WASHINGTON - February 1 - Activists from Rainforest Action Network’s Global Finance Campaign and Coal River Mountain Watch hand-delivered hundreds of letters from schoolchildren around the world to the office of Gov. Joe Manchin today calling on him to rebuild Marsh Fork Elementary School away from a polluting coal silo that currently stands just 225 feet from the school building.

More than 400 schoolchildren worldwide wrote to Manchin sympathizing with the plight of Marsh Fork’s students. Marsh Fork Elementary sits next to a coal processing facility, and an earthen dam permitted to hold 2.8 billion gallons of toxic coal waste sludge is 400 yards upstream. Independent studies have confirmed that coal dust permeates the school and is inhaled by children. In addition, a 2006 EPA investigation revealed asbestos in the school’s walls and dangerous anhydrous ammonia tanks 600 feet away. Gov. Manchin has ignored repeated requests to rebuild the school away from the contamination.

One student in Connecticut wrote: “I bet you if that was your school, you would want them to stop it immediately.” Others wrote about how extractive industries fuel global warming and devastate local communities. “Do you want to be responsible for the damage of the children’s lungs?”asked an Australian student, who added “Do you want the climate to rise?”

Today’s letter delivery is part of a week of action against global warming organized by Energy Action's Campus Climate Challenge with student groups from across the U.S. and Canada. During the week, students will demand real solutions to end our addiction to fossil fuels.

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