Dr. James Hansen, a leading climate scientists and environmental hero, will join us in attempting to deliver the letter! Expect to see former OVEC board member and Raging Granny Winnie Fox as well as 94-year-old former U.S. Representative Ken Hechler as they move to deliver the letter. A couple of celebrities may show up, too, though plans are still in the works. 

WHEN:  Tuesday June 23 -- Musicians fire us up at 11 a.m. Speakers begin at noon. 

WHERE: Marsh Fork Elementary, 8801 Coal River Rd., Naoma, WV 25140.  *Directions below.

Remember, Marsh Fork Elementary School is next to a coal silo and coal prep plant, both of which threaten children with chemicals and coal dust. The school is just 400 yards downslope from a 2.8 billion gallon coal sludge dam and impoundment. If the impoundment were breached, there would be less than three minutes to evacuate the school.  Up above all that is Massey Energy’s mountaintop removal mine, with the associated blasting and dust.   

Come out as we let America know: Blowing the tops off of mountain ranges to harvest dirty coal harms the people and places of Appalachia, destroys the economic potential of the Appalachian Mountains for clean energy opportunities and furthers the burning of air-fouling, climate-altering coal.   

We need you and as many friends as you can muster to come out on June 23rd to help build the wave of activism needed to stop mountaintop removal. This is the year we must stop the most ecologically and culturally destructive form of strip mining on earth.  

* Directions to Marsh Fork Elementary School:

From points south of Danville, WV (Mingo, Logan, and Boone Counties WV, eastern KY):

From 119 N, just past Danville, WV, turn right on Route 3 East.  Follow this road for a long time. You’ll go through Racine, Comfort, Seth and other towns before coming to Whitesville.  Continue through Whitesville on Route 3 East through Pettus, Eunice, Birchton and Stickney.  Shortly past Stickney, you’ll see Marsh Fork Elementary on your right.  The event will be on the football field.
 

From points west or north of Charleston, WV: Take I-64 East/I-77 South through Charleston toward Beckley.  Shortly past Charleston, take exit 89 and turn right on Route 94 South.  This will take you about 10 miles to Racine.  Carefully turn left at this dangerous intersection onto Route 3 East.  You’ll go through Racine, Comfort, Seth, and other towns before coming to Whitesville.  Continue through Whitesville on Route 3 East through Pettus, Eunice, Birchton, and Stickney.  Shortly past Stickney, you’ll see Marsh Fork Elementary on your right.  The event will be on the football field. Marsh Fork Elementary is about an hour and 15 minutes from Charleston.  

Check out the their new NING, which has been rearranged to create a more holistic and organized approach for communicating with one another. The "GROUPS" section now provides different areas of focus where all members can join and discuss topics pertaining to the subject of the group. Get CLEAN!

"Mountaintop mining is one of the most destructive practices that already has destroyed some of America’s most beautiful and ecologically significant regions," said Senator Cardin. "Today’s decision by the Obama Administration to limit the practice through a stronger review of mountaintop mining permit applications is an important step in the right direction. However, it does not halt this incredibly destructive form of mining. We must put an end to this mining method that has buried more than a thousand miles of streams."

Senator Cardin is the sponsor of S. 696, The Appalachian Restoration Act, a two-page bill that would outlaw the mining practice. "This legislation will put a stop to the smothering of our nation’s streams and water systems and will restore the Clean Water Act to its original intent," Senator Cardin added.

Senator Cardin and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), co-sponsor of the mountaintop mining ban legislation, have called upon Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to provide additional information about the mining permits issued by three federal agencies, including EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Office of Surface Mining. These are the permits that the Obama Administration said today that it will be reviewing with greater scrutiny.

Also today, Senators Cardin and Alexander sent a letter to all Senators urging their support for The Appalachian Restoration Act, saying "More than 1 million acres of Appalachia have already been affected by this process. An estimated 1,200 miles of headwater streams have been buried under tons of mining wastes. More than 500 mountains have been impacted. Homes have been ruined and drinking water supplies contaminated."

The Cardin-Alexander Appalachian Restoration Act was introduced on March 25, 2009.