I am sure others will post more in greater detail, with pics, video and written reportbacks, but I just spent the past few days in Harlan, Kentucky with 200+ climate activists and organizers (youth, elders and those of us in the middle).
Kind of fitting that this year’s summer camp kicked off in Harlan.
Harlan is located in the Appalachian mountains. In the 1930’s, it was known as “Bloody Harlan” for the struggle of miners to get union contracts. It was also the subject of the documentary “Harlan County USA” about more labor struggles in the 1970’s. It is also the home to the highest peak in Kentucky, Black Mountain, which is currently being strip-mined. Yes, strip mined.
It was a fantastic camp! So many people wanting to do work around mountaintop removal, strip mining and the current wave of proposed coal fired powerplants.
Mountain Justice Summer focuses on stopping mountaintop removal and strip mining using a variety of tactics including grassroots organizing, listening projects and non-violent direct action.
MJS activists will spend the summer working in campaign houses and communities Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Ohio (amongst others) on coal issues. Furthermore, organizers from Texas, Philly, Boston, New York and California (and more) will take the mountain justice struggles back to their hometowns to pressure banks financing the destruction and raise awareness of the issues.
Over the past few years, I have seen members of the youth climate movement join frontline communities in these camps and through campaign work (all over the country) in trying to end mountaintop removal and proliferation of coal fired power (clean or otherwise).
It is great to be part of this growing evolving movement.
Mountaintop removal site in WV
Subscribe by Email!
Subscribe by RSS!
Share on Facebook
Yeah Mountain Justice!
What Can I Do to Fight for Mountain Justice? see dana at seac.org if you want to plug in. Yeah!
Volunteer Grunt Work – On the ground, clean stuff, fix stuff, carpentry, garden, mend fences
Research – Look at mining permits, find out what is being proposed where, Coal to Liquids and Carbon Sequestration fallacies,
Organizing – Long term placement in an area, working with youth, residents, building long term power that creates real improvement in people’s lives, for short term, can support local organizers with listening projects, materials creation, etc.
Lobbying – Working Clean Water Protection Act Nationally (see http://www.ilovemountains.org ) or on state level campaigns to end MTR and for clean energy and green jobs legislation
Give Presentations/Pay Speakers – To churches through Christians for the Mountains, on campus, at house parties, show movies, fundraise to pay coalfield residents to come speak.
Materials Creation – Art projects, fact sheets, press releases, fliers, websites, brochures, posters
Experts/Professional Resource Support – Find lawyers who will work for free/reduced, find university professors who can help with water testing and health studies, experts on hydrology – if you are an expert in this, then you do these things
Community Info – listening projects, Water testing, health studies
Action Planning – Planning, Prepping, Participating, Prop making
Media Work – Filming, photography, writing, recording – esp. at actions
Monitoring – Ground truthing – hike around with GPS to make sure the mine is within the permit boundary, track species living on a mountain before it is mined, look for toxic water spills after rainstorms—Hike around/4-wheeler to catch the company violating regulations
Fundraising!! – Get lots of money to pay speakers, fundraise for community groups and/or Mountain Justice
Organizational Building – Record keeping, data input, filing, tracking media, campaign assistance, media work – things to help build up local grassroots groups