Wednesday: A Vision for Our Mountains « It’s Getting Hot In Here

Youth unite for environmental justice in Appalachia! Whether you live in the heart of coal country or thousands of miles away, what happens in West Virginia and its surrounding states matters to your future. Wednesday is a national day of solidarity with communities in Appalachia that confront many consequences of our fossil fuel addiction. Coalfield communities affected by mountaintop removal and other forms of coal mining are faced with toxic coal slurry disposal, valley fills, blasting and many additional environmental burdens. The Mountain Justice Day of Action, part of the Week of Action, is an opportunity for young people to speak out against these injustices.

TAKE ACTION: Call Senator Robert C. Byrd and demand he fulfill his promise to Ed Wiley and that he protect the health and safety of the kids at Marsh Fork Elementary School. His number is (202) 224-3954. Marsh Fork is one of the most blatant examples of coal companies’ disregard for human health and safety. This school is located beside a coal silo, a coal preparation plant and below a huge coal slurry impoundment. For more info and resources, including talking points, handouts and a press release, go to www.climateaction.net/mjdoa.

Also, you can call WV Governor Manchin and request that he accept 500 letters from children who are concerned about the health of Marsh Fork Elementary. For more information read WV Governor dodges meeting with children.

There are innumerable other ways you may support coalfield communities. Appalachia must not be a national sacrifice zone! Come to Mountain Justice Spring Break for a week of education and direct action in Charleston, WV, from March 10-18, and to speak out against mountaintop removal coal mining and the circumstances at Marsh Fork Elementary School. We shall converge on the front lawn of the state capitol! The week will include educational activities, workshops, speakers, a musical shindig, church service, poetry, letter writing, vigils, protest, a massive sit-in, and more!

To watch a short video about Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining click here.

To watch Ed Wiley speek about Marsh Fork Elementary click here.

To register for Mountain Justice Spring Break, click here here.

About Ivan

Ivan Stiefel is a West Virginia University Student trying to retire and open a Yerba Mate Café where he may philosophize and write poetry all day. Yet, this will not happen until mountaintop removal is abolished and the climate crisis is solved. Thus, he has decided to organize with the Student Environmental Action Coalition and the Sierra Student Coalition to uproot injustice in the coal fields of Appalachia, go urban kayaking, and spread Yerba Mate in the region. (Yerba Mate is a traditional South American tea. For more information please contact Ivan and he would love to talk for hours on this subject and explain how he believes that the green energy of Yerba Mate will help inspire the coming energy revolution.)