Sara Pennington

The Biblioburro

2008-10-20T23:16:00.001-04:00

In a time when so much bad news from Colombia is making it's way to me, it was good to read about the biblioburro.

WYMT (in eastern Kentucky) is the worst local news station in the universe

2008-10-20T23:04:00.002-04:00

For example, this awful "report" that doesn't even mention it's about the Stream Buffer Zone rule change that the Bush Administration is trying to push through as part of his pandering legacy to Big Fossil Fuel: http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews/headlines/31411129.html

Colombia Trip on the Radio

2008-10-07T14:54:00.002-04:00

For more info about my first trip to Colombia with Witness for Peace, you can listen to an interview with two other Kentuckians who took the trip and myself that was broadcast back in August:

http://www.appalshop.org/wmmt/node/448

Recap

2008-10-07T12:10:00.002-04:00

Between technical difficulties and world-traveling, I haven't kept up with this blog as much as I've wanted to. It has really fallen by the wayside. But, it seems that there's something about fall that makes me want to start up again. So, the best place to start is probably a big ole update: what's going on now and what's happened this year...

And a big year it's been: I visited NYC for the first time for the AWP (creative writing) conference. Went to Tallahassee--and visited friends in Atlanta on a tornado day on the way down--and successfully defended my dissertation. And the finishing of said dissertation was also a biggie. I've sent the book out to a couple places so far, and will send out to a ton more during the fall submission periods. More recently I've had poems accepted in journals I like (Subtropics and The Virginia Quarterly Review) and have gotten paid for poetry finally. In April I traveled to Washington, D.C. for the first time and, there, lobbied with more than 120 other folks from 20 states for the Clean Water Protection Act (which would help to curb mountaintop removal mining by disallowing "waste" to be used as "fill" in US waterways). Since then, I've been back to DC three more times, twice to lobby. And during these trips, I've learned something(s) about myself: I love "city-time," the quick pace, the fierce walking, the something always to do. And I love lobbying, the sitting down with a Congressperson or aide and explaining an issue for the first time, or going into more depth about the issue, the mental gymnastics of trying to figure out what would be the most effective to share with these folks. All of it is so exciting to me. In February I participated in my first big KFTC action, "I Love Mountains Day," a rally on the freezing cold KY capitol steps, surrounded by thousands of others who want the same clean, healthy, and secure future I want. And then, in May, I went to Colombia for a week with Witness for Peace to tour the coal mining regions of the Guajira and Cesar--truly a life-changing experience for me, all of which is too great to go into here in this little update--maybe a later post? But, after that trip, I knew that I wanted to work both against MTR mining here, but also with the communities affected by the coal mining in Colombia. A big turning moment was after I got back to the US and took my first MTR flyover in a little four-seater plane. Driving back to Hindman from the Hazard aiport, everything fell into place, though the emotions were scary at first. I knew I wanted to go back to Colombia this year to learn Spanish, to take photos for an art project, and to work on starting the Appalachian - Colombian Coalfield Alliance. And in the beginning of July, that's what I did: signed up for four weeks of Spanish courses in Bogotá and bought my plane ticket. Before I left in early August, things really picked up around here: my grandmother celebrated her 100th birthday, I gave my first public presentation on MTR to a group at the Lotts Creek School, I ran reconnaissance on an valley fill directly above the lake where I'll soon be getting my drinking water, I flew in a Dept. of the Interior plane with two US congressman and an official with the Office of Surface mining (more than holding my own against OSM's lies and propaganda), and returned to DC for another one of those lobbying trips. Also during this time, I was driving all around eastern Kentucky, interviewing folks for a piece on MTR coal that was was writing for Greenpeace. Then, I went to Colombia for what ended up being six weeks instead of four, spent mostly in Bogotá, studying at the Spanish World Institute. Toward the end of that trip, Jordan Freeman, a videographer with a documentary on MTR coal in the US, flew down to Bogotá and then we traveled together to the coal mining region to visit with the communities affected by the mining, and to talk with unionists and others working in solidarity with these communities. While in Colombia, I finished my Greenpeace work. Before leaving Bogotá for the US, I learned that the Corps of Engineers / Bureau of Land Management is considering leasing the mineral rights to the area that my family was displaced from (in order to build the East Lynn Lake) in the 60s. With Skype and chat and the help of my mom, I started getting informed on that issue--the first time I or my family has been directly influenced but the coal industry and its bureaucracy. We're still working on sending in public comments, speaking out against the environmental and cultural/ethical problems about such a lease. I then flew from Bogotá to DC, where I had a meeting with other members of KFTC with Congressman Norman Dicks (chair of the Appropriations Committee that oversees the Office of Surface Mining) and Congressman Ben Chandler from Kentucky. I gave a 20 - 30 minute presentation on the first day, and then we lobbied for the next 2 days. From that trip, we've already gotten at least one more co-sponsor for the bill. I rode back home to KY with folks in two vans. Since then I've done fun things like visit Whit's class to talk about government (soon after, of their own volition, the students were writing letters and drafting petitions to send to lawmakers), participated in a news conference and have been interviewed by a few reporters, and went to Delaware (via DC) to speak to two Sierra Club groups. Oh, and got to watch the VP debate in Biden's home state--which was exciting. During this, I've also still been making the sporadic updates to the websites I work on (Chattahoochee Review, Kids in Need - Books in Deed, and LEAF) and gardening some while I'm in town. I was happy to learn I hadn't missed all the harvest while in Colombia. We're working this week on getting late winter crops in the ground.

