It’s Getting Hot In Here

Hello to the Movement. This is my first post to IGHIH, and Im excited to be representing my bio-region and my corner of the movement to all of yall, who have inspired us so much already.

Today I’m writing as a member of Blue Ridge Earth First! Down here in the Blue Ridge, we’ve been joining arms with people from across Appalachia, Virginia and further afield to defeat Dominion Power’s proposed Wise County coal-fired power plant. If built the plant would spew 5.4 million tons of CO2, while increasing mountaintop removal coal mining in places like Wise Co., where 25% of the county has already been strip mined. We have attended hearings, written public comments, marched in rallies, signed petitions, organized rowdy spring breaks and presented Fossil Fools awards, and today we took the fight against this plant to the next level.

Yesterday morning as the sun rose on a beautiful spring day in Richmond, Va, three Activists with BREF! locked themselves down in a blockade of the one road into the main head quarters of Dominion Power. Quickly, the morning rush was turned into a mile long line of cars in the middle of downtown. 20+ supporters, supporters of a sustainable future and sane energy production, chanted and held signs for the whole time that Dominion’s operations were effectively halted.

Like many in the movement for Clean Energy, Environmental Justice and Sustainability, BREF! recognizes the need for a diversity of tactics in achieving our goals. We also recognize that the time was yesterday for a movement wide escalation. It’s past time to turn up the heat in the fight against coal, nuclear, and eco-cide in all of our communities. On Tuesday we did just that in our fight here, and it felt good

So yeah, thats whats up down here in the Blue Ridge. We are also helping to organize Mountain Justice Summer Virginia, and we would love to host anyone who wants to get involved in the fight against mountaintop removal in Appalachia this Summer. We will be working on community organizing in the coal fields of SW Va, putting together the 2008 South East Climate Convergence, and working throughout the state to keep putting the heat on fossil fools everywhere. So come on down folks, and stand with. Peace