KFTC’s annual “I Love Mountains” day at the state capitol is just around the corner.  This big event, which attracts more than 1,000 Kentuckians each year, calls attention to the scale of destruction created by mountain-top removal coal mining in Kentucky and the need for a clean water and energy future.

 The day includes a special emphasis and participation from young Kentuckians – with a special youth-led lobby team!

KFTC youth are going to spend the morning of I Love Mountains day try to have lobby meetings with top state lawmakers.  Would you like to be part of this youth-led lobby team or do you know a young person within the ages of 5 and 25 who would be? 

What it involves:  Each youth would be responsible for attending a planning meeting over the phone (conference call) with other KFTC youth leaders and then meeting in the Capitol the morning of I Love Mountains day at 9:30 a.m. to begin our round of lobbying meetings.

How to get involved:  If this sounds like you, please call or email KFTC staffperson Carissa Lenfert at 859-893-1147 or carissa@kftc.org to sign-up.  Youth interested must sign-up by January 31^st. 

Spread the word:  Also, please pass this announcement along to anyone you may know who would be a great addition to the youth team!

Help make history and protect our land, water, and people!

Also – don’t forget to register for “I Love Mountains” day!

Fifteen KFTC members from across Kentucky, from Bowling Green to Whitesburg and Louisa to Louisville, gathered in Lexington to begin providing leadership for KFTC’s New Energy and Transition work, which includes our rural electric co-op reform, sustainable energy policy and organizing and Appalachian Transition campaigns.

KFTC’s Steering Committee decided earlier this year to more closely align these three projects, which have similar goals of promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, passing clean energy legislation, transitioning away from our dependence on coal, creating new jobs, and saving money for low-income families.

Most of the folks in the room had been involved with one of the three campaigns. Participants got an overview of all three and will have the chance to choose a workteam that focuses on one of the three.

“It was exciting to see these different areas of KFTC work for a better, more sustainable future brought together so that we could learn from each other and understand how so much of our efforts are interrelated,” said Mimi Pickering, a long-time KFTC member from Whitesburg. “I think this is going to be a great way to organize and build momentum for a transition away from coal mining and burning to renewable energy and a just and sustainable economy in eastern Kentucky.”

Members discussed trends, opportunities and challenges to achieving a clean energy vision. Among the trends was the growing acceptance of energy efficiency, even among utilities and politicians who support the coal industry. Renewable energy, on the other hand, won’t gain a foothold unless it’s connected with economic development, members said.

Among the opportunities discussed was the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, which does connect renewable energy with economic development by proposing a Renewable and Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) and a feed-in tariff that would create clean energy jobs and industries by requiring the state to meet benchmarks by a certain time. (Introduced in the Kentucky legislature in 2010 and 2011 by the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, of which KFTC is a founding member, the bill has not passed but did get a favorable hearing in committee this year and will be re-introduced in 2012 with the hope of getting a vote).

A lack of public understanding of energy issues was listed as a challenge, as were Kentucky’s legislature and congressional delegation, which are reluctant to support anything they perceive might threaten the coal industry. Kentucky is behind surrounding states in passing legislation that encourages clean energy development and the jobs it would bring.

Members worked hard but also had fun getting to know each other and playing a game that focused on the “alphabet soup” of acronyms in the world of energy – such as "EE" for "energy efficiency" and "RE" for "renewable energy."

  

Last week, KFTC members and staff joined 5 other community and faith-based grassroots organizations from across the South for the 2011 Community Media Organizing Project annual training in Nashville, TN.  This year's training focused on youth engagement and leadership development.  Workshops ranged from language justice and creating multi-cultural spaces to online community mapping and video blogging.  Skills were built around identifying and supporting spokespeople, tapping into social media outlets, creating your own media outlets, developing relationships with media contacts, and countless others. Participants even got to preview an upcoming short film on youth leadership and one young woman's story, Maria Full of Hope.

Here in Jefferson County we are very excited to offer two webinars hosted by the Applied Research Center.  Members are welcome to join staff at the Jefferson County Office for the webinars but space is limited. If you are interested in participating in the webinars, please contact colette@kftc.org to reserve a space.

“Challenging Racism
Systematically”

Wednesday, October 19
1pm ET / 10am PT

A systematic approach to addressing racism and focus on what’s causing racism and what changes we can advance. This is a core racial justice webinar and future ARC webinars will build on these concepts.

“Changing the
Conversation on Race”

Thursday, November 17
1pm ET / 10amPT

A framework and practical skills for promoting actions and solutions. The conversation on race won’t change unless we change it.  Talk remains talk unless we move it towards action.

For more information on the Applied Research Center, please go here: http://www.arc.org/

The STAY Project (Stay Together Appalachian Youth) is a diverse regional network of young people throughout Central Appalachia who are working together to advocate for and actively participate in their home mountain communities.

