It\’s Getting Hot In Here

Cross-posted from Greenpeace USA’s Grassroots blog.

DC is about to witness an uprising!

Appalachia Rising is three days of coalfield residents and activists from across the country standing together for an end to mountaintop removal (MTR), an extremely destructive form of mining where the tops of mountains are blown off to extract the coal seams below.

You can register here for Appalachia Rising, September 25-27 in Washington DC.

I saw firsthand the effects of MTR on Appalachian communities while visiting Rock Creek, WV this past January.  Below is a selection of photos that my friend, Phoebe Neel, and I shot while bearing witness to the destruction.

This behemoth of a complex owned by Massey Energy contains the Goals Coal Processing Plant.  Above it, sits the Shumate Coal Sludge Impoundment pond, which contains 2.8 billion gallons of toxic coal waste.  Beyond that is the Edwight mountaintop removal site, whose blasting puts the dam at risk of failing.  Also out of the picture is Marsh Fork Elementary, which would be wiped out if such a failure were to occur.  Thankfully, the community won a six year fight this past April to build a new school, which will break ground next year. Continue reading ‘Stand with Coalfield Residents at Appalachia Rising’

Ding ding ding!! It’s round 2 in the public debate between Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President of Waterkeeper Alliance and outspoken mountaintop removal critic.  The Hill, a daily

Maria Gunnoe, organizer with Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, shows coal dust she wiped off Frankie Mooney's home in Twilight, WV

congressional newspaper in Washington DC, published a set of opposing op-eds yesterday just as the 5th Annual End Mountaintop Removal Week in Washington wrapped up.  See Blankenship’s here and RFK Jr.’s here.

This follows the televised debate of Blankenship and Kennedy in Charleston, WV in late January, which helped focus national attention on MTR after Science magazine published an article on its destructive effects earlier in the month.   Climate Ground Zero also launched a treesit the same day as the debate, which halted blasting on Massey’s Bee Tree site in Pettus, WV for nine days.

Blankenship is feeling the pressure (and surely realizes Congress is too!) as he alludes to in his op-ed, and he makes clear he believes everyone, including the media, is against “energy producers.” Continue reading ‘Round 2: Blankenship versus RFK Jr. on Mountaintop Removal’

photo: MoveOn Flickr

You’ve probably heard about the Toyota vehicle recall, related to sticking accelerators.  But did you know that despite selling the Prius as the eco-conscious vehicle of choice, Toyota is still a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the most backwards trade group on climate?

Well, we have an opportunity to ask why.

On Monday, Digg is sponsoring a live dialog with Toyota’s US President and Chief Operating Officer, Jim Lentz.  Just like  CitizenTube, our question will be asked if enough people vote for it – so digg it now! Continue reading ‘Tell Toyota COO to Put the Brakes on Climate Change & the US Chamber’