Thursday, September 11th, 2008

September 11th, 2008 – The following email was sent to the 31,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here.

We urgently need your help — today.

We last wrote to tell you about an ambitious grassroots plan to save Coal River Mountain in West Virginia from mountaintop removal coal mining.

The plan calls for Coal River Mountain to become the site of a major wind farm facility — a facility that would demonstrate that our mountains can be preserved and can help meet our nation’s energy needs through the production of clean wind power.

But the Big Coal Company that has plans to blow the top off Coal River Mountain — Massey Energy — has since circumvented the law and altered their permits, and are set to begin blasting the mountain for coal today, September 10th.

If they are allowed to proceed, the blasting will eliminate some of the potential for the production of clean wind energy and the creation of good, green jobs on Coal River Mountain. And it will be harder for local residents to stop the continuation of the mining once it has started.

Can you contact West Virginia’s Governor Joe Manchin today, and ask him to issue a “stay of execution” for Coal River Mountain? He already knows that there is a real alternative to mountaintop removal at Coal River Mountain — but he needs to know that the state and the nation are watching him, and demanding that he act.

The best way to contact him is by calling 1-888-438-2731 — a sample message is included at the bottom of this email.

Alternately, click here to send a message to Governor Manchin via email:

http://www.coalriverwind.org/?page_id=119

We also need your help spreading the word about what is at stake. Please forward this email to your friends and family, and enourage them to watch the online video that explains the campaign to save Coal River Mountain. They can watch the video and learn more here:

http://www.coalriverwind.org/

Thank you for taking action today.

Mary Anne Hitt
iLoveMountains.org

PS If you plan to be in in West Virginia on September 16th, please consider joing a rally at the State Capitol. Click here for more info: http://www.coalriverwind.org/?page_id=117

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Sample letter

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Governor Manchin,

I am asking you to support the Coal River Wind Farm and halt blasting until you can look into this opportunity further. Massey Energy has issued notice for blasting at the site to begin today. Community members have requested for weeks that you put a freeze on the mountaintop removal mine and give citizens of West Virginia a chance to save Coal River Mountain.

Many people across southern West Virginia and across the United States were excited to learn recently that you are planning to make your case for renewable energy development in your upcoming “State of the State” speech, and that you have been publicly supporting the development of renewable energy in West Virginia in various speeches. During your 2008 State of the State address you pointed out “that the main ingredient to a successful energy future is sustainability” and encouraged the development of renewable energy like wind and solar. For this reason we hope you will be supportive of this landmark opportunity to put West Virginia on the renewable energy map.

Coal River Mountain in West Virginia has enough wind potential to provide electricity for over 150,000 homes and create 50 well-paying, good jobs, forever. The proposed wind farm would also help diversify the local economy in an area historically dependent upon sparse, temporary coal mining jobs. This opportunity depends upon the mountain being left intact.

We feel you could do no better than to highlight Coal River Mountain, and to lend your full support for the development of a utility-scale wind farm as an economically viable alternative to Massey’s proposed 6,000+ acre mountaintop removal operation that is currently planned for the mountain.

By supporting this project, you will show both the state and the nation that you are truly committed to diversifying West Virginia’s energy portfolio, and that you are willing to make tough choices in order to ensure the future of energy production and strong economy for the state and nation.

Citizens everywhere are concerned about the state of our economy and rising energy prices. Recent estimates produced by the U.S. Geologic Survey show that West Virginia has only 20-30 more years at which current levels of coal production in West Virginia can be maintained, so the time to begin developing these alternative energy sources is now, for as remaining coal runs out, the price of electricity will skyrocket.

However, we have a new and better option, and we are asking that you lend your full support for this project based on its long-term economic, social and environmental benefits, especially as they compare positively to the short-term benefits and long-term costs that will result from proposed strip-mining operations.

Governor Manchin, the choice is yours, and we hope that you make the right one Â- for the residents of Coal River Mountain, for West Virginia, and for the nation.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Hometown, State]

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