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Mass Arrests in DC: We Shall No Longer Be Crucified Upon the Cross of Coal
Over one hundred protesters from the Appalachian coalfields were arrested in front of the White House today, defiantly calling on the Obama administration to abolish mountaintop removal mining. As part of the Appalachia Rising events, the coalfield residents took part in a multi-day series of events to bring the escalating human rights, environmental and health care crisis to the nation's capitol.
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth leaders Teri Blanton and Mickey McCoy, the first arrested in today's nonviolent act of civil disobedience, were joined by allies from around the country, including NASA climatologist James Hansen. Meanwhile, protesters led by the legendary Rev. Billy Talen staged a nearby sit-in at the office of the PNC bank, which remains one of the last major financiers of coal companies engaged in this extreme form of strip-mining in Appalachia.
In a stark reminder of the national connection to the coalfields, the Obama administration officials looked on from their White House offices, as their electricity came from a coal-fired plant generated partly with coal stripmined from Appalachia.
As a litmus test of the administration's commitment to science and the rule of law, Appalachian residents are calling on the EPA to halt any new permit on the upcoming decision over the massive Spruce mountaintop removal mine.
Mountaintop removal coal only provides, in fact, less than 10 percent of all coal production.
Fed up with the regulatory crisis and circumventions by outside coal companies, coalfield residents have been rising up against reckless strip-mining practices against the country, from Alaska to Alabama to Arizona.
In southern Illinois, scores of black crosses were found at coal mines, strip mines, coal-fired plants, coal ash piles, and at the Southern Illinois University Coal Research Center.
Citing Illinois as the birthplace of the coal industry, and "ground zero in the Obama administration's plan to dangerously experiment with carbon capture and storage technologies for coal-fired plants," a new Black Cross Alliance campaign announced plans to construct symbolic black crosses at coal mining and coal-burning landmarks in the state and across the nation to serve as a public warning: It is no longer acceptable for the Obama administration--and state and regional government officials---to be complicit in maintaining deadly coal mining and coal-burning communities as shameful national sacrifice areas in 2010.
Invoking William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech, the Black Cross Alliance called on the Obama administration and the state of Illinois to halt billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for multinational coal corporations, and bring an end to the scandalous coal wars in Illinois by re-investing in a sustainable clean energy policy for the future for the coalfield regions.
The Black Cross Alliance declared: You shall not crucify us any longer upon a cross of coal.
"While the rest of the nation--and world--launches into the exploding new global market of clean energy development and green jobs," the Black Cross Alliance asked, "why have the coalfield regions in the country been left out of the renewnable energy movement and slated for a new generation of increased coal production?"
For more updates on Appalachia Rising, see: www.appalachiarising.org
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29 Comments so far
Show All"Over one hundred protesters from the Appalachian coalfields were arrested in front of the White House today..."
Dear Protestors: I thank you, the 7 generations thank you, all living beings thank you, the planet thanks you.
Amen!
I agree!
And exactly what did they do that called for arrest?
Good question. Brave, good people fighting for all of us. My guess is it didn't hit the MSM.
"Civil disobedience".... that basically means they peacefully laid down in the street or something and asked to be arrested, simply bringing attention to the issue, and hopefully, getting it some mainstream press.
Here is a video of the protest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1-fwWH0914&feature=player_embedded#!
...and thank you nosurrender, for adding all of us to your thank you.
ol king coal was a merry old soul, a merry old soul was he. He called for his lobyists, he called for his senators, and he called for the TparT
Way to go! Save us all from coal.
My city, Victoria BC is contaminated by 100 Years of dumping coal sludge and waste into our harbour and water ways. It's costing millions and with take decades to clean up.
I support Appalachia Rising 100%.
Obama looooves coal; almost as he loves the other energy blaggard, nuclear power. For an intelligent man he's made way too many bad choices.
These industries must be giving the Democrats a lot of money.
t_g
You are doing a great job! I salute you from Down Under and wish you best of luck!
We also have a huge coal-mining industry that mainly feeds the Chinese industry. And pollutes our beautiful and fragile country. I wish our people would protest!
No matter what, we are watching you and our thoughts are with you!
EVERY hilltop in southern WV and Eastern KY is subject to some form of mountaintop mining if allowed to continue. But most of it is accessible by alternative means. Google 'Superior Highwall Miner' and watch the video. Coal is abundant and RELATIVELY cheap. It can be mined safely and consumed in more environmentally effective ways. Remember - we LOST EIGHT YEARS of clean coal research at the beginning of this century ('W' years). As the world population continues to increase exponentially so will the demand for energy; let's keep and use the cheap stuff here and do it right.
WTF?!? SLAP!
Some day we won’t have to use coal. It takes time for a nation and the world to change course. We’ve been working on that since the sixties and I believe in 10 years from now the power industry, not the government, will abolish coal use. Keep up the pressure!
Not if Obama et al has anything to say about it.
Obama and the "clean coal" industry are pretty tight.
VOTE GREEN.
Let's hear it for Obama!
