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From left: KFTC members Whitney Byrd, Mickey McCoy, and Colleen Unroe

Several KFTC members have been arrested along with over 800 other climate change activists as part of a two week long strategy of civil disobedience against a proposed oil pipeline that would stretch from Canada across the Midwest U.S.  Participants have been staging an ongoing sit-in outside of the White House to urge Obama to pull his support of this pipeline project.

Environmental blogger Jeff Bigger wrote a piece about the solidarity action between Appalachian coalfield residents and those directly affected by the pipeline.

Teri Blanton speaking at the rally.

In an extraordinary act of solidarity, Blanton and other Appalachian coalfield leaders will join the growing climate justice sit-in at the White House today, calling on President Obama to deny the TransCanada Keystone pipeline permit. Hansen, who has defined the pipeline decision as a litmus test for the Obama administration's commitment to dealing with climate change, was arrested earlier this week.

"If this pipeline is built and they continue to mine tar sands the climate that I have enjoyed over my lifetime in Kentucky will forever be changed. It is already changing, and our people are drinking poison water and breathing unhealthy particles from the extraction, transporting, processing and burning of coal," Blanton said. "We must take back our democracy and demand that decisions be made based on sound science, just as the president said he would. There is nothing sound about building a pipeline across our country."

You can show your support for this action by visiting tarsandsaction.org and signing their petition to President Obama.

My name is Cindy Shepherd and I live on a small organic farm in Clay County with my husband and 5 year-old son. We have been members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth for 10 years. Recently I have started to become more active with KFTC as strip mining has started to affect my community. I am also a Jackson Energy cooperative member and was first introduced to KFTC's work in the rural electric co-ops through Randy Wilson's campaign for the Jackson Energy board a couple years ago.

My son loves our farm and the woods and the mountains surrounding us. He says he wants to stay right here and be a farmer himself someday. And so I know: we have to work hard for solutions that will transition Appalachia to a more sustainable economy with good local jobs and opportunities, and we have to protect our mountains and streams for ourselves and for future generations.

So, on April 26 – 29 I was able to make an incredible first visit to Washington, D.C. to speak with decision-makers about the importance of KFTC's work and our vision for the future. With organizer Sara Pennington by my side, we made new friends, contacts, support, and waves.

The general purpose for our visit was to attend an Environmental Justice conference hosted by federal agencies such as the EPA, Department of Energy, and others. Before the conference, though, we spent the day attending lobby meetings with staff from the offices of Congressmen Ed Whitfield, Ben Chandler and Hal Rogers.

We asked the legislators for their support in reintroducing the Rural Star Bill, which is legislation that would allow the federal government to give monies to the rural electric cooperatives who would then use that money to perform energy audits and money-saving upgrades on customers’ homes. The customer would slowly pay back the money to the co-op with the savings from the upgrades as a service on their bill, and the co-op would then give the money back to the government. New jobs would be created, customers would save money, and energy consumption would decrease. In the last Congress, Rural Star passed the house, but did not move in the Senate.

While we gathered verbal support for the bill in the current Congress, we also reminded everyone we talked to that the creation of jobs for eastern Kentucky is important, but in order to ensure a future for the region, the destruction of our mountains and streams through the practice of mountaintop removal mining must be stopped.

Another highlight of the trip is that we met with administrators and staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).  As I introduced myself and told the agencies about my home and the love and connection my son has to it and the joy he finds in playing in the creeks and hiking the mountains, it was impossible for me to hold back the tears. The thought that my son's home place, a place that we all hold so dear, could one day be destroyed, was too much for a mother to fathom.

And so we told the agencies how important it is for them to invest in coal-impacted communities and about our overall plan to Renew East Kentucky—that the rural electric co-ops of eastern Kentucky should make aggressive investments in energy efficiency, weatherization and local renewable energy in order to create local jobs and to help those who need it most to save energy on their bills. A big part of the plan is to finance this work the way that the Rural Star bill proposes. We also told them how we need a concentrated effort in job training so local folks will be the ones getting the jobs created by this plan. We developed good initial relationships and will have to opportunity to carry on this conversation with the agencies in the coming months.

