIALS (PRIMARY) 

1) MARK JOHNSON, ELISSA LEVINE, AND JEFFREY KERN 

U S EPA ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LABORATORY 

200 S W 35TH STREET, CORVALLIS OREGON 97333 

2) NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER 

BIOSPHERIC SCIENCES RESEARCH 

GREENBELT, MARYLAND 20771 

THANK YOU TO THE AGENCY FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK. I WISH TO REQUEST 

LEAVE TO REVISE AND EXTEND MY REMARKS. 

MY COMMENTS ARE: 

HOW WEST VIRGINIA CAN LEAD THE NATION TO A SMALLER CARBON 

FOOTPRINT WHILE BENEFITING FROM SUCH PRACTICES 

I SPEAK ABOUT COAL, IMPORTANT IN OUR STATE, ADDRESSING COAL 

EXTRACTION, USES OF BY PRODUCTS, AND FUNDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE CARBON 

REGULATIONS. 

COAL MUST BE DIRECTED TO ITS HIGHEST, BEST, AND MOST EFFICIENT USES. 

GENERATING STEAM AND HEAT DO NOT MEET THESE THREE CRITERIA. 

WE MUST ELIMINATE SURFACE EXTRACTION OF COAL, CALLED MOUNTAINTOP 

REMOVAL, AND EMPLOY SUBSURFACE EXTRACTION OF COAL, SAFEGUARDING THE 

WELL BEING OF MINERS AND CONTAINING POLLUTANTS FROM THESE OPERATIONS. 

PREPARE COAL AT EXTRACTION SITES, READY FOR CONTRACTED END USER(S), AND 

SHIPPED TO END USER(S), AND ACCOMPLISHED BY THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE UNITED 

MINE WORKERS, INTERNATIONAL. 

COAL PRESENTS CERTAIN CHALLENGES. BY PRODUCTS OF COAL INCLUDE 

CARBON DIOXIDE, CARBON MONOXIDE, NITROGEN AND SULFUR BYPRODUCTS, AND 

HEAVY METAL SALTS. ALL ARE VALUABLE COMMODITIES AND HAVE INDUSTRIAL 

APPLICATIONS. THESE BY PRODUCTS SHOULD BE ORIENTED TO HIGHEST AND BEST 

USES. 

IN THE STUDIES ABOVE MENTIONED, AND CONFIRMED BY THE PENNSYLVANIA 

STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF SOIL SCIENCES, AN ACRE OF FARMLAND 

SEQUESTERS 120,000 POUNDS (60 TONS) OF NATURAL CARBON. THREE BILLIONS 

ACRES OF CROPLAND IN AMERICA CAN SEQUESTER)S0 BILLIONS TONS OF CARBON, 

ANNUALLY. OTHER LANDS, SUCH AS HIGHWAY MEDIANS, ETC. SEQUESTER MORE 

CARBON. 

CARBON IN CROPS HARVESTED, DOES NOT ENTER THE ATMOSPHERE. 

CONVERTING CARBON BY PRODUCTS TO AGRtCULTURAL USES HAS MULTIPLE 

BENEFITS. SEQUESTRATION IS THE FIRST, 

SECOND IS INCOME FROM CROPPING. 
THIRD IS JOBS FROM CONVERTING CARBON TO AGRICULTURAL USES. 

THE FOURTH IS USING SODIUM BICARBONATE AND CALCIUM CARBONATE TO 

BUFFER STREAMS WITH LOW pH FROM MINE ACID RUNOFF, ETC. FISHERIES AND 

RECREATIONALUSERS BENEFIT BY ELIMINATING ACIDS FROM THE WATERS, 

ULTIMATELY, THE pH OF THE OCEANS BEGINS TO RISE. 

PARENTHETICALLY, THE ALLEGHENY HIGHLANDS OF WEST VIRGINIA ARE 

BIRTHPLACE OF SOME WATER FOR WEST VIRGINIA, TWELVE OTHER STATES AND THE 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

FUNDING IS A PROBLEM, AND NOT THE PURVIEW OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL 

PROTECTION AGENCY, THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, SOME HOW, SOME 

WAY, MUST ENACT A TRANSFER FEE, 1/2 OF 1 PERCENT, UPON ALL EXCHANGE AND 

ELECTRONICALLY TRADED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS. THESE TRADES IN AMERICA 

EXCEED ONE QUADRILLION DOLLARS (A 1 FOLLOWED BY 15 ZEROES) 

20 PERCENT OF THESE FEES SHOULD FUND A MANHATTAN PROJECT FOR 

SUSTAINABLE, ENERGY SELF SUFFICIENCY IN FIVE YEARS. ALL ENERGY SOURCES , 

INCLUDING COAL, WILL PLAYTHEIR ROLES IN AMERICA'S ENERGY PICTURE. 

THESE TECHNOLOGIES, MARKETED AND SHARED WITH THE REST OF THE 

WORLD, AND VICA VERSA, WILL RESULT IN A MORE LIVABLE WORLD.