Oh, and just a few days ago: I got a job: working for Appalachian Voices (telecommunting), doing research and writing for a white paper on mining and climate strategy among other projects. And just in time: student loan repayment starts in about a month...

Well, I think that's all for now, you're all caught up. Now, time for me to go get caught up on more work.

Photos from my most recent trip to the Guajira region of Colombia

2008-10-07T12:02:00.001-04:00

Back!

2008-09-26T12:34:00.004-04:00

Finally got the problems with the server worked out today, and so, after months, I can start posting here again....and, boy, do I have much to post.

As you can see, that last post languished in the queue for more than a month and a half, and that's the only thing I've written so far about Colombia. Since that time, I've been back to Colombia for 6 weeks, and back to Washington, DC, twice.

Hope to get y'all caught up shortly, if anyone is still even checking in on here. First task: finish that last post.

But, in the meantime, you can check out pics from my most recent visit to the coal fields of Colombia here: http://tinyurl.com/4e9ylo

Happy fall, y'all. Merry autumn, y'uns.

Mi Vida Loca

2008-07-01T14:50:00.016-04:00

As usual, it has been far too long since I've posted an update here. Maybe I've said this before: the more that's going on in my life, the less likely I am to post. The more I have to write about, the less I write. Ain't I got it backerds?

So, the only way I can get over these humps, is just too go random on y'all.

I guess the first topic should be Colombia...the big'un.

So, I went to Colombia May 23 - June 1 with KFTC and Witness for Peace to visit the coal mining regions of the country. To continue the randomness, I'll show you this rather tangential pic of the trip first...for some reason, this is the pic that made me want to blog about all this:

Here we are, on the street, outside a restaurant in (I think) Valledupar, buying a desert, what I think, in English, is called something like "the sweet." In the pic is me--with my old woman-looking, Yoda-looking arms (boy, do I need to start working out again)--Nancy, and Leo, who is from Colombia and is translating--I think it was Leo who called the concoctions we were buying "the sweet." You get a little shot sized plastic cup with two VERY sweet foods in it, and one of those little grade-school, wooden ice cream spoons to eat it with. As I kept saying: es muy dulce. I had papaya and coconut. There was one thing that Leo kept saying was "cut milk"--I think it might have been fried and sweetened milk curds...but I'm not sure about that either. I wasn't about to try it, either.

Random note: speaking of all this super sweetness (I couldn't even finish my little cup of "the sweet") is making me think of water. Instead of bottled water, we drank from bags. And the bags littered everywhere we went, especially along the "highways." Thousands...millions of bags everywhere: this is what happens when the gov't-corporate complex cares so little about the infrastructure and health of the rural poor that you have to get all your water from bags.

