Goodbye Massey and Thanks For Nothing
After months of speculation, Massey Energy, the most controversial coal mining company in the USA, is no more. On Saturday Alpha Natural Resources announced that it had bought out the…
Coal Tattoo: Massey’s Blankenship to Plead the Fifth in Mining Disaster Probe
Don Blankenship is going to plead the 5th in the Upper Big Branch probe. Seems that Big Don is invoking his right to avoid self-incrimination. I’m pretty shocked and awed…
Campaign Calls for New York State Retirement Fund to Divest from Massey Energy
Here’s a guest post from “NY for Appalachia Rising”, who are calling for their state retirement fund to divest from Massey Energy: What can you buy with $15 million dollars?…
Account of action & arrest in DC by George Lakey
George Lakey and the Earth Quaker Action Team, joined us on Monday at Appalachia Rising in Washington DC, to protest mountaintop removal mining. His account of our action at PNC…
Citizens Occupy PNC: The Bank of Mountaintop Removal
UPDATE: Four brave activists were arrested at today’s PNC sit-in, including Reverend Billy Talen, George Lakey, Alexa Ross and Liz Nerat. Today, as part of Appalachia Rising, the largest protest…
Community Transition in the Coal River Valley
I’m a big fan of Transition Theory – a model of socioeconomic localization, developed by Rob Hopkins where communities come together to envision and then develop a future where they…
EPA: Don’t Let King Coal Dump on US
Today RAN and our friends in DC dumped 1,000 pounds of Appalachian dirt onto the front lawn at the EPA’s headquarters. Our message? “EPA: Don’t let King Coal dump on…
Top 3 Ways to Rid U.S. Need for Mountaintop Removal Coal
Those of us who are working to stop mountaintop removal coal mining are often asked how the United States would meet its energy needs without coal from Appalachia. There are…
Two Very Different Acts of God in Appalachia
A few weeks ago, Massey Energy went on a PR offensive to promote the concept that the worst US mine disaster in 40 years – at Massey’s Upper Big Branch…
The True Cost of Coal
My friend and mentor David Solnit often talks about “a movement of movements.” He describes them as a convergence space where we experiment with and test our resistance to power….