Coal River Mountain Wind
July 9, 2008

Windmills at an existing Wind Farm in West Virginia
Coal River Mountain Watch, along with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and Appalachian Voices, has just launched an exciting new campaign to bring a wind farm to Coal River Mountain.

Coal River Mountain is one of the last mountains left intact in the beautiful Coal River Valley of West Virginia. However, Massey Energy has plans to mine 6600 acres of the mountain - almost 10 square miles. 

Fortunately, there is an alternative to mountaintop removal mining – wind power. This is a unique opportunity to move our nation and West Virginia toward the production of clean energy, and to preserve our nation's mountains for generations to come.

This wind farm would:

· Create Jobs 200 local employment opportunities during construction, and 50 permanent jobs during the life of the wind farm. It takes only 27 years for a wind farm to provide a greater number of one-year jobs than the four surface mines combined.

The proposed mountaintop removal mine on Coal River Mountain

· Create Energy – Provide 440MW or enough energy for 150,000 homes – indefinitely, as well as a sustained tax income that could be used for the construction of new schools for the county.

· Create Economic Potential – Allow for concurrent uses of the mountain including harvesting of wild ginseng and valuable forest plants, sustainable forestry, and mountain tourism, as Coal River Mountain is one of West Virginia's finest mountains.

· Preserve Heritage – Coal River Mountain has provided for the people of the Coal River Valley for generations. A mountaintop removal mine would block residents from the mountain and destroy the lands ancestors once lived on, as well as the family cemeteries they rest in.

· Protect the Land and Community – More than 500,000 acres in West Virginia alone have been destroyed by surface mining. Mountaintop Removal mining buries and poisons drinking water, increases flooding, damages homes and personal property, and devastates wildlife habitat.

Please visit www.CoalRiverWind.org for more information and to get involved.  And dont forget to sign the petition and tell your friends to do the same.

Coal River Mountain from nearby Kayford mountain which lost 550 MW of wind energy potential when the 10,000+ acre Surface mine went it.

 
Keepers of the Mountain Music Festival
June 30, 2008

Larry Gibson with students from JMU.

On Saturday, July 5th and Sunday, July 6th, the annual Mountain Keepers Music Festival will be held at Kayford Mountain's Stanley Heirs Park . This concert is the premier music festival that celebrates environmental justice in southern West Virginia.  The two day event will feature local and regional musicians playing a variety of bluegrass, gospel, country and old time music, as well as children's games, a pot-luck meal and silent auction.  This is a free concert that will celebrate Appalachian life and attendees are encouraged to bring a covered dish. 
 
The purpose of the concert, according to local citizen activist Larry Gibson, is to show support for "human rights, health and water rights, and basically everything that we have." Larry Gibson, whose family has lived on the same land for over 230 years, has been working to protect his health, his heritage, and his community from the ravages of Mountain Top Removal. The concert will be for remembrance of the homes and jobs lost, while also celebrating communities' efforts to resist MTR and promote sustainable jobs for a better future. 
 
The festival will feature many emerging artists who celebrate their 
homes and heritage.  Elizabeth LaPrelle (www.old97wrecords.com/ elizabeth-laprelle/about.htm ) will be singing with her mother, Sandy LaPrelle, on the fiddle.

Jim Savarino (www.jimsavarino.com), who has played at festivals from Iowa to Texas, will be performing Appalachain roots contemporary folk songs.  Keith, Joan and Jake Pitzer (http://www.pitzermusic.com/) bring together traditional and contemporary styles with down to earth lyrics.  They play traditional Appalachian tunes, Celtic roots music and original songs.  The Lone Tones, (http://www.thelonetones.com/home.html) a popular Knoxville, Tennessee band, have garnered regional and national attention for their unique style, literate songwriting, inspiring live shows and fine recordings.

For more information about the concert: www.myspace.com/mtkeepersfest

There is a potluck Saturday afternoon so please bring a dish to share.  There is also free camping available Saturday night.  Bring camping supplies, water, and snacks if you plan on staying.