Okay, moving on...look at these two pics: one from Hazard, Kentucky (outside the aiport, from where I flew last week in a 4-seater Cessna to view MTR mining from the air):

[....to be continued....Blogger isn't wanting to let me upload more pics right now...]

Hindman Gothic

2008-05-09T21:17:00.002-04:00

Ahhh...it finally rained last night--after a bit of a dry spell--and so this evening we got to play in the dirt. So much easier cultivating damp soil than dry. Tomorrow, in go the seeds and seedlings. And "on" switches the electric fence. (I put it up all by myself...feeling proud.)

Other random notes: Bill Clinton spoke at my high school in Wayne today...I found out about it in the NYTimes. Weird.

And, another good webby find for today: the "How can I recycle this?" blog.

I just flew in from Vegas...

2008-05-08T19:03:00.002-04:00

and, boy, are my arms tired!

Ba-doomp-cha!

Seriously, seriously...

I didn't fly in from Vegas, but my arms really *are* sore. I would like to tell you that it was from driving a piece of rebar (to use as a grounding rod for the garden's solar electric fence) seven feet into the ground yesterday, all by my scrawny self...but that wouldn't be true. My arms are already aching from getting four vaccination shots three hours ago. Yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis, and tetanus. All prep for my trip to Columbia in 2 1/2 weeks. When the NP saw my scrawny arms she said it was going to hurt me, so I should go home and play some basketball.

Anyone up for a game of H-O-R-S-E?

Get Behind

2008-04-30T00:17:00.002-04:00

Check out this old WWII Victory Garden poster. Sexist....but, hey, I like her outfit. (If you've ever seen me walking around Hindman this spring, you know what I mean. On top of the overalls, it's time to bust out the straw hat.)

More soon on my gardening attempts, maybe some pics--seedlings and overalls, for example--, other philosophical gardening thoughts, and other Victory Garden propaganda.

You'll get all the quotidian details...soon, I promise.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this quote from George Bush from today (well, yesterday, now, at this hour) from a speech in the Rose Garden:

"We are deeply concerned about food prices here at home"

and

"Creative policy is to buy food from local farmers"

G'night, sweet peas.

Heart-wrenching, from Mother Jones

2008-04-21T18:33:00.002-04:00

The Coal Miner's Granddaughter

Meet the self-proclaimed Appalachian redneck fighting for the children in coal mining country.

Kurt Pitzer

Mother Jones
April 18 , 2008

Deep into Coal River Valley, a remote region of hollows in West Virginia's Raleigh County, the children of Marsh Fork Elementary attend school less than a quarter mile below a dam that holds back billions of gallons of toxic coal mine sludge—about 2.8 billion, depending on the season and the rains. At first, no one was alarmed when the dam began to leak a few years ago. Coal mining is such an all-consuming part of these hills that its dangers are almost generally accepted as a fact of life.

But in April 2004, when Ed Wiley picked up his granddaughter, Kayla, from school, he noticed that the recurring red splotches on her face and neck were worse than ever, and that the spunky fourth-grader seemed listless.

"Possum, buddy, you okay?" he recalls asking her. "Tears were running down her face. And she said, 'Gramps, these coal mines are making us sick.'"

A self-described redneck—he's a 10th-generation Appalachian whose father was a trapper—Wiley cuts a distinctive figure with his slightly hunched gait, bulbous eyes, and camouflage baseball cap. Like most everyone else in the region, he'd spent most of his life working for the coal companies. But after that talk with Kayla, and doubting the school nurse's diagnosis that she had asthma, he started asking questions. He grew worried that arsenic, chromium, lead, manganese, and other carcinogens from the coal slurry might leak into water from the school's drinking fountains or the stream that runs by the schoolyard. Then an independent study of the air inside the school showed the children were likely breathing fine dust from the coal silo and other mining facilities only a few hundred yards away. A follow-up "visual" survey in August 2006 by the Environmental Protection Agency (in which no water or air samples were collected) confirmed that coal dust was present at the school, but said that no studies were available to determine the health risks.