This project began in 2007 at an Appalachian Studies conference, when youth participants expressed that they didn’t know how to participate in movements for social change, that there were few access points for them as young people, and few opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge that would allow them to contribute to social change efforts. These young participants created the STAY Project.  

Now, almost five years later, its network of members and regional gatherings create avenues for young people to educate themselves, find voice, and nurture political power, in their own communities of West Virginia, southwest Virginia, eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina.  The STAY Project is currently a consortium supported by Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute in Whitesburg, KY, High Rocks in Hillsboro, WV, and the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, TN.

This August 9-12, the STAY Project will host the STAY Summer Institute at the Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County.  

Committed to having all voices and identities supported within Appalachia, and understanding that youth are often left out of spaces of decision-making, the STAY Summer Institute will bring together youth from throughout the region for a four-day workshop.  The gathering will serve to empower young people through a sense of place, promote leadership development, uphold Appalachian identity through cultural arts and storytelling, and build personal relationships to sustain each other through our efforts.  The leadership trainings will focus on organizing, popular education, grant writing, small-business skills, financial/budget management, anti oppression workshops, etc. The cost for this workshop is between $50-$150 (sliding scale) and includes room and board.

Along with our allies at Wellstone Action and the PUSHBACK Network, KFTC is hosting a powerful training for people who will be running for public office or playing a major role in a someone else's campaign.

If you've considered running for the state legislature or any one of the offices that will be up in 2012, now is the time to put some serious thought into it. 

This is a world-class, three-day training that we'll hold in Louisville Friday November 11th-Sunday November 13th. 

Elements of the training will include messaging, electoral base-building, targeting, direct voter contact, running an effective phone and door program, stump speeches, interactive scripts, GOTV, media work,  fundraising, and  more. 

Group photo from one of many earlier KFTC/Wellstone trainings.

If you're interested in attending, please Contact KFTC's Deputy Organizing Director of Voter Empowerment, Dave Newton at Dave@kftc.org

This May 20 to 27th, the seventh annual Mountain Justice Summer Camp will take place in the beautiful mountains of Letcher County, Kentucky.

The week-long camp will feature workshops, guest speakers, discussions, and live music.Participants will learn about mining practices, community organizing, economic transition, and actions they can take to protect Appalachian ecosystems.

The camp will take place from May 20 to 27. For information and registration visit http://www.mountainjustice.org/.

During the same exciting period as Lexington Loves Mountains, Kentucky Rising’s weekend visit with the Governor, and an unbelievable I Love Mountains Day, were a couple of exciting events in the Northern Kentucky area aimed at helping end the destructive practice of mountaintop removal. The Friday before I Love Mountains Day, the Northern Kentucky Chapter joined with Ohio Citizen Action, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Committee, NKU ECOS, and Sierra Club members from northern Kentucky to Miami, OH to bring Mari-Lynn Evans to the University of Cincinnati’s MainStreet Cinema to present her documentaries Low Coal and Coal Country.   

The very next night, thanks to the hard work of a variety of area musicians, most notably those of Magnolia Mountain, there was a concert at the Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky. The concert split proceeds between KFTC and Ohio Citizens Action, featured a new CD to benefit both organizations, and limited prints from artist Keith Neltner!

Melissa English, of Ohio Citizens Action and Magnolia Mountain, was amazed at the success of the event, which she attributed to the success of advertising the event by the bands, the organizations, and local sponsors like Goodsleeve, WNKU, and Shake It Records. More amazing was the fact that the concert sold out less than two hours after the doors opened!

Asa Roberts, a new member who heard about the event from City Beat (a free local alternative paper in the Cincinnati area), described the event as a ‘godsend’ for giving him the opportunity to plug into the fight to stop mountaintop removal. Though already familiar with the issue, he described Jeff Biggers of the Huffington Post’s speech about the issue absolutely inspiring, telling other members he wished he could have had the event on DVD to watch it over again.

Jeff Biggers was not the only person to speak at the event. Melissa English spoke on behalf of Ohio Citizen Action, and KFTC member Ben Baker told his story of how he came to learn about the destruction in Appalachia. Each shared their experiences, but Ben’s unique story of discovering mountaintop removal while learning to fly was heartfelt, and many of the people in attendance heeded his call to join us at I Love Mountains Day.

Jeff Hampton, who spent most of his night helping with the merchandise table in the Parlor, said that for many of the people who spent their time outside of the Ballroom, “it was hard to actually ‘see’ any of the bands, but they all sounded incredible.”

While everyone enjoyed the music, there was no clear crowd favorite. Rick Traud picked Jake Speed and the Freddies, Asa Roberts picked The Tillers and Magnolia Mountain, but Melissa English picked Bob Dionisi and Mike Oberst for their live performance of Coal Creek March.

Everyone was surprised by the huge success, as no one expected the show to sell out before 10 o’clock. Some members heard the people at the door had to turn away over 100 people, and many attendees were keen on the idea of coming back to a similar concert.

