95-Year-Old Activist Arrested Trying to Save Kids from Coal Sludge

Last June, Daryl Hannah, Dr. James Hansen and 29 others were arrested in Raleigh County, West Virginia while protesting outside a Massey Energy subsidiary’s coal processing plant. Hannah, an outspoken activist, got a lot of press for her role in the mountaintop removal protest – including here on EarthFirst – but perhaps the more interesting story lies with fellow protester Ken Hechler, a 95-year-old former congressman.

Hechler’s dedication to fighting irresponsible coal mining practices runs deep. In 1966, 144 people died – including more than 100 elementary school students – when a huge collection of coal waste stored on the mountain above their school broke loose and crushed them with a deafening roar. Hechler, a U.S. Representative for coal state West Virginia, was deeply affected by the tragedy, which took place across the Atlantic in Aberfan, South Wales. He knew that such a thing could happen in his area, too.

The following year, some of his friends along Buffalo Creek and other sections of Logan County, which he represented in Congress, warned him that mudslides had made a coal waste dam extremely vulnerable to collapse. Hechler immediately went to work, but his efforts couldn’t stop the Buffalo Creek tragedy.

From Hechler’s op-ed in the West Virginia Gazette:

What I saw, particularly along Buffalo Creek, horrified me. I telephoned Gov. Hulett Smith and urged him to assemble a team of officials to see for themselves the danger confronting the residents, and to figure out what remedial measures were necessary to save people’s lives. I had the disaster at Aberfan very much on my mind.

Gov. Smith said he would ask Finance Commissioner Truman Gore and officials of the State Road Commission and Department of Natural Resources to be ready for a call from me. I also asked two representatives on the Army Corps of Engineers to join the group of state officials to drive down to Buffalo Creek and other threatened areas of Logan County the following morning.

It was raining the next morning, but the officials all showed up. I also asked the local head of Island Creek Coal Co., Richard Herron, to come along, since one of the trouble spots was at Proctor Hollow near Amherstdale on Buffalo Creek.

News reporters from the Logan Banner, The Charleston Gazette and The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington ran accounts of our 1967 warning. But nothing was done – and five years later, 125 people were killed in the historic Buffalo Creek gob pile dam collapse.

Hechler was haunted by the deaths, and by the idea that it could happen yet again. In Raleigh County, a huge coal waste impoundment hangs, in Hechler’s words, “like a Sword of Damocles” a few hundred yards up the mountain above Marsh Creek Elementary School.

That’s why he was there that day, willing to get arrested to speak out against the dangers of coal mining once again. Hechler pleaded not guilty in July and is fighting the charges against him.

Read his full op-ed, ‘Ken Hechler: From Activist to Hell-Raiser’ at the West Virginia Gazette.

Link [West Virginia Gazette]
Photo: SludgeSafety.org

EPA Halts Mountaintop Removal Mining Projects

The Environmental Protection Agency has put hundreds of mountaintop removal mining projects on hold while they evaluate the impact on streams and wetlands, officials announced on Tuesday. Mountaintop removal mining is an extremely environmentally damaging process, which allows coal mining companies to dump waste from mountaintop mining into certain waterways.

From The Huffington Post:

The EPA said in a statement that it would be actively involved in the review of the long list of permits awaiting approval by the Corps, a signal that the agency under the Obama administration will exercise its oversight.

The EPA has the authority to review and veto any permit issued by the Corps under the Clean Water Act, but under the Bush administration it did that rarely.

“If the EPA didn’t step in and do something now, all those permits would go forward,” said Joe Lovett, executive director for the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment. “There are permits that will bury 200 miles of streams pending before the Corps.”

The EPA action stunned the coal industry, which had been breathing easily since the mid-February ruling by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Last month, an appeals panel in Richmond, Virginia overturned a lower court’s ruling that would have required the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct more extensive reviews, hence the coal industry’s surprise. A spokesman for the National Mining Association called the hold on the permits “troubling”.

