Archive for November, 2012
Great news this morning in the continued fight to protect Blair Mountain:
Groups Continue Fight to Keep West Virginia Historic Site on the National Register of Historic Places
Logan County, WV – A coalition of historic preservation, labor history and environmental protection organizations filed an appeal today in a renewed effort to restore West Virginia’s Blair Mountain Battlefield to the National Register of Historic Places.
Today’s appeal challenges an October 2, 2012 ruling in a U.S. District court that declined to address these organizations’ claims that Blair Mountain was unlawfully removed from the National Register of Historic Places. The groups contend that the National Park Service’s December 2009 decision to de-list Blair Mountain – which was, in 1921, the site of the largest insurrection in the United States since the Civil War, as coal miners clashed with law enforcement over the right to unionize – was arbitrary, capricious and contrary to the National Park Service’s own guidelines.
In October, the court concluded that the groups lacked legal standing to challenge the National Register de-listing because there was insufficient proof of an imminent threat of coal mining at the site. This decision ignored abundant evidence that coal mining companies continue to seek permits to mine the battlefield and continue to block efforts to list Blair Mountain on the National Register.
“With the exception of the Civil War, the Blair battle is the largest insurrection in U.S. history,” said Regina Hendrix of the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “We cannot let this rich, undisturbed, site be wiped away forever. The area is a vital part of U.S. labor history. The archaeological record waiting to be explored will clearly show the places where the battle occurred, as well as the intensity of the battle at different sites. The archaeological record has lain dormant for 90 years along the Spruce Fork Ridge from Blair Mountain to Mill Creek and it cries out for our protection.”
“Blair Mountain stands as a center-piece of American labor history and West Virginia culture,” said Kenny King, a lifelong resident of Blair and member of the Board of Friends of Blair Mountain. “The courageous resistance of ten thousand striking coal miners in 1921 was an outcry for basic human rights. Blair Mountain must not fall to the insatiable greed of the coal industry but rather stand as a monument that honors the gains for which those miners sacrificed their lives and livelihoods. Never before, nor since have so many American workers taken up arms to fight for their constitutional rights. Blair Mountain, West Virginia stands not only as a reminder of our proud history, but also as a living symbol of hope for all who seek justice.”
“I’ve lived in Blair for over 50 years, it is my home and the mountain is my back yard,” said longtime resident of Blair West Virginia, Carlos Gore. “For our sake, and the sake of our history, the battlefield needs to be preserved so that future generations can understand what happened here and why it’s so important to be remembered.
“This ruling creates a no-win situation for preservationists and environmentalists fighting to protect the Blair Mountain battlefield and America’s labor history,” explained David Brown, executive vice president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Unless this decision is reversed, we would be prevented from taking action to protect this significant place until after coal mining has already begun, at which time irreparable damage would no longer be avoidable.”
“Blair Mountain is an important part of my family’s history, “said Julian Martin of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. “My grandfather and great uncle fought at Blair Mountain in 1921 on the side of the United Mine Workers of America. It would be a huge loss for Blair Mountain to be unprotected from mountain top removal strip mining.”
—
Background: The battle for Blair Mountain is a central event in labor history in the United States and certainly one of the best known of the many labor struggles in West Virginia. The actual site of the battle is a key part of our history and should be preserved for our children’s children to visit and explore. After many nominations and revisions the site was finally listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009, only to be de-listed nine months later in a move that the coalition believes was unlawful. Since Federal coal mining laws provide strong protection for sites actually listed on the National Register, removing Blair Mountain from the Register puts the future of this important place at risk.
Groups involved in this appeal are the Sierra Club, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Friends of Blair Mountain, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, the West Virginia Labor History Association and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
No comments yet » Leave your own...
During a campaign season in which climate change featured most prominently as a laugh line at the Republican National Convention, the low point was when CNN’s Candy Crowley addressed “all you climate people” in her explanation of why climate didn’t come up during the presidential debates. Who knew that human disruption of the global climate had become such a narrow, provincial concern?
But there’s important information in the fact that a senior reporter for a major network could dismiss climate change as essentially a special interest issue. It’s evidence, if more were needed, that “all us climate people” got our butts kicked in the battle for the narrative in the 2012 election.
