While Ohio University students are accustomed to seeing fests sprinkled throughout spring quarter, a fest of another kind begins tonight.
Mountainfest, a mountaintop removal awareness festival organized by the Sierra Student Coalition, kicks off with a panel discussion in Bentley Hall 124 at 7 p.m.
The coalition focuses on spreading awareness of mountaintop removal, which is “a destructive form of coal mining that requires the decimation of entire mountains,” said Becky Clark, vice president of SSC.
“We have the ideology that mountaintop removal still exists because no one knows about it,” said Cory Gagliardi, senior technology coordinator of SSC.
The side effects of mountaintop removal, like deforestation and resulting floods, can be devastating to the environment, while residents face economic difficulties as well, Clark said.
“Typically a deep mine would employ hundreds of coal miners, but with mountaintop removal it takes about ten to twenty people to remove the same amount of coal,” Clark said.
Mike Morningstar, a performer at Mountainfest, lives in West Virginia and has experienced mountaintop removal first-hand.
“I’ve been involved in the anti-strip movement for 30 years now,” Morningstar said. “I wanted to perform at Mountainfest because I try to lend my music and my support to environmental causes.”
Other performers, such as Sad Bastards, Shankbone, Pup the Rabbit, Leila Carter and Jesse Wilkes, will take the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday at Jackie O’s, 24 W. Union St., after the afternoon music and information event at the Howard Hall Site.
“The goal Saturday night is to bring everyone together, have fun and raise money for the Southern Environmental Action Coalition and Coal River Mountain Watch,” Clark said.
Last year, the group raised $1,000 for the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation.
“Our ultimate goal through SSC is to end our reliance on dirty energy and create green-collar jobs,” Clark said.
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