Does this mean mountaintop removal is on its way out? We can only hope that it’s a signal of a new beginning, but it will undoubtedly take a while before the process is stopped completely, if that ever even happens. But, this is a very encouraging sign. The campaigns to draw attention to the issue seem to be working.

It’s just amazing that we’re not writing negative posts about how the EPA is screwing the environment and human health anymore!

Link [The Huffington Post]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Can the Power of Oprah Stop Mountaintop Removal Mining?

Oprah Winfrey has what some people might call a grotesque amount of influence over Americans – particularly women of a certain age. She says she likes something on her show, and hours later it’s sold out. She goes on a certain diet, and millions of people across the country do the same. So, now that actress and activist Ashley Judd let it slip that Oprah might use her crazy-gigantic star power to help stop mountaintop removal mining, we’ve got to wonder: how much good could she do for the cause?

From Ecorazzi, via The Huffington Post:

On this afternoon’s live Q & A over on the DailyKos, the actress let slip that Oprah has potentially expressed some interest in a piece on the topic. In addition, Judd is also trying to get ABC’s Diane Sawyer to do a special with her. “You can absolutely help raise visibility of this issue,” she said in the Q & A. “Diane Sawyer’s piece on the children in hollows aired to much national conversation recently. I phoned her producer about a MTRCM piece. Contact ABC and let them know you want to see her do segment with me about it! Also, there is a possibility Oprah is interested in a piece. I have also spoken with Anderson Cooper about it; if they public wants stories on it, they are more incentivized to do them.”

Here’s a video from ilovemountains.org that will give you an inkling of just how destructive mountaintop removal mining really is:

Who knows. While Oprah’s legion of followers pretty much blindly follow whatever she tells them to do, and take on her beliefs as their own, mountaintop removal isn’t exactly as exciting as, say, getting a free car or cashmere scarf. But, it would raise awareness of the issue and possibly get more people involved with organizations like the Sierra Club, and that would be a huge, much-needed boost in itself.

Link [The Huffington Post] + [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: OVEC

Tell Obama To End Mountaintop Removal

Mountaintop removal is a relatively new type of coal mining that began in Appalachia in the 1970s as an extension of conventional strip mining techniques. The process is known to be devastating to fish, wildlife, and bird species and contributes to increased flooding and deforestation in heavily mined areas.

Not only is it bad for the environment, the effects on nearby homes and communities can be devastating. The Environmental Protection Agency says:

“Dynamite blasts needed to splinter rock strata are so strong they crack the foundations and walls of houses. Mining dries up an average of 100 wells a year and contaminates water in others. In many coalfield communities, the purity and availability of drinking water are keen concerns.”

Local, state, and regional organizations across Appalachia are working together to end mountaintop removal through their program iLoveMountains.org. They’re urging people to sign a petition to ask Obama to end mountaintop removal.

In his first 100 days as President, Mr. Obama has the power to stop most current mountaintop removal mining. Here’s how:

• Reverse the Bush Mine Waste Giveaways: In the 11th hour, the Bush administration weakened the Stream Buffer Zone, allowing companies to dump mine waste into streams and rivers, worsening an earlier Bush ruling that has accelerated the pace of mountaintop removal coal mining.
• Enforce the Law: The coal industry has routinely ignored the Clean Water Act and the Stream Buffer Zone Rule. President Obama should demand that these and other rules be enforced, and hold the EPA, the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement, and the Army Corps of Engineers accountable.
• Urge Congress to Pass the Clean Water Protection Act: The Clean Water Protection Act is necessary to both permanently protect clean drinking water for many of our nation’s cities and to protect Appalachian coalfield residents who face frequent catastrophic flooding and pollution as a result of mountaintop removal.
• Prioritize Appalachia in America’s Clean Energy Future: Some mountaintops in Appalachia have huge wind power potential and would be more beneficial in that regard than as flattened landscape. President Obama should make Environmental Impact Assessments and economic analyses mandatory as part of his New Energy for America Plan. With finite and declining coal reserves and jobs, Obama needs to ensure Appalachia receives attention and support in the Administration’s new energy plan that includes $150 billion dollars invested in green, union jobs.