The next day we attended the Environmental Justice conference itself. Though many of the presentations did not necessarily apply directly to our situation or work, the true power came with the ability for me to look people with incredible power in this country in the eyes and tell them my story and to demand environmental justice for Appalachia. The general response to my plight was that there was money available for rural projects, where I would have to remind them again that all the programs and money in the world will only make a difference in our communities if we stop the destruction.

One of the most memorable and inspiring parts of the conference was when I stood before the Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group and told them that we needed them to stand with Appalachia and enforce protection of our mountains and waterways. The response was that they needed community members to come up with the solutions for their area. Right there on the spot, we were able to walk up to the committee sitting behind the podium and give them all a copy of the article that KFTC had published last summer in the Solutions Journal about KFTC's Renew East Kentucky plan. And the committee sat there and started reading it! Every one of them! And then made a point to have personal conversations with us at the end of the conference.  We were given an amazing opportunity to show the human connection to mountaintop removal and to show our vision for a renewed Appalachia.

What a powerful feeling comes from fighting for your community, children and future in Washington, D.C. I'm hooked. I'm addicted. I've got the D.C. bug, and I want to thank the Alliance of Appalachia for their support and KFTC for putting their faith in me and giving me this amazing opportunity. I hope that I have served you all well and I can't wait to do it again!

For the first time ever, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed national standards for mercury, arsenic and other toxic air pollution from power plants this week.  The new standards would require many power plants to install pollution control technologies on their stacks to cut emissions of mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases.

When enacted, these standards will prevent as many as 17,000 premature deaths and 11,000 heart attacks a year and will particularly benefit children, preventing 120,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 11,000 cases of acute bronchitis among children each year.

Kentucky has 21 power plants located in the state and 22 within 30 miles of our borders. Our in-state plants are, on average, about 40 years old and many lack even basic air quality protections. This means Kentuckians are exposed to - through breathing, eating and drinking - potentially high amounts of these air toxins, especially mercury. Every river and lake in Kentucky is under advisory for mercury contamination. Kentuckians also face one of the highest risks in the country of dying from exposure to coal-burning power plant air pollution.

EPA estimates that instituting these new rules will provide employment for thousands, by supporting 31,000 short-term construction jobs and 9,000 long-term utility jobs. Check KFTC's blog for additional information about how to comment on this rule and where public hearings will be held.

To read the press release about the standards from the EPA in full, click here.

As you may know, our first White House Forum on Environmental Justice will take place on Wednesday, December 15 from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Due to overwhelming interest in the event and to provide access to those unable to attend the Forum, we will be streaming the event live on the White House website. The live video stream will be available at www.whitehouse.gov/live.

In addition, we will be hosting a live chat from 12:50 p.m. to 1:35 p.m. with Nancy Sutley, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

Sutley will take questions from students and young environmental justice advocates from Occidental College and around Southern California, as well as from the public via Facebook.

Questions can be submitted on the White House Facebook page on December 15.

The following is a report from the One Nation Rally earlier this month, written by KFTC leader and former statewide Chairperson Janet Tucker.  Pictures taken by KFTC member Denise Groves.

A large and diverse crowd rallied on the National Mall at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on the beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon of Oct. 2, 2010.  This was  the One Nation Working Together Rally. 

Denise Groves, a KFTC member from Louisville who attended the rally stated, “The rally represented America, white, black, brown, old, young, able, disabled, gay, straight, citizen, non-citizen, employed, unemployed, christian, non-christian. all together, unified, and working to restore America to her glory days.”

It was a sight to behold!  The rally for Jobs, Justice, and Education for All was sponsored by more than 400 organizations including trade unions, civil rights women's rights and community organizations, peace and justice groups, and many more.  The estimated crowd of 175,000 people came from all over the country, including 2 buses from Kentucky. 

“I hope they look at the mall today,” stated the Rev. Al Sharpton from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, referring to the political opposition to the values of the event, “because this is what America looks like, not just one color or one gender.”