This is a drug and alcohol free event.

 
Celebrate EARTH DAY with us at the premiere of 'Burning The Future,' a documentary about Mountaintop Removal tonight in Charleston, WV
April 21, 2008

Tuesday, April 22

6:30pm

Capital Center Theatre

123 Summers Street

Charleston, WV

------------------------------------

write up from the Herald Dispatch... pictures courtesy of burningthefuture.com

36% of US global warming emissions comes from approximately 501 coal-burning power plants - that's more than the emissions from 377 million cars.

CHARLESTON - Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and Coal River Mountain Watch are celebrating Earth Day by sponsoring the West Virginia premiere of "Burning the Future: Coal in America" at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, at the Capitol Center Theatre, 123 Summers Street, Charleston.

Independent film-maker David Novack will premiere his new documentary "Burning the Future: Coal in America." Three years in the making, the film chronicles efforts by West Virginia coalfield citizens' to raise the nation's consciousness about mountaintop removal and the high costs of so-call "cheap" energy to their heritage, health, and communities.

Maria Gunnoe in the bright lights of Times Square

For more info about the film and about the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, go online at www.ohvec.org.

http://www.burningthefuture.com/

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x754072564

 
Mountain Justice Coal River Valley and Coal River Mountain Watch host acclaimed artist Franceso di Santis
March 31, 2008

View some of the portraits done so far

For the next 2 weeks, Mountain Justice Coal River Valley and CRMW will be hosting an amazing artist... Franceso di Santis!!!

Francesco is the artist of the Post Katrina Portrait-Story Project.

from his website: "Francesco di Santis is a self taught artist, whose charcoal, carbon, graphite, china marker and pastel drawings have widened the intersection of folklore, oral history, nonfiction, psychology, therapy, fine art and social movement or phenomena."

Check out the website to familiarize yourself with his work, it is very moving...

http://postkatrinaportraits.org/

Francesco will be doing a version of this project for people living in Appalachia that are working to preserve the heritage and land. He will do charcoal drawings and participants  (or a family member who is able) will write a personal narrative DIRECTLY ON THE PORTRAIT in their own handwriting.

Francesco is working with other regional organizations and has already done some work at Mountain Justice Spring Break, the coal fields of Tennnessee, and the Appalachian Studies Association conference.

Here is some general info we first received from our friends at United Mountain Defense:

"I am happy to announce that Francesco di Santis of the The Post Katrina Portrait-Story Project  CONTACTED US and wants to come to Appalachia to start a project here about the mountain justice movement, coal mining, the mountains, and mountain communities."


To date his most noted project is the 2000 drawings that he produced during the year following hurricane Katrina in New Orleans which were compiled into a book containing roughly 400 images at http://postkatrinaportraits.org/  and numerous traveling and publicly displayed shows.  The book is really a wonderful piece of work and most of the books are available IN New Orleans, at local bookstores and through grassroots organizations there.
Anyone of the region who feels they have a story to tell of it is eligible, who can consolidate memories of their experiences into a clear narrative. Anyone may be drawn as many times as they wish to continue participating. Drawings typically take less than an hour.

 A portrait book is one possible outcome of this project and would be called 'Voices for Appalachia - Written and Narrated by Hundreds'. Aside, the portaits will be posted in locations throughout Appalachia, and be available for free download on the the internet at portraitstoryproject.org. The work can also be viewded on websites of other involved organizations, such as Clearfork Community Institute.

We will be coordinating times for people to have their portraits drawn.

I think it is important that we get as many directly impacted people as possible to participate, as well as those involved and/or connected.

We are very excited about this and I hope you all are excited as well! :)

Francesco is here for 2 weeks so let us know if you are interested and what days you are available. I am sure he will do many portraits in our office for this area but is willing to travel to other areas in WV as well.

Please contact us if you would like to be a part of this wonderful experience!


(304) 854-2182

or email Sarah to set up a time and date to participate...

sarah@crmw.net

 
Homepage Archive