Here’s the story of one mountain community struggling with coal mining praticies in Wilson Creek, KY:

Morgan Spurlock Hits the West Virginia Coal Mines for ’30 Days’

Coal has certainly taken a beating lately, reputation-wise. Websites like Coal-is-Dirty.com highlight all of the problems with using coal as an energy source, not the least of which is the astounding amount of pollution it produces – which not only harms the environment, but is a serious health hazard as well. That doesn’t mean that the coal industry is going anywhere for the time being, though. As gas prices rise, a lot of people who are more concerned about their wallets than global warming are wondering why we can’t just increase use of the abundance of coal located right here in the USA. Currently, half of the electricity in the United States is powered by coal.

For his cable television show, 30 Days, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock returned to his home state of West Virginia to explore what it’s really like to be part of the coal industry – specifically, to experience daily life as a coal miner. Watch it below and check out our commentary afterward.

On his first day, Spurlock was overwhelmed by the difficulty of shoveling coal onto a moving belt. Sweating profusely and covered in soot, he commented, “I’d like to think that what I’m shoveling here is powering the electricity for a children’s hospital, but in reality, what I’m shoveling here is probably powering some guy masturbating in front of his computer.”

His trainer on the belt said, “All you need to be a coal miner is a weak mind and a strong back. That’s all you need.” That doesn’t mean it doesn’t take skill, though: there are a million things that can go wrong at any point in the day. Coal mining is definitely hard work, and dangerous work at that: probably not worth the average $65,000 annual salary miners make.

The miners are painfully aware of how much West Virginia and the nation depend upon them. That hasn’t stopped many of them from discouraging their children from working in the mines, though. They want them to go to college instead, and avoid falling into the trap of working in a coal mine. These men are all too aware of the fact that every day, they risk never seeing the outside of the mine again.

With this episode, Spurlock has provided a great opportunity to hear what coal miners really think about the industry as well. One miner commented that it’s about time to start using other sources of energy, and that coal miners aren’t stupid – they just can’t pass up the high pay in an area that doesn’t provide any other opportunities. “You’ve got to do something to raise a family.”

The show raises the important point that coal is destined to be a thing of the past as the world looks toward cleaner sources of energy. Wouldn’t it be great to provide these coal miners with safer jobs that won’t give them cancer or leave their families without a husband and father? Imagine if new, renewable energy industries set up shop in places like West Virginia to give these people a new life – a life without coal. In the meantime, more restrictions need to be in place to protect miners and the environment. It may take a long time, but we can only hope that the future holds better things for these people and the rest of the nation.

30 Days airs on FX Tuesdays at 10pm.

Link [Hulu]

Welcome to the Black Hole of Despair: High Oil Prices Cause Resurgence in Coal Mining

Sigh. This is not good, people. Just when you think the high price of oil will force people to turn to greener sources of energy, they turn back to the tried and true. As if afraid to give new forms of energy a shot, demand is back up for dirty, dirty coal. This is not going to be easy.

The New York Times has it:

But after decades of seemingly terminal decline, Japan’s coal country is stirring again. With energy prices reaching record highs — oil settled above $135 a barrel on Thursday — Japan’s high-cost mines are suddenly competitive again, and demand for their coal is booming. Production has jumped to its highest in nearly four decades, creating a sensation rarely felt in these mining communities: hope.

Soaring commodity prices have had distorting effects across the global economy, driving up food prices and prompting fears of future energy shortages. But they have been an unanticipated boon to the coal producing regions of countries like Japan that had written off coal mining as a relic of the Industrial Revolution.

Please, Oh Flying Spaghetti Monster, don’t let this turn into a worldwide trend. This would send us backward in our progress toward a greener planet. Where high oil prices could have spurred increased funding and interest in wind energy, solar power and other renewable forms of energy, we’re increasing carbon output. How incredibly stupid. Perhaps the human race is hell-bent on destroying itself, after all.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user mangpages