That's when Wiley started looking into Marsh Fork, the dam he himself had helped build for the coal companies starting in 2000, a massive pile of rocks and soil across the valley. A similar dam at Buffalo Creek in nearby Logan County had burst suddenly one morning in 1972, killing 125 people, mostly women and children in their homes. If the Marsh Fork dam were to give way during school hours, Kayla and her classmates could drown within seconds.

A few Marsh Fork parents keep their children at home on days of heavy rain, fearing a dam collapse. Otherwise, Wiley says, the isolated community had been doing its best to ignore the potential catastrophe. "All the guys in the valley work for Massey," he says. "They like to walk around in their blue uniforms with red stripes and never take them off. They's all young guns, who say if we complain about the coal company, the company's going to leave us."

Haunted by what he'd learned, Wiley went to the local board of education and asked them to move the school. When that didn't work, he started gathering pennies from neighbors and friends—"Pennies of Promise," he called them—hoping to shame officials into taking action. In the summer of 2006 he marched for 40 days, alone, to the governor's mansion in Charleston, carrying a flag with a picture of Marsh Fork embroidered on it and a bag with $400 in pennies as seed money for a new school. A local news crew followed him as, with Kayla at his side, he confronted Gov. Joe Manchin, who promised to look into the issue and was quickly whisked away by aides.

Since then, Wiley has staged a hunger strike to temporarily stop construction of a second coal silo next to the elementary school, picketed the Today Show in New York, and been hauled off to jail for protesting outside the governor's office. "I've lost a few friends around here," he says. "But I've made some new ones" —young environmentalists, who consider him an inspiration.

Meanwhile, Massey subsidiaries are still planning to build a second coal silo right next to the school. And there seems little enthusiasm to move Marsh Fork, or to study the safety issue, from Manchin, who has followed through on promises to make West Virginia even more coal friendly.

Calls to Manchin's office were returned by his general counsel, Carte Goodwin, who said, "If there is a need and a justification for the closing of Marsh Fork Elementary and relocating it...that is an analysis and a decision that needs to be made by the residents of Raleigh County." Indignant, Raleigh County Board of Education president Rick Snuffer responded that, while he supported moving the school, it was unfair to ask one of the nation's poorest counties to pay for a situation created by one of its wealthiest industries. "The problem isn't the school," he said. "The problem is the coal mines, which came in after the school was there. Massey and the state of West Virginia created this mess, and they want to pass the buck to us."

Wiley says his campaign will continue; Kayla has graduated to middle school, but he has two grandchildren old enough to start kindergarten at Marsh Fork in the next few years. "I wake up every morning worrying about what could happen to all those kids up there."

If he ever succeeds, Wiley says, his next campaign will be to protect wildlife endangered by strip-mining and mountaintop removal. "My eyes have been opened to a lot of things," he says. "I've started down a whole new road in my life."

Mile Long Petition / For Clean Energy in Virginia

2008-04-14T11:20:00.004-04:00

Help the people of Southwest Virginia (just over the mountain from Kentucky) defeat Dominion Power's new coal fired power plant:

Where I Was, and What I Was Doing

2008-04-12T17:52:00.001-04:00

More info here: ilovemountains.org

from Watchdog Earth: "An Environmental Debate"

2008-04-11T15:56:00.004-04:00

from Watchdog Earth, a blog by James Bruggers of the Louisville Courier-Journal:

McCain, Clinton and Obama will have their representatives debating environmental policies on Friday at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

C-SPAN is scheduled to broadcast the event, live, roughly between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

If you don't have access to cable TV, watch it online at the C-SPAN website, here.

The event, Political Climate: Environment, Energy & the 2008 Election, is sponsored by the Society of Environmental Journalists, with BNA, the Environmental Law Institute and National Geographic co-sponsors.

I think this is a pretty big deal. People who have been interested in science, energy and environmental issues like climate change have been frustrated by a lack of in-depth discussion on these important topics in the presidential campaign. This event promises to help get that discussion going.

