Media Advisory

May 3, 2012

Contact:

Janet Keating, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, 304-522-0246
Sally Dunne, Loretto Community at the United Nations, 212 687-1634

Rosa Lizarde, Feminist Task Force, 347 451-7794

What:              Central Appalachian Women’s Climate Justice Tribunal

When:             Tribunal: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.  Thursday, May 10
Press conference with jurists and other participants follows immediately after tribunal closes

Where:            Charleston Woman’s Club
1600 Virginia St. East, Charleston, W.Va.

Who:               Principal organizers of this event:

OVEC, based in Huntington, W.Va.    

The Loretto Community at the United Nations

The Feminist Task Force of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty

Jurists:

Elizabeth Peredo, climate justice expert from Bolivia

Lois Gibbs, of Love Canal fame, Executive Director of chej.org
Grant Smith, Energy Policy Advisor at the Civil Society Institute

More Info:      This is the first Women and Climate Justice Tribunal in the United States.

Similar tribunals have taken place around the world, spearheaded by the Feminist Task Force. These tribunals have been used to create a public space for women to draw attention to critical issues at local, national and global levels. Findings from this Tribunal will be presented in June at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

See http://feministtaskforce.org/ www.LorettoattheUN.org and
http://www.ohvec.org/blog/2012/05/01/whats-up-with-a-central-appalachian-womens-tribunal-on-climate-justice/

More Who:     Funders, co-sponsors and participants include: Appalachian Community Fund, Appalachian Voices, Coal River Mountain Watch, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, Keepers of the Mountain, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Sierra Club, SouthWings, The Alliance for Appalachia, The CLEAN, West Virginia Free, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy.