This is a personal account, written by Megan Naylor, student at Appalachian State University and superstar volunteer for Appalachian Voices. She became motivated to help end mountaintop removal when she visited Larry Gibson at his home on Kayford Mountain in West Virginia to documented the process and effects of mountaintop removal. Larry Gibson is a hero in the movement to end mountaintop removal mining. He has been able to protect 50 acres of his land which is surrounded by a 7000 acre mountaintop removal mine, which he uses as a education center for visitors from all across the country. He has been a victim of violence on his property and we are raising funds for a security system to protect him and visitors to Kayford Mountain.

As Earth Day nears I can’t help but remember the first time I had the pleasure to meet Larry Gibson. This “Keeper of the Mountains” introduced me to the ugly truth regarding destruction of the Appalachian Mountains fueled by greed.

Two months after contacting Larry, I found myself driving up the steep dirt road leading to his cabin and wondered what to expect. I planned my trip based on only a few conversations with him over a bad phone connection.

When we first met he was in overalls, grinning from ear to ear as he welcomed me, shaking my hand midstride while simultaneously insisting I make myself at home.
In his terms that meant filling my plate high with samples from covered dishes fresh from the oven of family and friends gathering to hear him talk about the mountains.

Over the next two days in a humble but unwavering tone he shared not just his story but also his home and heart with me. Larry, with his dog Bear in tow, opened my eyes and inspired me to make a difference.

I’ll never forget him showing me where a spring once bubbled up from the earth behind his cabin and talking about how different things had became when one day the spring simply stopped.

He walked me between neat lines of headstones in the only family graveyard he had left on his land. Small American flags placed into the ground fluttered in the breeze as he pointed to a pile of rubble in the distance marking where his family’s other graveyard had once stood before it was blown up to access the coal seams beneath.

It made me realize how blessed I am and how precious life is. To me Larry is an image of solidarity in a sometimes uncertain world. He continues to inspire me as he has thousands of others.

He ask everyone he meets: “What do you hold so dear that you don’t have a price on it? For me it is these mountains, and we must fight for them.”

Larry does not ask people to help end mountaintop removal, he insists on it.

I hope everyone can join us on Earth Day to raise the funds Larry needed to get the security system needed to make him and Kayford Mountains safe. If you can’t join us, donate. You could win a Vespa scooter!

Dig deep and come party for a good cause. Hope to see you there.

The best way to start a Monday is with good news, and this week we have that in triplicate.

Last week, three new co-sponsors signed on to H.R. 1310, the Clean Water Protection Act, a historic bill to protect our water and bring an end to the harmful effects of mountaintop removal mining valley fills. Representatives John Adler (D-NJ), Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) all signed on as co-sponsors, bringing the total number of representatives supporting the bill to 170.

Rep. John Adler is a 1st term Democrat from New Jersey 3rd District, and is the 168th member of the U.S. House of Representatives (including Rep. Pallone) to cosponsor the Clean Water Protection Act (HR1310). Rep. Adler serves on the Financial Services, and Veterans Affairs committee’s.

Rep. Stephen Lynch is a 5th term Democrat from Massachusetts 9th District and the 169th cosponsor of the Clean Water Protection Act.  Rep. Lynch serves on the Financial Services committee, and the Oversight and Government Reform committee where he is the chairman of the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia subcommittee.

Thanks to the hard work of our terrific activists in MA, and NJ including the “Jersey Girls!”

Rep. Martin Heinrich is a 1st term Democrat from New Mexico’s 1st District, and signed on as the 170th cosponsor.  Mr. Heinrich serves on the Armed Services, and Natural Resources committees.

Thanks go out to all of the great activists in the Albuquerque area!

To date, the Clean Water Protection Act has full delegations from MA (9), DC (1), CT (5), MA (10), VT (1), NH (2), ME (2), HI (2), and RI (2).

Read more about the Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 1310) and the Senate’s companion bill, the Appalachia Restoration Act ( S. 696) on iLoveMountains.org.