The large outdoor TV screens along the mall helped a lot for those listening to the speeches. There were two overlapping but distinct messages coming from the platform. One was that everyone needed to get out the vote in November. In that sense, this was a rally to expand and fire up the voters in the progressive base. The other was to push Congress and the White House on jobs, education, immigrant rights, the environment and peace.

Harry Belafonte recalled the 1963 march. "In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of this memorial and declared that this nation should come together and  embrace its greater ideals, that we should rally together to overcome injustice and racism and that all citizens should not only have the right to vote but exercise that right and make America whole.  That is part of why we are here today.”

The participants were enthusiastic and determined to make there voices heard.  I found exciting to approach groups and ask where they were from and why there were there.  I spoke to people from New York, St. Lewis, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, just to name a few.  They were teachers, trade unionists, environmentalists, community activists of many stripes.  And we all had so much in common!

After harshly denouncing the ‘monied powers’ on the right, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka appealed to both union workers and progressive groups for broad unity: “Promise you won’t let anyone quiet us or turn us against each other. Promise to make your voices heard for jobs, justice, and education today — and on Election Day,” he declared. “Our best days are ahead, not behind us, and we will fight for them, and we won’t let anyone stand in our way.”

In closing just let me repeat: “Our best days are ahead, not behind us, and we will fight for them, and we won’t let anyone stand in our way.”  All out to vote on November 2nd!

                                                                       — Janet Tucker

“We disobeyed. We were in the wrong.

But we were in the wrong for the right reasons.”

Making Their Voices Heard

The largest national protest ever against mountaintop removal mining took place in Washington, DC Monday as more than 2,500 people—including many coalfield residents and allies from across the country—gathered in front of the White House to make their voices heard.

“We disobeyed. We were in the wrong. But we were in the wrong for the right reasons," said Floyd County KFTC leader Bev May, reflecting on the arrests made yesterday as part of Appalachia Rising.

Appalachia Rising was organized and led by Appalachia residents from Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee.

While folks chanted “We are Appalachia,” nearly 120 people participated in nonviolent civil disobedience and were arrested at the event. Folks were arrested for refusing to move from an area near the White House when asked to do so by police. Arrestees included at least 12 KFTC folks, primarily from eastern Kentucky, including leaders Bev May and Rick Handshoe from Floyd County, Mickey McCoy from Martin County, Cari Moore from Knott County, and others.

KFTC member Megan Naseman of Madison County was arrested yet continued to chant, “What do we want? Clean water. When do we want it? Now!”

Other arrestees included renowned NASA climate scientist Dr. James Hansen, retired and former coal miners, religious leaders, and young folks. Four additional people were arrested at a sit in at PNC Bank in DC, protesting its role as a lead financier of MTR.

“It’s hard for me to break the law,” noted Rick Handshoe. “But this was different. I want it to get out to people globally about what’s happening in my community. It’s not just killing the environment; it’s killing people.”

“Being arrested? That’s such a small price to pay for being heard,” explained Mickey McCoy. “My home and people are paying the real price for mountaintop removal.”

Cari Moore added, “I got arrested because I wanted to call the president’s attention and the public’s attention to the greater crimes of mountaintop removal. I wanted to encourage my government to pass laws that will protect our mountains, our environment, our health and safety, our rights, and our cultural heritage.”

“I’d like for President Obama to pick up a pen, before he has dinner today, and, with a stroke of that pen, abolish MTR and strip mining,” said McCoy. “It’s now or never, I’m afraid.”

Demanding a Better Future

Appalachia Rising wasn’t only about demanding an end to mountaintop removal mining. Protesters also called attention to the need for a just transition for Appalachia.

“I got arrested because I want a new future for Appalachia,” explained May. “We targeted the Obama administration because he’s the only elected official who can stop MTR and announce a new economic plan for Appalachia.”

“We weren’t just marching against MTR. We were marching for a just transition,” noted KFTC’s Canary Fellow Teri Blanton. “Our people—who’ve created energy for this nation for the last 100 years—need to be a part of the new power, new energy revolution. If we are going to have any chance for this positive future, we’ve got to save the mountains that are left.”