And like the Republican Party, which is now undergoing the usual soul searching that follows a big electoral defeat, those of us who believe that inaction on climate is the greatest threat facing our civilization (never mind the economy) have some serious soul searching to do about our own defeat, which occurred long before any votes were counted.
Crowley’s explanation was consistent with the conventional wisdom on why the president didn’t make climate an issue. Because it was an “Economy election” and everyone in the DC press must accept that government action on climate change could do serious harm to the economy (because “it’s become part of the culture,” even if it’s not true), any discussion of climate policy by the president would have been off-message and worked against his chances for re-election.
The unconventional wisdom, popular among “climate people,” is that the Obama campaign failed to recognize the high level of popular support for action on climate change and missed a golden opportunity to seize a winning wedge issue when they chose the more politically expedient route of ignoring it.
There’s probably some truth to both of these explanations, but here’s a third one that is particularly useful in the context of a presidential election: the campaigns avoided talking about climate policy because they believed that raising the issue would be harmful in a few swingy areas of key swing states that would likely decide the election.
Look, it’s tempting to point to all the national polls showing popular support for climate policy and say, “climate is a winning campaign issue.” But a political strategist would find nothing useful in those polls because campaigns are not won by appealing to the sentiments of the average American. Similarly, when a presidential candidate is speaking to a national audience, it’s easy to believe they are speaking to us — all of us. But they’re not. By and large, the candidates’ speeches are written to appeal to a handful of undecided voters in a few swing states, with just enough partisan red meat thrown in to motivate the party base to volunteer for the campaign and turn out to vote.
Americans understand that those swingy areas are the “tail that wags the dog” of our national elections but don’t necessarily think about the logical conclusion of that fact; the concerns and attitudes of swing voters in swing states are the “tail that wags the dog” of campaign messages, media coverage, and thus public understanding of what issues are important in the campaign.
The problem is fossil fuel interests have figured out how to wag that dog. They know they can’t win public opinion nationally, but by focusing resources in key areas of swing states such as Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, they can frame the local discussion of climate policy and environmental regulations to their advantage (i.e., as a “Job-killing war on coal“) and essentially neutralize those issues at the national level — at least during the election season.
If the Obama campaign’s pre-election polling looked anything like the maps of election results in coal-mining regions of southwestern Virginia and southern Ohio, it’s easy to imagine strategists telling the president, “Don’t exacerbate this ‘war on coal’ thing or it could hurt us in swing states” (see map):
(more…)
1 Comment » Leave your own...
Editor’s Note: Wendy Johnston is a sixth generation West Virginian from Mercer County and the granddaughter and great granddaughter of coal miners. Her post is the second in a series of guest blogs coinciding with our “No More Excuses” campaign on iLoveMountains.org, where we ask impacted Appalachians why President Obama should make ending mountaintop removal a priority in his second term. We’re happy to feature her story here.
***
“Oh the West Virginia hills how majestic and how grand, with their summits bathed in glory like our Prince Emmanuel’s land. Is it any wonder then that my heart with rapture fills, as I stand once more with loved ones on those West Virginia hills?”
That is a verse from the state song of West Virginia. As a child I can remember feeling so proud every time I sang this song. As a college student living away from my family this song made me feel closer to the hills that seemed so very far away, and as a young mother just moving home after a long absence I could not wait to teach my children the song that would be their state song. Little did I know that one day the words to this song may not be true, that our majestic mountain summits would someday be destroyed and that even our loved ones gone on before us would have their resting places disturbed.
Mountaintop removal has put in jeopardy more than just those mountain summits though. This form of mining has destroyed entire communities, poisoned water systems, polluted our air and caused one of the largest health emergencies in our nation’s history.
I live on a 168-acre farm in southern West Virginia, I look at beautiful mountains every day, it would be easy to pretend that mountaintop removal does not exist. I cannot see the destruction of the mountains and I cannot hear the blasting that many fellow Appalachians live with daily, but I can feel this very real and horrendous disaster in my heart and if I drive just a short distance from my home I can see and hear it as well.