I sure hope everyone gets on board. Email every politition you know, and be real angry when yoU tell them to STOP DIRTY FILTHY COAL COMPANIES FROM DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY. OUR FRESH WATER IS AT RISK, AND DANGEROUSLY THREATENED. Q
What is broken beyond repair, and not from yesterday but from 20 centuries ago, is the christian western culture that was born already treacherous, wrecked, corrupted, criminal, genocidal, fanatically religious and so deaf to any other things but itself. It has brought an awesome material progress and a Galactic wealth extracted from the weak and from the environment but with an absolute broken moral compass, it built a filthy wealthy society whose elite refuses to accept responsibilities and whose low class believe in a god that is meaningless, useless and matchless for the powerful and wealthy. A thousand lives of the majority class have a value under a million dollars. Humans are even less valuable than cats and dogs. Along the last 20 centuries one billion people has been massacred for the sake of the christian god. Don't trust any god, trust only Science and Mother Nature, the only reliable things we have ever had.
Right on...Zeitgeist Movement/Venus Project...a resource based economy governed by the scientific method which eliminates scarcity by embracing the most efficient technology.....and which considers the Earth's natural systems as paramount...and rightly so!
Friends,
Starting this Wed., Sept. 29th, Peter will be holding an 8 week lecture run
on the topics below.
[Each Show will be at 4pm EDT
www.blogtalkradio.com/peter-joseph ]
Series Topics:
Sept 29th:
The Zeitgeist Movement - Internal Structure/Process, Decision Making, Money
Issues & Chapter Development/Actions
Oct 6th:
A Resource-Based Economy Review - An Economic Model - What the system is &
what it is not - and why.
Oct 13th:
A Profile of Collapse - Understanding the coming Ecocidal consequences of
the Economic Money Sequence Cancer and how it will likely unfold within the
social order.
Oct 20th:
The Transition - How to survive and what to promote - Time Banks /
Boycotts/ Public Service / Low-Fi Offgrid Homes and other temporal
solutions. How to keep the big picture while being protective now.
Oct 27th:
Solutions to Life Support Deficiencies - Modern Technology Applied -
Energy-Food-Water-Minerals and the practice of substitution.
Nov 3rd:
Profile of Sustainability - how the technological ability known is only as
good as the Values of the Culture.
Nov 10th:
Structural Classicism - and the end of the Dark Ages. A review of the
convert extension of racism into the class structure and how it is
perceived as "normal" by the conditioned public. We will also discuss
inadvertent racism/class-ism and the "group power" praise disease - gang
mentality.
Nov 17th:
Attacks and Grievances - Review - I will once again consider everyone's
possible attacks and complaints both external and internal and address each
one in an objective way.
Please tune in and inform others.
ZM
www.thezeitgeistmovement.com
God Bless the people who are rising up against those who rape and pillage our sacred Earth. If more Americans had half the impetus of these folks, maybe our country would not be in the sorry state it is. Our Declaration of Independence demands that We the People rise up against a government, including our present one, that no longer serves the interest of the people. "...when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them [the people] under absolute Depotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security." Given our government has been serving the interests of the big corporations to the detriment of the earth and the people for decades now, it is long past due.
Our precious constitution has always held the right to protect property and make profit over the right of life...why our very liberties and the pursuit of happiness can be translated as meaning the pursuit of profit. This "liberty" will destroy us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtHdPNfmO5I
I just spent quite a bit of time searching through the CNN site and couldn't find any mention of this issue. They have a section titled "justice" if you can believe it!
The West Virginia Mountain Party's US Senate candidate Jesse Johnson spoke during the demonstration. Johnson is the only candidate in the West Virginia US Senate race who opposes mountaintop removal. Learn more about Jesse Johnson and how you can help him stop MTR:
http://www.jesse4ussenate.org/
I am very proud of my sisters and brothers in the Kentuckians For The Commonwealth who are in the forefront of this struggle! It is long past due that we put our research and development dollars into making green energy an affordable reality! GO, KFTC!!! Green Jobs, NOW! With LOVE&PEACE&REVOLUTIONARYSOLIDARITY!!!!!
Downright scary when you think about it dude.
www.web-privacy.it.tc
Thank you protesters! Mercury poisoning, ala, the removal and burning of coal is causing everyone in this nation a slow descent into insanity and a torturous suffering until death.
For the "insider" perspective from those who have lost land, loves and livelihoods to mountaintop removal - read Ann Pancake's novel, Strange as This Weather Has Been.
Both Democrats and Republicans in West Virginia support mountaintop removal. So what can we do to stop it? Simple - support the Mountain Party, WV's Green Party and the only party in WV that opposes MTR.
http://www.mtparty.org/
Jesse Johnson, US Senate candidate of the Mountain Party, has been endorsed by Democratic former congressman Ken Hechler, an MTR opponent who lost the Dem Senate primary to MTR supporter Manchin.
Jesse Johnson needs our support. If you oppose MTR in deed as well as in word, put your money where your mouth is:
http://www.jesse4ussenate.org/