Details about who's talking, and who's moderating, can be found here.

Been Busy

2008-04-03T01:37:00.002-04:00

Here's one thing I've been doing:

creating this (work-in-progress) resource for green news from/for eastern Kentucky. (And let me emphasize that here in the e. KY mountains, green news is a real scarcity.)

A big part of my mental/intellectual/emotional energy is spent being "anti" to things (especially MTR mining), so I thought it'd be nice to materialize--and create some buzz while I'm at it--for something I'm "pro": environmental sustainability.

Every day I see the effects of more and more Big Coal money being poured into pro-coal PR. So, this is my grassroots fight back. If I can keep this site steady and positive for a while, I'll bring others into the fold, adding more contributors and spreading the word.

I'll let you know if anything cool comes of this.

Beddy-bye-time.

--Sleepy P.

Good Things on a Monday

2008-03-24T13:40:00.002-04:00

I making up my own list of five good things for this Monday:

1) just walked in from standing out in the snow for fun...the biggest, lightest flakes in since I can't remember when.

2) reorganizing the kitchen so there's more light coming in the window, and sitting here and typing and looking out and watching the above-mentioned flakes continue to fall.

3) the new Ben Sollee album, "Learning to Bend," just got the gorgeous limited edition CD in the mail. You've got to check it out: wwww.bensollee.com Gorgeous voice, innovative & beautiful cello, plus appearances by Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck. One of my favorite lines (from the song "Bend") (I'm sure there'll be another favorite tomorrow):

I saw God in the forest
Teaching tai chi
To the trees in the wind
And bowing to the sea.

4) daffodils

5) being, once-and-for-all, done with school.

Well, except for basket making classes (there's one tonight!) and such.

Okay...and a bonus:

6) teaching myself my first song on the banjo: "Get Along Down to Town." I heard it on an album of Ray Slone's old time banjo tunes (I've mentioned Ray on here earlier: he died of liver cancer last fall and was one of Knott county's kindest souls and preeminent musicians, and I regret not getting to spend time with him). My favorite verse from the song:

Rich girl uses cold cream
Poor girl uses lard
My girl uses axle grease
And rubs it twice as hard.

Et Tu, Doctor?

2008-03-15T12:08:00.003-04:00

It's the Ides of March and we're on the road this afternoon, heading toward Tallahassee, for my dissertation defense on Wednesday and a flurry of paperwork to turn in to the university thereafter.

I hope to have a better time at it than Julius Caesar.

This is our president

2008-03-11T22:31:00.000-04:00

Failed

2008-03-11T15:24:00.002-04:00

The Stream Saver bill just failed in the KY House Appropriations & Revenue committee by one vote. Three representatives passed on their vote, and one, Rep. Denham, ran from the room so his vote would be counted as absent.

I'm not usually one for name calling, but those non-voters are spineless weasels.

Their non-vote was a vote for greed, corruption and corporate profit. At least the constituents of those who voted "no" can know what their representative stands for, even if it is for Big Coal.

I'll have more later, I'm sure. But, right now, I'm going to mourn. Mourn the 300 more days until the next regular session of the General Assembly, mourn one more year of the destruction of the mountains.

Yes, I'm going to mourn and then find a way to come back fighting.

Until then...

"And that's why water must be protected everywhere!"

2008-03-10T11:50:00.005-04:00

From the new documentary film, FLOW: For Love of Water:

More info at www.flowthefilm.com. Four more inspiring and frightening clips here.

Malarkey

2008-03-09T16:31:00.006-04:00

This is the biggest bunch of bull hockey, nothing but Big Coal propaganda trying to pass itself off as "news."

