I have been to West Virginia four times this year. In fact, I think the mountain state wins the prize this year for “places I’ve frequented the most”.
So, why have I spent so much time in the mountain state this year? Interestingly enough, West Virginia has also been referred to as the ‘COG’ state – which, of course, stands for coal, oil, and gas. The first part of the acronym is the devil that drags me back to the state time and again.
But, I don’t mind going to visit West Virginia so often, with its beautiful mountains and all. Oh, wait – they’re blowing up the mountains to get the coal that lies inside of them! Right. Mountaintop removal. I wish I could say that I’ve been making the trek from Washington, DC to West Virginia to relax in a cabin, go white water rafting, or hiking. Instead, I’ve been going to West Virginia to make sure that the remaining mountains that haven’t already been decimated by mountaintop removal mining are saved.
Sunday morning, I hopped in a packed car with four friends and drove through beautiful, snowy mountains as we made our way to Charleston, WV. Upon arrival in Charleston, we hugged people we haven’t seen for a while, then dove into trainings and sign-making to prepare us for Monday’s protest.
On Monday afternoon, we gathered in front of the WV Department of Environmental Protection to protest the blasting that has begun on Coal River Mountain. Obviously, I think mountaintop removal is horrible and don’t want to see this happening to any mountains, but Coal River Mountain is especially significant. About 200 feet from where the blasting has begun, Massey Energy’s Brushy Fork slurry impoundment sits with 8.2 billion gallons of toxic sludge. People live below this impoundment. If blasting were to weaken the infrastructure of the impoundment, 900 lives would be at risk. Not only is blasting on Coal River Mountain a serious safety risk, but it is ruining the chance for green, sustainable jobs to thrive in Appalachia. Coal River Wind is an organization that has done studies on the wind potential of the mountain, if it were left in tact. There is an estimated 14 years of coal worth mining in Coal River Mountain, which means that the jobs will disappear in 14 years. If a wind farm was built instead, 40-50 permanent jobs would be created.
Two activists gather at the protest
This is why it was so important to go to the WV DEP on Monday afternoon. A couple hundred people gathered in the front parking lot of the building. Counter protesters (the miners and their families) were expected, so the police set up barricades to separate everyone. This seemed slightly ironic to me, as the counter protesters were allowed to assemble very close to the DEP building while we were placed at the back of the parking lot. Anyway, there were tons of inspiring speakers who come from all walks of life – community members, faith leaders, former WV Congressman Ken Hechler, activists, and Robert Kennedy Jr. The counter protesters tried to disrupt the speakers by booing and yelling – but we had microphones and just carried on. There were also coal trucks driving up and down the road near where we assembled that would lay on their horns every time they passed, which was pretty annoying… but our speakers were lighthearted about it and begun saying, “honk if you love mountains!” every time it occurred (This video clip of Robert Kennedy speaking portrays the mood of the crowd when this happened).
Although the opposition was present, things were peaceful. While the event was going on, I occasionally turned around and look at the DEP building and every time I did, there were employees staring out the windows. I think this was a very important event. The DEP saw us and heard us. They know we aren’t going give up on this fight and that we will hold them accountable to protect our environment and our mountains.
Lisa went to school at UNC Wilmington and majored in Environmental Science and Spanish. Since then, she's been fighting the good fight with various organizations, including RAN, Greenpeace, and Rising Tide. She's always been passionate about protecting all aspects of the environment, but she gets downright angry about mountaintop removal mining. Lisa is currently living and working on a small organic farm in Pittsboro, North Carolina.
Want to contribute posts and media to RYSE? We're always welcoming applicants to be a part of this project: please click the icon
RYSE is the youth branch of RAN, Rainforest Action Network, which works to protect the Earth and support human rights through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action.
Powered by Wordpress | Now let's get off the internet and get busy!
[...] coal mining is? Here are resources in case you don’t: previous RYSE blog posts (here & here). Also, it has received some pretty good coverage in the New York Times lately, including this [...]