| It's time to face facts. Decimating our mountains and streams through the mountain top removal method of coal extraction is something real mountaineers would never dream of doing. It's a no-win situation for the citizens of our state who love its rich heritage, as all the coal in WV will be carried away in the next 14 years.
What will we have left when our mountains have been scraped flat, our wilderness gone and our streams polluted? Fortunately there are some real mountaineers willing to put up a last ditch fight. But they won't be using long rifles to win this. The 21st century mountaineer will instead rely on networking as their weapon and information as their ammo.
The Rally for Green Jobs and Healthy Mountains was a successful "call to arms", networking among West Virginia's progressive leaders and reaching out through the miracle of Al Gore's internet. Plus, the traditional media showed up in force to help let the world know that there's a perfectly green source of energy which will provide far more of our nation's energy needs over time than our coal will produce. And, as a bonus, it will also provide far more jobs than mountain top removal can guarantee, not just over the short term but over the long haul as well!
At the rally, Coal River Mountain Wind Project Coordinator Rory McIlmoil cited conclusive studies indicating the great potential for "green" jobs created by implementing alternative energy. (click here to see photo)
Julian Martin, Vice President for State Affairs, WV Highlands Conservancy spoke on behalf of a coal mining resident of Colcord WV who is dead set against mountain top removal. (click here to see photo)
Sally Shepherd, president of WVBioFuels/Renewables (contact: shepherdsally@hotmail.com), and daughter Lida, Code Pink WV peace campaign organizer both showed their enthusiastic support of the proposed Raleigh/ Boone County wind project which would be the biggest in the eastern United States, potentially providing power to 150,000 residences. (click here to see photo)
Kathryn Stone, Seneca 2 activist, watched as local media vans arrived to cover the event. (click here see photo)
Lorelei Scarbro Coal River Mountain Wind Project's Community Organizer is interviewed by local TV news media. Ms. Scarbro is a mountaineer in the truest sense of the word, not only living here in WV all her life, but a Rock Creek resident whose grandfather, father, and husband all deep mined coal. She's a fighting mountaineer who knows mountain top removal has already "done in" one fifth of our mountains, and that coal barons intend to flatten them all just to take the coal. (click here to see photo)
Larry Gibson, Keeper of the Mountains and Jesse Johnson, Green Party Candidate for Governor of WV both agree that green jobs are the only way to preserve our mountain heritage and its wilderness. Larry Gibson stated that although some folks want to fuss about wind turbines killing bats and birds, they seem to want to ignore the fact that scraping our mountains flat kills everything. Not just in our forests but in our streams as well. He also pointed out that if you don't like a windmill, you can always take it down, but you can't bring back a mountain once you've killed it. (click here for photo)
Malayka Knapp-Smith, Treasurer for WV Progressive Democrats observed that only one candidate for WV governor seemed interested enough in providing green jobs and preserving the mountains to attend the rally. (click here for photo)
Appalachian Voices recently contracted the world renown WindLogics engineering firm to analyze the data and they found that 220 turbines could fit along the ridges of Coal River Mountain. So,
* Wind energy will last longer and provide more tax revenue for the state than coal.
* Wind energy is cleaner.
* Jobs could be provided longer.
* Natural habitat could be preserved and streams wouldn't be polluted.
Fight for the mountains. This is a dire situation. Fight for clean renewable energy and green jobs for WV. Sign sign the petition and tell your neighbors its important for them to do the same.
Because the difference between a real mountaineer and a fan is that one loves the mountains enough to fight to preserve them, while a fan just blows.
(click here for a photo of a real group of 21st century fightin' mountaineers!)
Click HERE to see entire rally album
All Photos Provided Courtesy of
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