By Julie Johnson
An energetic supporter of initiatives that foster a positive future, Julie worked with Appalachian Voices from 2009-2011, first as a Communications Intern, then as Distribution Manager and freelance feature writer for The Appalachian Voice.

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The signs are clear; coal is simply not a good investment.
-Tom Sanzillo, report author

Billions of tax-payer dollars are funding the coal industry, according to an April 13 report from Synapse Energy Economics. The authors of “Phasing Out Federal Subsidies for Coal” call for G-20 countries, including the U.S., to provide lists of subsidies to be phased out by the end of June.

The report identifies four major areas of financial support that the federal government provides the coal industry. These include the financing of the World Bank and other financial institutions that fund coal companies, the U.S. Treasury backing of tax-exempt bonds for energy and electric sectors, U.S. Department of Agriculture loans and lein accommodations to power companies building new, coal-fired plants, and U.S. Department of Energy loans and tax credits.

“Investments in coal not only set us back in achieving a clean energy economy; they also put taxpayer dollars at risk,” says Tom Sanzillo, one of the report authors and former First Deputy Comptroller for the State of New York. The authors urge the federal government to adopt the necessary changes needed to move the nation towards a clean energy future. The report concludes “As regulatory policy changes, as financial circumstances change, so must the administrative financial policies of the federal government.”

Photo: Shane Evans, WV Legislature

Appalachian Voices continues to hold the families of Raleigh County in our thoughts and prayers. As we have said before, the loss of these courageous men saddens us deeply, and we continue to support the efforts of all who are working to ensure that no similar tragedy befalls our region again.

Unequivocally, our miners deserve safe working conditions, and indisputably, our communities deserve healthy living environments. Yet, the pervasive and imposing influence of reckless mining companies like Massey Energy are standing in the way. Companies that disregard safety and environmental regulations with such startling frequency are disregarding our people and our land. It’s time we showed them the door.

Is Surface Mining the Safe Alternative to Deep Mining?

There are some who will argue that surface mining is the safe alternative to deep mining, but it is important to recognize that Appalachians in communities where there is surface mining suffer tremendous costs. These costs are incurred as a result of increased flooding, “flyrock,” poisoned water, blasts, and coal dust among other factors. According to the Hendryx study, coal mining costs Appalachia $42 billion every year as a result of negative health impacts and loss of life.

Surface mining is not always safer for miners either. In 2009, more Americans were killed at our country’s surface mines than in our deep mines.

Can We Prevent This From Happening Again?

Every miner deserves the right to go home safely and retire healthy, but is this wishful thinking in such an inherently dangerous industry? Kevin Stricklin of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) believes we can do better. Referring to the Upper Big Branch tragedy, Stricklin notes, “all explosions are preventable,” after pointing out that “it’s quite evident something went very wrong here.”

Cecil Roberts, president of United Mine Workers of America, agrees: “Mine safety laws and regulations have progressed to the point where, when followed and properly enforced, they should prevent disasters like this one at Upper Big Branch from happening.” Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine was not unionized.

Certainly, when any miner takes a job, there are certain risks. Still, these risks should never be amplified by a company’s disregard for its workers’ safety. In order to prevent another tragedy our miners need safety regulations that are enforced in Appalachia. They need these immediately.

Thinking long term, job diversification is critical. Men and women in our region need employment opportunities beyond those offered by law evading, union busting, companies such as Massey. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, we could create 15,000 jobs a year for five years by investing in energy efficiency. Even West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall has said he agrees that we should prioritize green jobs development.

There’s no better time than now. As Ed Markey, Democratic Representative from Massachusetts and co-author of the House approved climate-change bill, has pointed out: “Last year, coal’s share of America’s electricity generation dropped from 49 percent to 44 percent due to increased competition and decreased demand.”

Today, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin has called for a “Day of Honor and Mourning” in which all 290 underground mines in the state have been asked to halt production for a day. We encourage you support families who have their lost loved ones by sending a donation to the West Virginia Council of Churches.

As the issue of mountaintop removal receives more attention, the focus has increasingly grown to include the people and communities affected by this mining practice. Time Magazine recently did a piece about a mining town that was bought out by Massey Energy, and now for all intents and purposes, no longer exists. This a story that is not all that uncommon in the coalfields, as coal companies find it easier to turning Appalachian towns into ghost towns than to make these communities livable.