Click the image to watch the video:

What I am heartened by are the comments left on the news page, some by folks I know, lots by folks I don't, pointing out the lies and destruction of the coal companies as well as the inaccuracies in the "news" report, comments that (mostly) refuse the poisoned bait of the pro-MTR comments and refute their fuzzy logic. Comments like this:

Posted on Mar 9, 2008 at 04:11 PM
Sorry, but I keep reading such lies and cannot help but keep commenting. I want people to know that this bill WILL NOT take away jobs. I wish people would read the bill and understand what we (everyday normal Kentuckians) are trying to do. I know there are people, either working in the mines or have family in the mines, who are afraid to speak out against the wrong doings of the coal companies. I am not a terriorists. I am a Kentuckian. I love the mountains and the streams and the people. Please people you all know the truth about the coal companies. They are the ones that are not truthful.Please understand we are not taking jobs away. We want a better life for our families.

Posted on Mar 9, 2008 at 02:02 PM
A person ask me one day... Do you really think you can stop mountaintop removal? ... I had to respond by saying do you really think you can keep doing it? How many mountains are to many? We as society have currently leveled over 470 mountains in Appalachia for energy.. www.ilovemountains.org find your connection... See for yourself www.ohvec.org

Posted on Mar 9, 2008 at 12:12 PM
When you're looking at who supports this bill and who doesn't in the legislature, you'll find many of the non-supporters, even those "from eastern KY", are bought and sold by the coal companies, own stock in them, have an interest to maintain that is not the interest of the people.

Posted on Mar 9, 2008 at 11:10 AM
I worked in southern West Virginia and saw how the water and the the homes of local people were devistated by mountain top removal. It's unfair to persons who have made their homes there for generations and its destructive of our earth.

Posted on Mar 9, 2008 at 09:53 AM
The real terrorists are the men who are blowing up the mountains, destroying their neighbors homes and water wells, and forever destroying the Appalachain mountains. They are not miners...they are heavy equipment operators. If you can't find a job here without destroying the very place where you live...then YOU get out! The people who actually love this place will find a way to make a living.

Posted on Mar 9, 2008 at 08:29 AM
More jobs can be found-maybe not as well paying-maybe better. The land can be used to produce other income, but not without water. How long do you think the mines will supply water after the coal is gone?? You can't grow a garden with bad water contaminating your food supply. Yes, I live in Charleston, but I lived in 1993 where I grew a garden and was told by the health department "don't use that well water even on your garden." Ask yourself,"would you be happier to live like your grandparents with clean air, water, and food or have 3 and 4 wheelers and other toys for a few years?"

Posted on Mar 9, 2008 at 12:03 AM
In Kentucky in 1979 there were 47,190 people employed in mining. In 2002 that number had dropped to 17,042 people. That’s a loss of over 30,148 mining jobs!3 And coal production during that period? In 1979 Kentucky produced 67,067,653 tons of coal. In 2002 Kentucky produced 131,402,797 tons, almost double the amount of coal, with close to 1/5 of the jobs. How is this possible? It is the nature of strip mining. Strip mining by its very nature erodes and destroys miners’ jobs; it is the death knell for mining unions and more traditional deep mining techniques. Strip mining does not generate coal jobs, it destroys them. As coal from strip mines begins competing against coal from deep mines, the earth is stripped of its coal and the miners are stripped of their jobs.

Posted on Mar 8, 2008 at 11:19 PM
If you knew anything about the government you'd know that often the only way to get a bill introduced is to bury it within another bill. That's why this bill's language was disguised within the camel food bill. This is done all the time. The coal companies use these methods ALL THE TIME to get through loopholes and now they're mad because they've gotten a taste of their own medicine. I am tired of everybody talking about KFTC, too, because I'm not even in KFTC and I'm against MTR. Just because you're anti-MTR does not mean that you're a member of KFTC and it also doesn't mean that you're against coal miners. If people would read and educate themselves they'd know that MTR actually takes job away from this region. Look at this website to educate yourself before saying things that are not true: www.ilovemountains.org .

Posted on Mar 8, 2008 at 03:05 PM
Oh, by the way, I do not oppose shopping centers or Wal-Mart. But I doubt seriously if they would build a shopping center here on my hollow. It is too far out in the boon docks. We have a one lane road. If you meet someone you pull over and let them pass. But one can't get too far out to get away from coal companies.