While this may or may not happen, Jeff Hampton reflected that it was such a shame to turn away so many people who were willing to learn more about the issue of mountaintop removal, and that there is a clear desire in the community to learn how to stop this practice.

Many Kentuckians demonstrated that they are ready for the benefits that clean energy will bring to Kentucky by attending a conference co-sponsored by KFTC on the topic.

Hear an Appalshop-produced podcast on the day by clicking here.

The first-ever Kentucky Clean Energy Summit, hosted by the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, brought 150 people together, including small business owners, housing groups, low-income advocacy organizations, legislators, energy experts, and concerned citizens.

Mary Miller of Midway, a board member of Kentucky Watershed Watch and a member of the Sierra Club and KFTC, came to the conference to learn more about how to communicate effectively with legislators. “I asked questions that I’ve been curious about forever,” she said. “It just makes you aware of what all’s going on and how these groups can work together,” Miller said.

During the day, summit speakers and attendees explored:

o    Policies that would increase use of energy efficiency and renewable energy in Kentucky
o    The benefits of these policies and why Kentucky should pass these now
o    Success stories from nearby states, including Ohio
o    The experiences of KySEA member organizations including small businesses and affordable housing providers that are utilizing energy efficiency and renewable energy today

The Clean Energy Opportunity Act, recently filed by Representative Mary Lou Marzian in the 2011 General Assembly and supported by KySEA, is a comprehensive clean energy bill that would set clean energy goals for Kentucky and provide incentives for clean energy businesses. Summit participants got a first look at what’s in the bill.

Carmen Stine and Shari Bivelacque of Alternative Energies Kentucky, a new business in Danville that manufactures solar panels, said starting a clean energy business in a state where there are no incentives or guidelines has been a challenge. Many of their clients are outside Kentucky.
“How do you sell to people who have no incentives to improve their situation and their carbon footprint?” said Stine.

“If there’s a financial incentive, then they start to listen,” said Bivelacque.

Getting state leaders on board will be key, Bivelacque said. “For us to get anywhere with this, it’s going to be all about education,” she said.

And jobs, according to Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, who sponsors the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, House Bill 239. “I think the job piece is what’s so important to effect policy change in Frankfort,” Marzian said.

Andy McDonald of Kentucky Solar Partnership said Kentucky needs to take a long-term view. “We really need long-term stable policies,” McDonald said. “There’s no point in getting trained if there’s not going to be jobs.”

David Brown Kinloch, who with his partners purchased and restored the Mother Ann Lee Hydroelectric Station on the Kentucky River, echoed the view that Kentucky needs to make a long-term investment in clean energy. In addition to his work in hydro power, Kinloch has researched wind power in Kentucky. “It’s a political problem, not a technical problem, why there isn’t wind in Kentucky,” he said.

Representatives of the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises (FAHE), Frontier Housing, Home Energy Partners and the Metropolitan Housing Coalition expressed their desire to see new policies that protect home owners, renters and low-income families from rising energy costs.

“I’ve heard a lot today about energy efficiency as a resource, and I really like that term,” said Vonda Poyner of FAHE, a regional nonprofit based in Berea that provides access to capital that creates housing and promotes community development.

KFTC is a founding member of KySEA, and KFTC members played a role in the agenda throughout the day. Mary Love of Jefferson County delivered the welcome address, and Doug Doerrfeld of Elliott County discussed environmental impacts as part of a panel on The Case for Clean Energy Policies in Kentucky.

Click here to download presentations from the day.

Hello.  My name Patrick Dunn.  I am from Berea, Kentucky.

Mountaintop removal coal mining is where they mine coal from the ground by lopping the tops off of mountains and dumping the mining waste in the streams and valleys below.  1.2 million acres of land have been flattened by mountaintop removal – including 500 mountains.

I care about mountaintop removal because it affects so many things.  It creates many environmental problems.  It destroys every living thing in the area and and it will never grow back the way it was before.  In fact, only 4% of MTR sites have been “reclaimed.”

But the real problem is how it affects people like Makayla and her family – and the thousands of others living near mountaintop removal sites. 

It also costs our state more money to give subsidies to coal than what coal gives back to our state.  $115 million a year to be exact.  If we used that money to fund renewable sources we wouldn’t have to have mountaintop removal.

And Kentucky produces today double the amount of coal we produced in 1979 – with only 1/5 of the work force. Mountaintop removal eliminates coal-mining jobs, not create jobs.

And coal is a finite resource anyways – there are other good sources of energy that will give us the power we need.

I wish our candidates would say that they support the Clean Water Protection Act proposed in Congress.  But I haven’t heard them mention it once.

This bill would protect communities and water quality by outlawing the dumping of mining waste into streams.  It is a common sense bill – a simple way to protect our water.  You don’t dump stuff into our water.  If its not clean, its dirty.  Period.