News
I Love Mountains Day: Marchers Vote for a Bright Future
Tuesday, February 18th, 2014
Update from KFTC.org
Hundreds of KFTC members and friends braved the cold and warnings of winter storms to march and rally in Frankfort, KY for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth’s ninth annual I Love Mountains Day on February 12.
Folks gathered at the Kentucky River and marched up Capitol Avenue to the familiar chants of “Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!” and “Whose mountains? Our mountains!”
Speakers drew parallels among communities in eastern Kentucky and other communities in Central Kentucky, Louisville, West Virginia and North Carolina that are dealing with the impacts of fossil fuels.
“We may live in different hollers, but we share the same story of environmental injustice,” said keynote speaker Teri Blanton, a Harlan County native and longtime KFTC leader who is a member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the EPA.
“It’s time for us to write a new story,” Blanton said. “Let’s create a new energy revolution in this state, a New Power revolution.”
Blanton called on elected leaders to:
- Invest in a new economy and a just transition in eastern Kentucky.
- Protect the health of people in eastern Kentucky and stop the destruction, beginning with passing the Stream Saver Bill.
- Pass the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, which would establish benchmarks for renewable energy and energy efficiency and create 28,000 new jobs in Kentucky over the next ten years.
- Support the EPA and other regulatory agencies charged with protecting the land and people.
- Pass Senate Bill 14, which would limit the use of eminent domain in cases such as the proposed Bluegrass Hazardous Liquids Pipeline.
“We have to create the democracy that we all deserve,” Blanton said.
To read more about the powerful day of action, hear beautiful quotes from speakers and see some of the great media coverage, check out KFTC’s blog!