“I want to see the end of the boom and bust, band-aid economy that the coal industry has given us,” reflected McCoy. “I know we’ll have coal around in the near future, but the transition has to be made today to establish a sustainable, diversified, vital, and thriving economy in Appalachia.”

“We know that jobs that come from destroying mountains don’t last,” explained May. “What we need for workers in the coal industry is the same sort of transitional help that tobacco farmers got to diversify their crops. Right now, coal only employs 2.6 percent of the eastern Kentucky workforce. We need help getting those miners into new jobs like reforestation, home weatherization, windmills, and more.”

“I want folks to have job opportunities where they don’t have to risk their lives,” said Moore. “I want people to feel a sense of control and options in their communities. And, on top of this, I also want to see us preserve our culture and maintain our unique identity. We can’t do that without our mountains. Our culture and our mountains are intrinsically linked.”

Moore continued, “Politicians have been telling Kentuckians that coal provides jobs. But we know that MTR mining eliminates jobs. And we’ve gained impoverished communities. We’re not even breaking even, let alone gaining prosperity. We see surface mining threatening Benham and Lynch, communities with very real potential for creating sustainable jobs, energy and money for the area. If politicians really cared about jobs, they’d help us stop that mining in those communities.”

“We’re sacrificing the long-term future of our region for the short-term profit of a few,” concluded Moore.

Speaking the Truth & Building the Movement

As much as anything, yesterday was about speaking truth to power and educating the public about what is happening in Appalachia. As KFTC members and allies tell their truths, they increase the number of folks who will join in the fight.

KFTC member Sarah Blanton noted that one police office said to her, “If I were not wearing this uniform, I’d be right there with you. I’m from Paintsville.”

Greg Capillo of Madison County said, “Out of this event there are more police and more folks in DC and beyond who know more about MTR. The police see protests every day. But I don’t think they see people like Bev and Rick every day—folks who take a stand and say, ‘Here’s what’s happening to me, my mountains, my family, our home.’ It’s really powerful.”

“It’s beyond cap and trade and climate change. Those can be abstract for people,” continued Capillo. “But folks losing their mountains and drinking poisoned water? That sticks with people.”

Moving Forward

The work to stop MTR and build a better future for Appalachia continues. A crew of KFTC members stayed in DC to lobby on Capitol Hill today. Harlan County leaders Carl Shoupe and Stanley Sturgill, joined by others, will be talking with lawmakers about their vision for the future of their homeland in Appalachia and the need to stop mountaintop removal in order to realize that vision.

While they walk the halls in the Capitol, today in Louisville there is a very important hearing with U.S. EPA officials about the need for strong rules to protect the public from toxic coal ash. Hundreds of folks will be there rallying in support of strong rules and drawing attention to the ways in which coal harms our water, air, land, and people from extraction to disposal of coal waste.

The coal ash hearing and rally are directly linked to the events yesterday in DC. Appalachia is rising; Kentuckians are rising; America is rising to demand new power—new energy and economic power that offers sustainability and opportunity.

“The whole nation is watching,” explained Blanton.

Pointing to the marks on his arms that were created by the arrest bands, Rick Handshoe told the bus driver bringing him back to Kentucky, “I got these stripes on my arms for your grandchildren and for my grandchildren.”

We need New Power. The time is now.

Take Action

You can be a part of this important work. Here are some simple things you can do:

1. Call President Obama at (202) 456-1111 or (202) 456-1414 and tell him that you support Appalachia Rising, demand that he take immediate action to abolish mountaintop removal and bring safe, clean jobs to Appalachia!

