Mountain Justice Blacksburg

Just wanted to remind everyone that the Mountaintop Removal Roadshow is TODAY (Wednesday), at 7:00pm in Randolph 216 on the VT campus.

The event will feature Dave Cooper and Hannah Morgan of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
(SAMS) and Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN).

Dominion Power is attempting to build what would become the 9th largest polluter in Virginia in
Wise County. This will spew thousands of tons of pollutants like mercury and C02 into the air
increasing premature deaths and contributing to Global Warming. It will also contribute to the
continued destruction of the Appalachians where over 470 mountains have been destroyed and 1200
miles of streams have been buried due to Mountaintop Removal. 25% of Wise County has already been
strip mined. Of course, the plant is not necessary to meet Virginia’s energy needs, nor will it do
do anything positive for the economy or jobs, outside of lining Dominion’s pockets. Unfortunately
for us, all the regulated government incentives for power production are geared in the favor of
coal companies. No wonder Virginia is LAST in the nation for per-capita spending on energy
efficiency by utilities.  Please come, and invite a friend.

Interested in learning about coal mining and its effects on Appalachian communities, carbon trading programs, climate change, and environmental justice?

If so, come out to an event during Appalachian Uprising Week (Saturday, November 3 – Tuesday, November 13). The speakers have been invited by Mountain Justice at Virginia Tech and are focused on raising awareness and promoting opposition to one of the dirtiest forms of coal mining, mountaintop removal (MTR).

The week will begin with a day trip to Larry Gibson’s property on Kayford Mountain this Saturday, November 3rd. On Kayford, curious minds will have the opportunity to see the effects of MTR firsthand. If interested, please contact Jessie Schwartz at schwartz[at]vt.edu. A caravan of vehicles will be leaving for Gibson’s property at 8:15AM on Saturday morning.

Additional events include:

* Dave Cooper, a founding member of Mountain Justice Summer, will be
presenting his Mountaintop Removal Roadshow presentation on Wednesday,
November 7th from 7-9PM in Randolph 216.

* Larry Gibson’s visit has been canceled

* Larry Lohman, author of the book Carbon Trading: A Critical
Conversation on Climate Change, Privatization, and Power, will be
speaking on current climate politics on Tuesday, November 13th from
7-9PM in Torgersen 1016 .

Members of the university’s Mountain Justice organization will be present at each event with information on how to get involved with local coal burning issues, including a recently proposed fly ash waste disposal site to be constructed on the floodplain of the New River in Giles County. It is important to remember that none of us are disconnected from the issues surrounding mountaintop removal. Increased education and understanding is the first step to addressing the environmental and social costs of our nation’s energy consumption. Please forward this email to anyone who may be interested. Mountain Justice at Virginia Tech invites all community members, students, staff, and faculty to attend.