I have chosen not to ignore this terrible thing that has come to our mountains. I have chosen to bring attention to this crime against the people of Appalachia, a crime against the earth and a crime against the future of clean water in America. I spend a significant amount of time educating others about the ill-effects of mountaintop removal. I have visited classrooms in our local schools and have addressed service groups who come to Appalachia from other states. My parents, my children and my husband are all involved in some way in our movement to end the blasting of mountains and communities. Making Appalachia a healthy and prosperous region is very important to me. I volunteer with several organizations that are active in this movement and hope that my work has helped to educate others.
As we enter a new era in the history of the United States I want to implore our President to visit Appalachia on more than just a campaign stop. Come and visit with people who live in the community of Twilight, W.Va., which is barely hanging on to its very existence. I implore him to visit the town of Appalachia, Va., where mountaintop removal has destroyed the mountains all around the town and people breathe poisoned air from the daily blasting of the mountains above them. I beg him to visit McDowell County, W.Va., where the largest amount of coal has been removed over the last 100 years of any county in state, but where the people are among the poorest in the nation. I implore him to visit Prenter Hollow, W.Va., a where there is a huge percentage of citizens dealing with cancer and many more whom have already passed away. The health concerns in Appalachia must be addressed by our state and national leaders. We must demand this as citizens of the Appalachian region.
But as citizens of the Appalachian region, we must also set our own example of how to build sustainable and healthy environments. If our state governments will not help us prepare for a greener and safer future then we must move ahead on our own. On our farm in southern West Virginia, my family raises a large portion of our own food and we also operate a vegetable CSA, providing vegetables for between 15 and 20 families each week. We raise beef cattle and sheep on a mostly grass fed diet and sell the meat from our farm. We are also involved in many other sustainable ventures, my husband repairs farm equipment and works as an auctioneer, my daughter and I operate an antique booth and sell collectible items online. In my state and in many other parts of Appalachia folks are planning ahead for a future not dependent on fossil fuels and the mono-economy created by the coal industry, and they are doing so without the help of their elected officials.
Appalachians provided for themselves for many years before the coal industry invaded their mountain communities and will be able to do so again. Our plea is this: please quit pitting neighbor against neighbor in a fabricated war against a finite resource, support our sustainable business ventures, invest in the future of our children so that they can stay in healthy Appalachian communities instead of moving away and address the results of health studies that show that the people living near mountaintop removal sites are some of the sickest in the nation.
We must move forward to provide clean air, clean water and healthy communities for everyone in our great nation.
1 Comment » Leave your own...
Editor’s Note: As part of the “No More Excuses” campaign on iLoveMountains.org, we asked people whose lives have been directly impacted by mountaintop removal coal mining to contribute their thoughts on why President Obama should make ending mountaintop removal a priority in his second term.
The first in the series is a reflection by Nick Mullins, who was born and raised in southwestern Virginia and, until recently, worked at an underground coal mine there. Nick is now studying at Berea College in eastern Kentucky and blogs on the web site he created, The Thoughtful Coal Miner.
What are the Appalachian Mountains? Are they simply huge mounds of dirt and rock covered by forests? Are they containers for vast resources of energy and wealth? To my family — who have called the Appalachian Mountains home for ten generations — the mountains are much, much more. The mountains are our life, our heritage and our happiness. They are our shelters, our providers of clean water. They are a place where community and being a neighbor is more than just living beside someone.
Unfortunately, there are also those who see our mountains only as a source of wealth, rather than as part of our homes and our culture. They see them as obstacles to profit, and the people of Appalachia as the labor resource to harvest it.
Every day more blasts are detonated and more miles of freshwater streams are destroyed by mountaintop removal mining operations in the mountains where I was raised. The clean water that families once depended upon is now and forever stained and polluted.
I always wanted my children to grow up as I had: close to the forests, away from crime and amongst friends and family living in a community that believes giving is better than receiving. But like many who grew up in Appalachia, I eventually fell victim to the belief that coal mining was the only way to earn a decent wage. Like my father, grandfathers, and great grandfather, I took a job working in an underground mine and hoped to feel at least some pride in my work. Sadly, I found that the pride and heritage of the Appalachian coal miner had been twisted and skewed, so much that men had become greedy, selfish and even willing to let their homes be destroyed in exchange for a large paycheck.
