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The H.O.R.N.
Join us at Marsh Fork Elementary School in Raleigh County for music, fiery speakers, a little street theatre and more. Speakers will promote sustainable solutions for the future of West Virginia such as the Coal River Wind Project which is right across the river from the School. After the speakers, march with us as we leave the school grounds and head a very short ways up the road, to Goals Coal Prep Plant, where we will attempt to deliver a letter of demands to Massey Energy regarding this facility, which threatens the school kids.
Dr. James Hansen, a leading climate scientists and environmental hero, will join us in attempting to deliver the letter! Expect to see one of West Virginia's favorite Raging Grannies Winnie Fox as well as 94-year-old former US Representative Ken Hechler as they move to deliver the letter. A couple of celebrities may show up too, though plans were still in the works.
Click Here for directions to Marsh Fork Elementary
Maria has work at the local state and federal levels to stop MTR. Maria has worked at every level to end MTR, from organizing trainings and community meetings in Boone County to meeting with top state and federal officials in her 7 years of activism.
This is the second time a woman from southern WV won the award for working to end mountaintop removal. CRMW's Judy Bonds won the award in 2003.
Learn more about Maria and the Goldman Prize.
The study commissioned at the end of last summer to compare the economics of a wind farm vs. a strip mine on Coal River Mountain was released today. The main message of the report is that the private landholding companies and mine companies benefit from the strip mining while the people living in the community and the county government benefits more from the wind farm. In fact, the annual taxes that will go to the county from the wind farm will be $1,740,000 while the severance taxes that will go to Raleigh County from the Surface mine will be $36,000. And that 1.7 million will be annual forever. The $36,000 from the mining will last only 17 years.
Another interesting conclusion from the report is that when externalities such as increased hospitalization in areas with coal mining are factored in, the strip mining isn't profitable. During the 17 year life of the surface mine, the revenue will be -$600 Million. That's Negative $600,000,000. The wind farm by itself is profitable every year when externalities are factored in.
Go to CoalRiverWind.org to download the report and learn more!
Check Out Our Photo Gallery For PowerShift 09 & Capital Climate Action 09
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The Stream Buffer Zone rule has been in effect since 1983 to protect the nation's headwater streams from being buried by valley fills from mountaintop removal and radical strip mining. The current law requires that the impacts of mining be kept at least 100 feet from a stream. This regulation is often ignored in West Virginia where mine companies get "Variances" for this rule. In August of 2007 the Bush Administration and the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE) proposed a change to the law that would remove what little protection this rule offered.
In October 2008, after the OSMRE received over 43,000 comments opposing this rule change, we learned that the proposal has been moved out of the OSMRE and must be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency before it can be published into law. Once again, we can work to stop this rule-change by asking the EPA to reject it and stand up for mountains, clean water, and healthy communities.
Send a Strong message to the EPA that we demand clean water!
