“Nope….   what?”

“I’m going to sneak up onto an MTR site and steal all their explosives and throw them in a desert…. then they won’t be able to blow up any more of our mountains.”

“Hmmm…” I said, thinking that wasn’t such a bad idea.

Then he added, “And then I am going to arrest the people doing MTR, because I think they are criminals.”

“Mommy thinks they are criminals, too.”

And that is exactly what they are.  Stealing land, resources, water, and a way of life that has sustained mountain people for generations.  The conversation reminded me of the song that says, ‘Teach your children well…’    I can only hope that the next generation can see that business and profit without morality is evil.  And that we can’t destroy the very thing  we are dependant on for survival…   the earth.

Hopefully they will be better stewards of the earth’s gifts than we have been. Let’s continue to educate, teach, and fight!

One brilliant solution Coal Companies have come up with for expelling coal waste (slurry) is pumping it into abandoned underground mines. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that eventually it will get absorbed into groundwater…. and thus into well water. It’s just wrong…. plain and simple. No one, industry or individual, should have the right to do something on their property that will adversely affect someone else’s property. But King Coal has never been known to be a good neighbor.

From the Associated Press:

“Selenium pollution from a Boone County mining operation is poisoning fish in the Mud River, leading to serious deformities, according to a biologist’s report.

A. Dennis Lemly prepared his report on behalf of lawyers working for environmental groups suing Hobet Mining Inc. over the discharge of selenium into the Mud River and its tributaries.

Lemly’s report, filed April 18 in U.S. District Court in Huntington, found fish specimens with two eyes on one side of the head and others with curved spines.

“The Mud River ecosystem is on the brink of a major toxic event,” Lemly wrote in the report. “If waterborne selenium concentrations are not reduced, reproductive toxicity will spiral out of control and fish populations will collapse.”

The trouble is not only with the fish population. Selenium, as well as a frightening array of other heavy metals, is showing up in well water across the coalfields.  And again, our state’s DEP is taking the low road and being non-commital. From the same article:

“The state Department of Environmental Protection, which is not a party to the federal lawsuit, believes something is wrong with the fish, but is not sure of the cause.”

So, let’s see….. official reports from water biologists say there is too much selenium from the Coal operations leaking into the water. And these same experts say that this selenium is poisoning the fish. If the WVDEP doesn’t accept that, then they better get on the ball and do their own testing and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!   The residents of rural Appalachia do not have access to public water. It is a crime when an industry can come in and pollute their water with no repercussions. If the fish are being affected, our bodies are being affected, too. Clean Water should be a basic American right….. but it is not so in the Coalfields. People are literally being poisoned. To read some of their stories, go here.

Again, we all need to continue to hound our representatives to support The Clean Water Protection Act, H.R. 2169. There is not a single WV Representative co-sponsoring the Act. Imagine that! Continue to call and you can also arrange a meeting with them or an office aide. Remember…. WE elected them and they are OUR paid employees. They are obligated to hear us and vote according to the people they represent, not vote according to who is funding their campaign. Don’t be intimidated or let them brush you off.

And also remember that it is EVERYONE”S water. Our planet shares water. And many of these creeks and rivers that are being polluted with mining waste are the headwaters to much of the East Coast’s drinking water supplies. It affects everyone.

“Stronger focus on energy diversity and efficiency means more jobs: opportunities in sustainable energy sources like wind and solar, ethanol production, green building, hazardous waste removal, recycling and consumer goods; jobs in research and development, construction, manufacturing, technology, operations and sales.

Perhaps one of the greatest strides in this movement is the Green Jobs Act, part of the 2007 energy bill, which Congress passed and President Bush signed in late 2007. 

“This innovative proposal – green-jobs – will make $125 million a year available across the country to begin training workers for jobs in the clean energy sector,” remarked Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., who co-wrote the Green Jobs Act. “Thirty-five thousand people per year can benefit from vocational education that will provide for them secure employment in this country.”

The availability of green-collar jobs will cross boards of workers at all skill levels, says Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance, which promotes clean energy and energy efficiency policies and initiatives. “Whether your field is technical, you’re a skilled or unskilled worker, you were laid off… the economic benefits from green jobs spread from the highly educated to the noneducated.”

This seems like a win/win situation to me. Coal acts as Chicken Little, decrying those that speak out against MTR, “They want to take your jobs away! It’s the end of the world!”  What they fail to say is the jobs they provide are TEMPORARY….   and short-sighted, as coal is non-renewable. Once the mountain is gone and the coal is extracted, there are no more jobs in that area. Not even eco-tourism (b/c of the devastation left behind)…. one of the fastest growing tourism markets out there.

How could one argue with investing in Renewable Energy jobs?  Sustainable jobs, that will be there long term? Not only are they safer, high-paying, and long-term jobs, but they don’t destroy the very land we are dependent on for survival. But…. AHA!.. that would mean Coal wouldn’t be King anymore. They wouldn’t have the monopoly in WV…. they wouldn’t be the Big Dogs making all the rules and tainting our politics. The powers that be might have to tighten their belt-buckles a little, just like your average American citizen these days. 

Common sense, folks….   but again, that’s not something King Coal is known for. Profit and Greed tend to cloud judgment.

This is the same man who, when confronted with the fact that Massey coal trucks are killing people every year because of not following the weight regulations stated, “The truth of the matter is…. four to six fatalities a year, with the number of miles coal trucks are traveling on these highways, is no worse than average.”   

Never an apology from him. It doesn’t matter that it’s PEOPLE that are killed….someone’s father, daughter, mother, wife, husband. He has the same callous attitude towards the people in the coalfields who are being sacrificed for profit.

Kudos to ABC for airing the struggle here……

 Energy Conservation is a key component in the fight against MTR. Check out the Earth Hour link above, to find out more ways you can conserve energy. We all must do everything we can.

Here’s a neat slideshow by Jim Pence with pictures from the day in KY. It is very encouraging…

 Posted By Bluemountainmama