Posted on Mar 8, 2008 at 02:55 PM
I am from Eastern Ky and I do have a septic system. No I do not have city water. That is not my fault.It is not available to us. There are no water lines on my hollow. But there are plenty of hollow fills. I do not smoke, but I breathe plenty of dust rolling from the strip mine every time a coal or rock truck rolls around the hillside. And I hear the constant sound of dozers and heavy equipment 24/7. My house has been shaken 3 to 4 times a day by blasting, But the OSM inspectors say the cracks in my ceiling are not from blasting. Yesterday a coal company person sat in a neighbor's driveway and stared at me. Then he went past my house revving his engine. Last night someone was sitting in front of my house staring into my living room from the road. Coincidence, I think not. I stated before we have refused the coal company offers. This is the way you are treated if you don't lease to the coal companies.

Posted on Mar 8, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Why assume a person against MTR is not from here? How many of you supporting MTR have it in your front or back yards, or as in Raul Urias’case surrounding his home, 360 degrees. Be honest, we’ve been waiting on the coal companies promises of progress and riches for too many years. My grandparents were moved off their home place in the 70’s due to a strip job - the land has yet to be developed. The Wal-Marts and airports are few and far between, the hardwood forests have yet to reappear. The coal boom has reappeared to provide very few jobs and much destruction! Visit the so called industrial parks of Hazard, Jenkins, and Martin Co. Sure there are a few businesses there that come and go (Sykes). I bet locations could have been found on already stripped areas. The coal counties remain the poorest in the State. Coal is in our mountains -the law of supply and demand dictates King Coal should bow down to us – mine responsibly and safely when taking our coal supply, it is not infinite.

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 at 11:31 PM
I am sitting right here in Hoskinton, in the very heart of Eastern Kentucky, and I am against the way MTR is done, as are many of my friends and family. Now that the Stream Saver Bill is getting seriously looked at the coal industry is running scared and spreading lies. I am just surprised that the news would help to perpetuate these lies since the headline on this story is so misleading. This bill is not to "halt mountaintop removal mining" as the headline says. This bill is to keep the coal companies from dumping waste in the streams. The only people who will pay any price if this bill is passed is the coal companies, NOT the workers. There are a few good local coal companies in Eastern Ky but most of the coal taken out of here is taken by huge corporations headquartered all over the world. I am proud to be a hillbilly and it's time we stand up for ourselves and quit letting these big companies tell us what to do and what to believe.

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 at 11:20 PM
Since it was made public that the Stream Saver might actually be heard before the legislators--much to the chagrin of the coal industry, since they thought sure they had all the legislators under their thumb--the coal association has come out in full force to feed lies and rumors to the people of Eastern Kentucky. Gorman says ending MTR could hurt the region's ability to grow and create jobs. I say the coal companies have been able to do whatever they've wanted to for 100 years and THAT sure hasn't helped us to grow or to create jobs. Come over here to Leslie County and see all the booming economy we DON'T have despite millions of tons of coal coming out of here for the last 100 years. Anybody who believes that letting the coal companies do whatever they want is misinformed and not thinking straight. Don't believe the lies of people who are taking money out of here and leaving us with nothing. There is a better way to mine coal, without destroying Eastern Kentucky.

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 at 10:15 PM
MTR is our own Civil War in the Appalachians. It pits neighbor against neighbor. Just because I speak out against MTR does not mean I am anti-coal. I am against the burying of streams (no matter the kind), the destruction of mountains, the ruination of peoples' health and homes, and unsafe roads. I am for clean water for all, good paying jobs (I bet most miners would switch jobs if they were here and paid equal $/benefits), mountains majesty, clean air, renewable energy sources, and safe roads. We can work this out together. Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) gives people a forum to do just that. Go to their website, www.kftc.org, and see what they are all about. Attend a chapter meeting. Put all these thoughts to positive action. By the way, I've been a member for almost three years now and I have yet to hug a tree!