Sophie Yan writes, “In Lindytown, most area residents are long gone. They tell TIME they were muscled out of their homes by Massey, whose representatives pursued them aggressively, phoning and visiting often. By acquiring property in the area, the company has expanded operations — literally into remaining residents’ backyards,” “Appalachia Journal: When Miners Move in, Residents Move On.”

Sometimes, instead of pushing people out of communities, Big Coal just ignores the pending dangers that come with their operations. Marsh Fork Elementary School in Raleigh County, West Virginia is located downhill from one of Massey Energy’s slurry impoundments and approximately 300 feet from a coal silo. If the impoundment were to burst, the 240 children that go to the school would have only a few minutes to evacuate. For years, the citizens of Marsh Fork have been petitioning to have the school moved to a safer location.

After significant pressure, Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship agreed to pledge $1 million to help fund the $8 million project to construct a new Marsh Fork Elementary School.

“And I would dare to say that the Coal River area has produced more millions, maybe billions of dollars in coal severance tax than anywhere in this state,” school board president Richard Snuffer, the school board president, said. “So it’s time they probably got a little bit back.”

West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, who has been more critical of the coal industry as of late, applauded Massey’s decision. “This is a welcome and good start by officials at Massey Energy in announcing their pledge of $1 million for the construction of a new $8.6 million Marsh Fork Elementary School,” said Byrd. “….These children are our future and it is my hope that all the necessary funds will be made available to construct a relocated Marsh Fork Elementary School soon.”

After intense pressure from Ohio Citizen Action, and other constituents, Senator Sherrod Brown from the coal state of Ohio officially became the 11th cosponsor of SB 696, the Appalachia Restoration Act, which would help to end mountaintop removal mining. When Sherrod Brown was serving as the Representative in Ohio’s 13th district up till 2005, he a cosponsor of the Clean Water Protection Act, a somewhat similar bill in the House of Representatives.

Mr. Brown serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry committee where he is the chair of the Hunger, Nutrition, and Family Farms subcommittee; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee where he is the chair of the Economic Policy subcommittee, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, Select Committee on Ethics, and the Veterans’ Affairs committee.

If you live in Ohio, call and thank him at (202)-224-4024. If your one of your Senators is not a cosponsor yet, please take action today and ask him or her to become one today.

By Julie Johnson
An energetic supporter of initiatives that foster a positive future, Julie worked with Appalachian Voices from 2009-2011, first as a Communications Intern, then as Distribution Manager and freelance feature writer for The Appalachian Voice.

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“Our legislation is needed to end [mountaintop removal] before its destruction is so expansive that the Appalachian region can never recover,” said Senator Lamar Alexander in a recent article for Nashville newspaper The Tennessean.

Senator Alexander said that Tennessee’s natural beauty attracts millions of tourists, generating employment and economic opportunities in the state. Blowing off mountain tops and burying streams with blast debris would harm this industry as well as the health of Tennesseans and their environment.

Senator Alexander, along with Senator Ben Cardin from Maryland introduced SB 696, the Appalachia Restoration Act, a bill in the U.S. Senate that would stop valley fills, the practice of disposing of blast rubble and waste in waterways. The bill currently has 11 cosponsors.

“Coal is an essential part of our energy future,” Senator Alexander said, “but it is not necessary to destroy our mountaintops and streams in order to have enough coal.” Read the full article.

Appalachian Voices would like to express our deepest sympathy for the families who have lost loved ones in the mining explosion at the Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, WV. These families, and indeed, the whole community will be changed forever. Long after the camera crews and the TV pundits have packed up and headed out on Highway 3, this Appalachian mourning will continue.

The courage of every coal miner is commendable not just in times of sorrow and death, but every day. It is easy to forget the sacrifice of coal miners, whose loss of life and limb happens with alarming frequency both at home and overseas. Our hope is that stronger safety laws are enacted and that current laws are enforced as a consequence of this tragedy. All people, including those working in dangerous professions like coal mining, should have the opportunity to work in a safe and healthy environment.

