Friday, February 10, 2012

Help stop destruction of Blair Mountain

From our friends at Keeper of the Mountains:
 
Mountaintop removal coal mining is destroying the mountains and threatening the health and lives of communities across Appalachia. But people in Appalachia are standing up and today they need your support.
As I often say, "This is a reminder for everyone to stand as 99%, until we really start standing as 99%, we have yet to stand as the full 99%."  Let us take action and stand together.
 
Residents of Blair, West Virginia have noticed increased activity from mining company Arch Coal around Blair Mountain -- site of the largest labor uprising in American history. Residents are becoming increasingly concerned about Arch’s activities and fear they will move forward with plans to mine the historic location.
 
Take action today - Tell Arch Coal To Save Blair Mountain
 
Arch Coal has four planned operations on Blair Mountain, some of which intrude onto the battlefield. Tomorrow, this multi-billion dollar company will announce its profits from the fourth quarter of last year. Whatever those earnings are, the company has a responsibility to the community in which it operates.
 
Folks in Appalachia won’t stand for Arch Coal’s plan to destroy their community and our nation’s history just so they can increase their profit margin, and we shouldn’t either.
 
Call Arch CEO, Steven Leer today, on Friday, February 10 and tell him that Appalachian communities should not fall victim to pad his profit margin.
 
Call Arch’s St. Louis headquarters: (314) 994-2700
Call Arch’s Charleston, WV headquarters: (304) 760-2400
 
To allow Arch Coal to destroy Blair Mountain would be to tear out a crucial page of American labor history and burn it. But even more important than the history are the lives of the people living at the foot of this mountain today.
 
CALL SCRIPT:
Hello, my name is ____ and I am calling to ask you to abandon your plans to mine the historic Blair Mountain. The whole world is watching, and I am calling on your corporation to do the right thing and stop the destruction of Blair Mountain, along with all other mountains and communities in Appalachia. Mountaintop removal mining is wrong and harmful to the people and communities below it. Please cease and desist from your Blair Mountain plans.
 
Thank you!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Who owns the land being mined? Is it o.k. for the government or outside parties to tell people what they can or cannot do with THEIR property? I thought this country was built on the rule of law and PROPERTY RIGHTS! Where do we draw the line? I wonder, how much electricity YOU use is generated by coal?