The problem is that those who reap the profits off our mountains have no respect for the people of Appalachia. The stereotype of the poor, backward, Appalachian hillbilly is used by the industry to make us seem somehow less valued as people. Therefore our homes, our mountains and fresh water resources become less important too. For instance, the coal industry’s response to a study showing high rates of birth defects in counties with mountaintop removal mining was: “The study failed to account for consanguinity, one of the most prominent sources of birth defects…”
Blaming birth defects in coal counties on consanguinity, which is the scientific term for “inbreeding,” is not only inaccurate according to research showing that inbreeding is no higher in Appalachia than in other parts of the country, but it exemplifies the wanton disrespect that these wealthy industrialists hold for the Appalachian people. It is yet another mold, cast of prejudice, designed to increase the expendability of our lives and land.
To add to such injustice, the industry spends millions on organizations to convince the coal miner and his family that all is well and that they are cared for by the industry. They preach that the coal miner’s livelihood and heritage is threatened not by their own destructive practices, but by a “War on Coal” that is supposedly perpetrated by ruthless and corrupt politicians backed by environmental “Greeniacs.”
Coal industry funded organizations such as “Coal Mining Our Future” and Coalfield Education Resource and Development, Inc. (CEDAR) teach our children that coal and coal mining will be the only option for life in the mountains. Children are made to feel pride for the profession, some of which drop out of high school to work in the coal mines and enjoy the lifestyle a high wage allows.
All the while more explosives level more mountains and destroy more water sources, decimating the future health and livelihoods of generations to come.
Many Appalachian people fail to see that the coal industry needs two resources to make a profit — coal and coal miners. They fail to see that industry officials are always working to ensure easy access to both resources in ways that decrease their overhead and increase their profits. Production is their almighty goal and they do not care if it takes pushing men to the brink of their own destruction as we saw at Upper Big Branch mine only two years ago.
Change must come to Appalachia before it is too late, and change can come. Future generations of Appalachia are not destined to work in the coal mines and run equipment that destroys the land as we do today.
In the 1990s, before coal prices rebounded and the coal industry fired back up, great progress was made towards diversifying our economy. Money was spent on bringing in technology jobs, building and rebuilding infrastructure, and attracting tourism. Today, that has slowed to a trickle with the influx of high paying coal jobs and those dollars were repurposed to train more coal miners, even though those jobs will not last within the cyclical nature of the coal industry.
It is time to take to take steps toward a better future, to turn Appalachia into the pinnacle of reconstruction. It is time to bring Appalachia to the forefront of technology and education. It is time to remind the people that they are not destined for the choice of either poverty and drug abuse or the paychecks and destroyed health that comes from mining coal.
There is life left in the mountains, there is heritage and culture to be found. For God’s sake let’s do something to preserve them and move ourselves forward!
No comments yet » Leave your own...
This week, the American people gave Barack Obama four more years to demonstrate his leadership of our nation. We congratulate the President on his victory, but also must hold him accountable to his promise to lead based on science and fact.
With that in mind, we’re reminding President Obama that there are no excuses to legitimize the destruction of the Appalachian Mountains — and there never have been.
Take Action Now and tell the President, No More Excuses, End Mountaintop Removal!
After he was elected in 2008, President Obama said:
“Science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation… It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient — especially when it’s inconvenient.”
But four years later, after more than 20 new scientific studies have been published linking mountaintop removal mining to health problems including significantly higher rates of cancer, heart disease and birth defects in Appalachia, the administration continues to approve permits for mountaintop removal mines.
To date, more than 100,000 people, including you, have pledged to end mountaintop removal coal mining. Now it’s time to make our voices even louder.
Join us today in sending a strong message to President Obama: No More Excuses, End Mountaintop Removal!
Over the next few months, as the president begins his second term and a new Congress comes to session, we will be ramping up our efforts to put a definitive end to mountaintop removal coal mining. But we can’t do it without you.
We know it won’t happen overnight, and that’s why we need you to recommit your efforts, recruit your friends and get involved like you never have before.
Stand up for the mountains and communities of Appalachia today.
10 Comments » Leave your own...
