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On Aug. 31, Blue Ridge Earth First! (BREF!) held actions in Blacksburg and Harrisonburg as part of a national day of action occurring in 22 United States' cities.
Over 25 people converged in front of the Blacksburg Bank of America office while account holders entered the bank and closed their accounts. In a separate action, an autonomous affinity group of BREF! hung a banner from the Virginia Tech chapel holding Bank of America responsible for its investments.
Since 2005, Bank of America has facilitated nearly $1 billion in loans to Massey Energy and Arch Coal, two companies heavily involved in mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining. MTR mining blasts the tops off mountains to get at thin seems of coal that lay beneath. If it continues unabated, MTR will decimate over 1.4 million acres of Appalachian forest and bury more than 1,200 miles of headwater streams by the decades' end. Even if "clean coal" technology was a reality, MTR coal can never be considered clean. Yet Bank of America also invests heavily in the construction of polluting coal fired power plants, escalating the rate of climate change.
History has demonstrated that non-violent, direct action is a necessary ingredient in every major social change. From the Boston Tea Party to the emancipation of slaves; from Jesus Christ, to Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and, recently, even Al Gore - non-violent direct action restores power back to the individual. Earth First! itself is grounded in these principles of deep ecology, direct action and no compromise. BREF! believes that it is time we as individuals put friction on dirty energy industries that rape our land and pollute our air. It is time we act as an equalizing force for the heavy subsidization that the existing infrastructure unjustly receives. It is time we put our mother earth first.
Alex Moffitt
Sophomore, University Studies
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So? I'd much rather have MTR done than to keep having miners get killed by mine shaft collapses. And until the environmentalists who keep holding up wind and solar projects get out of the way, we need the coal. If the environmentalists would take a few wind turbines and solar mirrors as the lesser of 2 evils and realize they make more sense, maybe we'd be getting somewhere.
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Mountain top removal isn't simply an environmental issue. It is a misconception that surface mining is safer than deep mining. Several people are killed every year working on strip-mines from errant blasting (flyrock) or from being ran over by ponderous equipment. More significantly, strip-mining pushes the danger onto the surrounding communities. It is a scientific fact that strip-mining increases flooding. In 2003, 13 people were killed in communities beneath strip-mines because of inordinate flooding. Also, strip-mining is a direct cause of acid mine drainage. When some underground rocks, like pyrhite, are exposed to air and water, they undergo a chemical change and release poisons into surface and ground waters. Furthermore, blasting can dislodge large rocks and push them over hills. For example, a 3 year old boy in Wise County was killed when a boulder was knocked over the mountain and into his bedroom. Mountain top removal is MUCH more dangerous than responsible underground mining. The underground mining accidents that DO happen result from poor safety conditions or sketchy mining practices. Retreat mining killed the miners in Utah--it is a very dangerous form of underground mining that collapses a mountain rather than blowing it up. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the possibility for another Buffalo Creek Disaster. Hundreds of people were killed when a sediment pond damn broke in 1972 in Logan County West Virginia. Sediment ponds collect coal sludge and runoff at the bottom of valley fills. The potential for another Buffalo Creek is unfortunately high. The point is Mountain top removal is very dangerous. Many people have been poisoned. Many homesteads have been destroyed.
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::gasp:: a bank giving out loans to unscrupulous companies! Oh no! What are we to do?! Name me one bank that can show that it has never invested in something considered wrong by a fringe group and I might just have to invest in them. Oh, and turn off your computer, you're polluting the earth....
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Its tragic that miners get killed in deep mines, but moutain top removal is literally driving away and poisoning entire communities. Come to the coal fields and see for yourself. MTR is only safer if you ignore the impacts that it has on the surrounding communities. And just fyi that last anti-wind bill that tried to make it through congress was championed by solidly pro-coal congressmen. So blaming slow development of wind on environmentalists is ridiculous. oh and over half of the people in West Virginia are opposed to Mountain Top Removal mining (according to a 2004 study by the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment). Thats a pretty big "fringe group." Thank you Earth First
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I hate to break this to you but your arguement lost all weight and credibility when you said that the emacipation of slaves was a non-violent direct action. Do you firmly stand by that statement? Is 250,000 lives lost not included in violent reform? I hate to break it to you but freeing slaves was not a peaceful ordeal. secondly I loved how many SUVS were in teh parking lots of those al gore save the earth concerts way to go guys...
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Chris, don't play the distraction game....this issue is real and YOU must deal with it as your generation will inherit this mess that we adults and some of you young adults are leaving...so get to work and take back your earth, your future. You are so busy looking at the "shiny objects" that you don't see that all of your resources are being used up and YOUR very NEEDS for basic life is being poisoned. Your generation can have clean air, clean water and ENERGY,,,but you have to get out of your seats and into the streets...do something...the adults and the politicians won't act until YOU force them to...YOU are the one that you have been waiting for.
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I think it's funny that I'm reading this letter (rarely check the CT site much anymore) after parking my car in the Massey Energy lot and plan on eating at their cafeteria later this week with a good friend of mine. Get rid of these mining practices and be prepared to spend 3-4 times as much on your electric bill at the end of the month. What will you be asking congress to do at that point? Instead of spending all your time at protests, why not go out and work, save up some money, and buy the land that these companies want to strip of trees. It's their land, they can do with it what they want. Class of 2005
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