The communities who are living with this tragedy need our help today. We highly encourage you to send a donation to the West Virginia Council of Churches to help support these families as they work to rebuild their lives again.

Text of the President’s Remarks

Now, let me say a few words about what has happened in West Virginia.

This has been an unimaginably difficult week for the people who live near Montcoal. Thirty-one workers were inside the Upper Big Branch mine when an explosion ripped through its walls on Monday afternoon. Two were saved. Twenty-five were lost. And for the four who remain missing, we are praying for a miracle.

I want to offer my deepest condolences to the friends and the families of the fathers and the husbands and brothers, nephews and sons who were killed in this accident. I’m also in awe of the courage and selflessness shown by the rescue teams who’ve risked their lives over and over and over this week for the chance to save another. They’ve worked around the clock, with little sleep, for the past few days, and this nation owes them a debt of gratitude.

Now, mining has a long and proud history in West Virginia. For many families and communities, it’s not just a way to make a living; it’s a way of life. And the jobs they do in these mines help bring heat and electricity to millions of Americans.

It’s a profession that’s not without risks and danger, and the workers and their families know that. But their government and their employers know that they owe it to these families to do everything possible to ensure their safety when they go to work each day.

When I was in the Senate, I supported the efforts of Senators Byrd and Rockefeller to try and improve mine safety, but it’s clear that more needs to be done. And that’s why I’ve asked my Secretary of Labor as well as the head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration to give me a preliminary report next week on what went wrong and why it went wrong so badly, so that we can take the steps necessary to prevent such accidents in the future.

Because mining is a tradition that’s often passed down through generations, it’s not uncommon to see an entire family choose this line of work. And sadly, when a tragedy like this occurs, it’s also not uncommon to lose almost an entire family all at once.

I spoke to some surviving members of one such family on Wednesday. This week, Tim Davis, and two of his nephews, Josh, age 25, and Cory, age 20, were killed in the explosion in the Upper Big Branch mine.

Rescuers have reported that Tim and his two nephews were all found together. Two other members of their families that worked in the mine were able to escape unharmed.

Before he left for the mine on Monday, Josh wrote a letter for his girlfriend and young daughter. And in it, he said, “If anything happens to me, I’ll be looking down from heaven at you all. I love you. Take care of my baby. Tell her that daddy loves her, she’s beautiful, she’s funny. Just take care of my baby girl.”

Reflecting on that letter, and the losses she endured in just one week, Josh’s mother Pam simply said, “It is just West Virginia. When something bad happens, we come together.” When something bad happens, we come together.

Through tragedy and heartache, that’s the spirit that has sustained this community, and this country, for over 200 years. And as we pray for the souls of those we’ve lost, and the safe return of those who are missing, we are also sustained by the words of the Psalm that are particularly poignant right now. Those words read: “You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.” Thank you very much.

Mar-May Issue
Abingdon Scouting trip: April 14 – 1 bundle
Tableing Charlotte E-day event: April 17 – 50
Bay’s Mtn E-day fest: April 17 – 50
Larry Gibson event: April 22 – 1 bundle
Sewanee/Summertown trip: April 30 – May 2 – 1 bundle
Trail Days Damascus: May 14-16 – 3 bundles
Spindale Goat Festival: May 22 – 1 bundle (I’m going to do interviews for goat husbandry article… home of WNCW, might scout some locations in Sylva)
Mo to Blacksburg – taking 1 bundle

Total Bundles goin out before next issue: 9
Bundles in Archives: 2

Daniel Stone published a piece on coal and energy over Newsweek’s “The Gaggle” called “West Virginia Mine Disaster Unlikely to Affect National Energy Debate“. David Roberts at Grist responded to Energy Committee Staffer Bill Wicker for a quote he had in the article, and its well worth the read. But the article was so full of mis-information and false pretexts, that I wanted to spend some pixels correcting a few things, beginning with this paragraph:

Coal is the one fuel that powers most of what we do. It accounts for 49 percent of American power consumption, and as demand for power increases while the cost of alternatives (wind, solar, biofuels) remains high, coal is poised to play a bigger, not smaller, role in our energy landscape. To put it more crassly, the cost of coal is just too cheap. A kilowatt hour of coal power costs about $0.04, less than a third of renewables.

