Green Options

NASA’s Dr. James Hansen joined in an act of civil disobedience against mountaintop removal mining by attempting to trespass on the property of Massey Energy near Coal River Mountain in West Virginia, and was arrested along with other protesters including Darryl Hannah and former US Representative Ken Hechler (D-WV).

In a high profile campaign, West Virginia citizens have asked for a last minute ’stay of execution’ against the imminent destruction of the site of a proposed wind farm on the state’s Coal River Mountain. Handing in a petition, signed by more than 8,000 residents, campaigners today called on State Governor Minchin to make good on his commitment to support the development of renewable energy in the state, and order a halt to the destruction of an area with enough wind power potential to supply 150,000 homes.

Richmond, Va. based coal company Massey Energy has announced plans to commence blasting at the site tomorrow (10th September), in an operation that will reduce the height of the mountain by 500 feet and free up ten square miles for coal mining activities.

The choices we make now will make or break our collective environmental future. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than with the dispute over West Virginia’s Coal River Mountain, one of the last mountains still intact in the Coal River Valley.

But the future of the mountain is in jeopardy. A subsidiary of Massey Energy has recently applied for strip mine permits that would destroy 6600 acres of the Coal River Mountain, or almost 10 square miles. Not only would this plan destroy a beautiful area, but it would also dump waste into valleys that fill almost every neighboring headwater stream.

The 15 year mining plan would destroy almost all viable wind power potential on the mountain.