It’s Getting Hot In Here

This is copy & pasted from a post on SEAC’s Threshold blog by Aramie.

Indigenous Call for Action Answered by Youth/Environmental Groups
Black Mesa Project permitting process re-opened! Deadline for comments: July 7, 2008
Diné elder Pauline Whitesinger faces threats from government officials

Black Mesa, Arizona, home to the Diné (Navajo) and Hopi tribal reservations, is also home to massive mining operations run by Peabody Coal. In the past 30 years the mine at Black Mesa has contributed 325 million tons of carbon dioxide to atmospheric levels. Mining officials, with backing from the U.S. government, are responsible for capping local water supply (to supply mines) and harassing, threatening and in some cases assaulting Black Mesa residents, many who are elders resisting being driven from the land their ancestors have occupied for hundreds of years.

Peabody Coal now wants to expand the mining operation at a potential environmental cost of 290 million tons of CO2 and an unfathomable personal cost to all who continue to live and fight for their lives on Black Mesa. In related news, area residents continue to face threats and intimidation at the hands of the U.S. government, and it is no coincidence that the afflicted live on what Peabody Coal clearly sees as “their profit”.

Diné grandmother resistor Pauline Whitesinger (above), 76, was recently served a notice by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officers and Hopi Tribal Rangers to immediately halt repairs being made to her ceremonial earth lodge (hogan) on penalty of fines and criminal charges. Officials also attempted to harass Pauline’s on-land supporter/sheepherder. Threats of intimidation accompanied the “notice” and have continued unabated. Support has been requested for Pauline Whitesinger in the form of phone calls, letters and on-land support to let the BIA and Hopi officials know that their unacceptable actions are under scrutiny.

The overarching story here, that of Peabody Coal, lies at the core of environmental and human devastation. Peabody’s proposed expansion would detonate coal on a daily basis polluting the air and affect health of miners and residents, deplete residential water supplies (already scarce in the desert thanks to mining), accelerate climate change and, perhaps most significantly, sacrifice human dignity and planetary health for corporate profit.

The Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) has responded to the calls for action by mailing a statement denouncing the harassment of Pauline Whitesinger and also collecting signatures to add to a comment letter expressing opposition to the Peabody mine expansion. Similar actions have also been taken up by other national groups such as Black Mesa Indigenous Support, Student/Farmworker Alliance, and Black Mesa Water Coalition (heading up the call for action). Together, we can connect the dots of coal industry devastation from Appalachia to the mesas of Arizona, standing together in solidarity.
Coal is the liver of mother earth – let’s keep it in the ground and keep her healthy!

*Sample letter for coal comments and info and address for Pauline Whitesinger letter at blackmesais.org (also see attachments)

*To provide on-land support email blackmesais@riseup.net

See BMWC and BMIS websites for more ways to help!