Facts:
A) For 2009, coal provided just 44.6% of electricity, not the 49% Stone suggests (likely from the 2008 data.) If you are looking at “energy” then it is 22-23%, much less.

B) Saying that coal is poised to play a “bigger” role is ridiculous. Coal is declining, particularly production in Central Appalachia. It has been declining for the past two decades and is projected to continue downward. But not only that. It is getting deeper, thinner, and of less quality. The heat content is in decline as well, meaning that it takes more tons of coal to produce the same amount of electricity.

C) Delivered costs of coal are wildly different in different locations and in different coal plants. Central Appalachian coal (like that in West Virginia) is the most expensive coal on the domestic market.

D) Again, everything is location specific when it comes to price. But when you look at Coal V Renewables, Stone uses ballpark figures for the cost of a coal plant that is already built, but renewables that are not yet built. If you are looking at building a new coal plant vs investing in renewables, the two are cost competitive (EIA). In fact, except for solar, nothing even doubles the cost of coal, and thats without CCS.

E) The deeper we go for thinner seams of less quality coal, the more expensive central Appalachian coal gets and the more competitive natural gas, wind, geothermal, or biomass may look. The same is true for safety regulations. Coal companies fight them tooth and nail because safety isn’t free. This has an impact on energy policy. You can’t look at mining safety in a vacuum.

Secondly, I am concerned that many in the news media continually fails to appreciate the sacrifice of coal miners, whose deaths occur with alarming frequency both at home and overseas. Mr. Stone continues…

The reason safety isn’t included [in the cost of energy] is because accidents—from mine cave-ins to oil-rig deaths—don’t happen often enough for safety to become a formidable factor in the national discussion on our energy future. What’s more, the playing field isn’t all that tilted. Despite a bad week for coal miners, wind has also been fatal—14 men were killed working with wind energy in the mid-’90s, and more since, according to wind-industry analyst Paul Gipe. Not to mention the risks posed by nuclear. While most sectors have undergone regulation over the past few years to root out dangerous components, the reality is that all energy sectors are still risky in many ways.

Facts:
A) Mining accidents happen all the time in the US. Over 300 people have died mining coal in the United States just in the last decade, nearly always exceeding 20 per year. Its just that there isn’t always media saturation. Over 51,000 people have died mining coal in China in the same time period. Thats more than 3600 times the numbers that have been “killed by wind” in just one country and in half the time span.

B) Speaking of which, Mr. Stone uses MONSTROUS false equivalency regarding the different energy sectors. He says 14 people were killed working with wind energy in the mid-90s? What does that even mean? First of all, Gipe’s numbers are worldwide. That doesn’t even compare to the number of deaths from mining and processing coal in the United States alone. 18 people died mining coal in the US just last year, and that was a “great” year. In the last century over 100,000 people have died mining coal in the US.

C) You can’t look at energy in a vaccum. Policy makers certainly don’t. Look at the externalized cost of what is happening to coal communities, particularly in Appalachia. Not only has coal had a negative impact on endemic Appalachian poverty, but the health costs are estimated to be more than $42 billion every year due to health impacts and life lost. There is no cost comparison. There is no risk comparison.

Who opposes coal miners?

No one except the crazy, misguided people at Westboro Baptist Church – who are currently bringing their hate parade to your corner of West Virginia.

Appalachian Voices condemns these lunatics and anyone else who would use this tragedy as some sort of opportunity to denigrate the incredible sacrifice and service that coal miners have given to their communities, their states, and their country.

We said it yesterday, but it bears repeating:

There ought be a monument to America’s coal miners in every town and city in the United States. As Jeff Goodell says, coal helped the US win two world wars and build the strongest national economy the world has ever seen. But, Appalachia can no longer be a national sacrifice zone. Our miners, our mountains, and our communities are non-negotiable.