2. Go to this link and let EPA know that we need strong coal ash regulations!

3. Visit www.newpowerky.org and sign the New Power Pledge! Ask your friends and neighbors to sign, too.

Check out media coverage of Appalachia Rising:

The protest made the front page of the Washington Post’s print edition on Tuesday:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/fpImages/fp_front.jpg

The Washington Post has a photo gallery of the protest and arrests. Scroll through to the fourth photo to see KFTC member Teri Blanton in cuffs and a big smile (and wearing KFTC’s “Friends of Mountains and Miners” sticker):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/09/27/GA2010092705160.html

KFTC member Mickey McCoy is quoted in this CNN report:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/27/white.house.protest/

The Louisville Courier-Journal article that foregrounds KFTC and quotes several KFTC members:

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100927/NEWS01/309270054/More+than+100+arrested+in+D.C.+mountaintop+mining+protest

The WYMT story on the group traveling from KY to DC, before the rally:

http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews/headlines/103761499.html

The rally and protest was WYMT’s top story yesterday:

http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/103889689.html?ref=689

The Lexington Herald Leader article is accompanied with a photo from the AP of KFTC member Megan Naseman wearing her “I love mountains” KFTC shirt:

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/28/1453719/kentuckians-among-100-arrested.html

This piece in The Hill (which reports political news related to “Capitol Hill” in DC), reports on other protests in the area and leading up to Monday’s action at the White House:

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/121153-more-than-100-arrested-at-coal-mining-protest-in-front-of-the-white-house

Jeff Biggers’s blog report in the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/breaking-mass-arrests-in_b_740686.html

The Appalachia Rising website has more coverage including video of the protest and photos:

http://appalachiarising.org/

Grist: More than 100 arrested at mountaintop-mining protest [SLIDESHOW]

Democracy Now

Appalachians marched on the streets of Washington D.C. today, chanting and rallying to demand an end to mountaintop removal coal mining and the creation of a sustainable future for the region. Marchers chanted "Yes, you can!" to President Obama. Some participants chose to demonstrate outside the White House in peaceful protest and were arrested, including several Kentuckians. Visit www.appalachiarising.org to read more news and updates about the events today.

Media Coverage

• Story in The Courier-Journal here.
• Story on WYMT-TV here.
  

Join KFTC's delegation to a conference and day of action focused on transition and the future of Appalachia. The events aim to advance the dialogue about current energy extraction practices, with a specific focus on ending mountaintop removal coal mining, and advocate for a renewable energy future for Appalachia on a national stage

"We envision a vibrant weekend during which thousands will learn about the challenges Appalachia faces and ways to build a movement to end the destruction and plant the seeds of a sustainable and prosperous Appalachia," said the organizers of the events.

The conference, entitled Voices from the Mountains, will be held on September 25-26, 2010. Organizers of the Voices from the Mountain conference are planning a space for regional participants to grow and connect through strategy sessions, workshops, learning, and cultural events. Topics will include both exploration of the issues facing the region and ways to move forward.

The day following the conference, September 27th, many people from the Appalachian region will gather with conference attendees for a day of mobilization and rallying on Capitol Hill. 2000 people, including movement leaders from the region, celebrities such as Ashley Judd and Silas House, and many Appalachian residents are expected to gather.

Click here to sign up or learn more.

By Teri Blanton

Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the surface mining control and reclamation act (SMCRA). This law was supposed to have brought some peace to Appalachia which had been mercilessly strip mined for decades. Unfortunately when the final deal was made, Appalachia wasn’t at the table. SMCRA represents not an effective law to protect the land but rather the best political compromise that could be reached in the heat of the moment.

You don’t have to spend much time in Eastern Kentucky to realize that the law has been a failure. Our mountains continue to be lost, streams buried and communities devastated. President Jimmy Carter almost prophesied this outcome when he expressed his disappointment in SMCRA to supporters at the Rose Garden signing ceremony. Carter knew, and we now realize, that the battle was not yet won. We carry the same signs, make the same arguments, and visit with the same parade of politicians, bureaucrats, and agencies that confronted our elders 40 to 50 years ago.

All things run in cycles, and we are now closer to ending mountaintop removal than we’ve been at any time since SMCRA was signed.  We have the attention of Congress and the Obama Administration. In the months ahead we need to commit ourselves to closing the deal that should have been made on August 3, 1977, and ending radical strip mining and mountaintop removal forever.