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