Mountain Justice Blacksburg

Mark your calendars — April 24th will be MoutainTop Removal (MTR) day during this year’s Earth Week, sponsored by the Environmental Coalition at Virginia Tech.  We’ll be bringing Larry Gibson from Keepers of the Mountain to speak, and will have a bunch of other yet-to-be-announced activities.  Watch this space and the Environmental Coalition web site for details.

The next meeting of Mountain Justice Blacksburg will be Monday, March 24th, in the Johnston Student Center Lounge on the Virginina Tech campus from 7:30-9:30pm.

Monday, 2/18/07, American Electric Power’s President and CEO, Michael G. Morris, will be on the Virginia Tech Campus as part of a “University Listening Tour”. The event is at 2:00pm, Squires Haymarket Theater. The event will begin with a short presentation by Mr. Morris, followed by an extensive 60-90 minute Q&A Session. For talking points and a detailed breakdown of AEP’s environmental/public health menace please take a look at the fact sheet which mountain justice has compiled: http://www.burning-book.org/AEPsFuture.html

FYI to all: Jack Spadaro will be on the VT campus February 19 & 20. In addition to the film screening in the press release below, he will also conduct a seminar on Wed., Feb. 20, 12:00 noon in Major Williams 225. Both events are free and open to the public. A flyer is available at:

http://wiki.burning-book.org/images/5/56/SpadaroFlyerJan31.08.jpg

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The destruction of Appalachia through mountain top removal continues to be a heated topic. The film documentary “Sludge” reveals in stark detail the coal slurry damage in Martin County, Kentucky, in October of 2000 that destroyed over 100 miles of stream and hundreds of homes. A break in the slurry pond dam caused massive environmental destruction by dumping 306 millions gallons of coal sludge down two tributaries of the Tug Fork River. The film, which will be moderated by Jack Spadaro, former Superintendent of the National Mine Safety and Health Academy, will be shown on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m, in Torgersen 3100 on the Virginia Tech campus. This event is free and open to the public.

“Although it received little media coverage at the time, the Martin County slurry disaster was 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster,” said Anita Puckett, Director of the Appalachian Studies program. “According to the EPA, it ranks as one of the worst environmental disasters in the southeastern United States.”

Sludge, in which Spadaro appears, is the product of over four years of work by Appalshop filmmaker Robert Salyer. Following the film, Spadaro will conduct an open question and answer period on issues covered by the documentary and that pertain to his current work as expert witness and coalfield environmental disaster expert. Spadaro has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including 60 Minutes and National Public Radio. The Appalachian Studies Association has named its annual best Appalachian documentary film award in his honor.

Currently, Spadaro works as a mine safety & health and environmental specialist. He has a 38-year career safeguarding people from environmental and health and safety hazards related to mining. He continues to serve as an expert witness and consultant in environmental and mine health and safety litigation.

The screening is hosted by the Appalachian Studies Program and is co-sponsored by Mountain Justice, the Humanities Program at Virginia Tech, and the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Tech. For further information, contact Anita Puckett, 540-231-9526 or apuckett@vt.edu.