West Virginia
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Anti-coal activism news
First, the good: here's a feature story in the new Orion magazine about the tactics and successes of the anti-coal activists who've helped halt, count 'em, 59 new plants, according to author Ted Nace. Ted also gives a huge rundown of links and resources for anti-coal activists.
And the ugly: thanks to Maria Gunnoe's success organizing against mountaintop removal mining as a staff member of grassroots group Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and now her lead role in stopping a "valley fill" in her home town in West Virginia that cost some local jobs, her family has been the target of harassment and threats of violence, to the level that she's had to hire guards for her home and install security cameras. This doesn't come cheaply, and they're accepting donations to help keep her in that house, in that community, and stopping MTR's utter destruction of Appalachia. More here, plus an address to send donations to. The woman is a hero and deserves better.
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The backlash against coal has not made it to the halls of power in WV
There are some heartening recent stories from the land of Coal Backlash. Portland-based PacifiCorp is giving up on new coal plants entirely — not for environmental reasons but for economic ones. (Lesson: coal isn’t cheap.) Missouri is probably the most hostile state for climate activists. It ranks among the top five states for emitting CO2, […]
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‘Bill Moyers Journal’ on religious resistance to mountaintop-removal mining
The upcoming episode of Bill Moyers Journal reports on evangelical Christians in West Virginia who are fighting against the scourge of mountaintop-removal mining. Check PBS listings for airtimes in your ‘hood. This episode follows up on a 2006 Moyers special, Is God Green?. Our own David Roberts interviewed Moyers about it last year. Have you […]
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Dog bites man
West Virginia’s two U.S. senators say it’s possible to promote coal and clean air initiatives at the same time. Uh … WTF else are they going to say?
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Motivation aside, the ad’s still true
West Virginia Dems Rep. Nick Rahall and Sen. Robert C. Byrd are fighting mad over some "despicable" anti-coal ads that have appeared in major publications recently.
The ads, underwritten by a natural gas company called the Chesapeake Energy Corp, show faces smudged with make-up meant to resemble coal dust under a headline reading: "Face It, Coal is Filthy."
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Internet TV that doesn’t suck!
I confess I had never heard of VBS.tv before they wrote us. It’s an internet TV station that grew out of Vice magazine. Poking around their site, I must say it looks pretty damn cool. Raw, but cool. I’ve been wondering when a viable internet TV production outfit will pop up. Maybe this is it. […]
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More on coal in West Virginia
OK, here's some rare good news in the fight against mountaintop removal mining. Last Friday, Judge Robert "Chuck" Chambers, a federal judge in West Virginia, ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke the law in issuing MTR mining permits that would allow streams to be buried. This means that, finally, the Corps, which approves mining permits, will have to recognize and uphold the Clean Water Act!
They've been called out for illegally issuing permits that destroy vital streams, ecosystems, and the environment around mining sites. Never mind that they're supposed to be the ones in charge of protecting the environment and preserving the integrity of the streams and rivers that run through the all-but-devastated Appalachian Mountains. Now they actually have to do their jobs, not facilitate the kind of environmental destruction they purport to fight.
Hard to believe it took a federal judge and months of appeals and public outcry to make the Army and the government keep their word. Makes me wonder what else we should be holding their feet to the fire for. How does this affect Arch Coal's Spruce No. 1 mine, which I wrote about at the end of January? Well, it sounds like it'll take more time in court to come to a conclusion, so stay tuned. Friday was a great day, though; Judge Chambers decision set a remarkably important precedent.
Now for the bad news.
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At Marsh Fork Elementary, danger is spelled M-A-S-S-E-Y
In Raleigh County, West Virginia, about 45 miles from Charleston, just over 200 students attend Marsh Fork Elementary School. Though small, Marsh Fork is important to the folks in the Coal River Valley, and not just because it's the only school in the county with high enough enrollment to remain open. No, the fate of Marsh Fork matters more because it represents all the special interests and politics that have come to define life in the shadows of Big Coal.
Not 300 feet away from where children learn and play nine months a year sits a leaking, 385-feet tall coal refuse dam with a nearly 3-billion gallon capacity. Never mind the coal dust that has been found in the school. Never mind the drinking-water contamination that has been reported. If this dam breaks, it will destroy everyone and everything within 30 miles. So why are 200-plus children still making the trip to school every day despite the constant threat of illness and even death?
Because they have nowhere else to go.