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 at 05:40 PM
I'm tired of Coal Companies too! They have been blasting and destroying homes. Saturday a blast was set off and a huge Elm tree landed on top of my home and destroyed it. So was that a act of NATURE? I think not, these blast have been getting worst since January, something has to be done!

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 at 04:02 PM
I appreciate WYMT’s coverage of the Stream Saver Bill. The impact of the coal industry on our lives and communities deserves careful analysis and discussion among all of us who live in this region. I wanted to alert you that there are two important errors in the story. First, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) and other environmental groups DO CARE about the lives of coal workers and their families. We know that if it were not for a job in the coal industry, many families in the area would have to leave to find work elsewhere, or go on welfare. Enactment of the Stream Saver bill will NOT lead to a decline in the number of coal industry workers, and may actually increase it (see Sara’s posting). In addition, the demand for our region’s coal will remain very strong because this nation and the world depend on it to generate electricity. Over the next 20 years or so, our nation will have no alternative to coal for generation of much of its electricity. In addition, the Stream Saver bill will improve the condition of our streams as a source of recreation (swimming, fishing, etc.) and drinking water, and it will also help protect our unique and valuable mountain forests. An improved environment will benefit everyone in the region. The second error relates to the spelling of Mr. Urias’ first name, Ruhle. He grew up in the coalfields of Pike County, and worked in coal mines for a number of years.

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 at 02:12 PM:
MTR is an abomination to the land and people of eastern Kentucky. It is already illegal to conduct MTR unless the coal companies get a waiver for says the land will be used for future development. The Army Corp has given these waivers even though there isn't any type of planned development. I'm the son of a coal miner and I want to see the coal mined in a safe and responsible way. Strip mining and MTR mining are not labor intensive ways of mining coal and the lasting results of destroying the water is criminal. Every time there is any opposition to what coal companies want those against the abuses of coal companies are labled anti-coal. I'm not anti-coal, I'm anti MTR when there isn't any type of develpment on the area mined. If I wanted to live in the flatlands, I would move there but I want to live in these hills. Coal companies cry wolf everytime there is anything that will cut into their profits. But they continue to mine coal!

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 at 01:01 PM:
If Mr Gorman had to look at the stream that runs by my house each day I think he would change his mind. The epa nor the coal co is admitting they know what is causing gypsum to form in this stream. If that is what it is. However we know that high levels of sulfates, magnesium and phos. are present. The stream has filled up with a crust about 18 or more inches. Grass is growing in the stream, leaves are sticking together and it has a funny color to the top of the water. Mr Gorman, I want to know: Which is most important- long term health problems for the people living below this stream or a little of money for a season?

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 at 12:28 PM:
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth is a grass roots organization that deals with social justice issues in Ky with over 5000 members. No where in our legal reporting process to the U.S. Government,due to our non-profit status, do we say or imply that we support any type shuting down of the mining industry. For the knowledgeable citizens of Eastern Ky. this coal industry rhetoric has been repeated over an over an over for the entire time coal has been mined. For us older citizens we can remember coal companies crying when the UMWA tried too organize, the coal industry has bought legislators,shut down certain mines,filed bankruptcy, ect. and there are no UMWA to be found in Eastern Ky. The employees therefore have no longterm benefits,this in itself has put billions in the coal barons pockets. Believe what you will, but in my humble opinion the coal companies aren't hurting and they could take some of those profits and hire extra employees to clean up there destruction

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 at 12:08 PM:
I wonder if you people would feel the same way if your home was being shaken 3 times a day from dynamite blasts and had to live with a valley fill above your home which could slip and cover your home at any time. This is not a bill to stop mountaintop removal. It is a bill to stop the coal companies from dumping rocks and dirt into valleys and hollows thereby filling streams completely. I live here on a hollow with 9 valley fills with ponds above my house. Anyone of these could break at any time and flood my home. If your husband is truly a miner, he can tell you the truth about what he does on the job all day. I don;t feel I am obligated to give up everything I own so that your husband can have a job and we can ship coal to China. By the way I refuse to lease my land to the coal company. And we get constant harassment from workers and truckers. Would you kill me just to keep your job and take my land? The truckers are constantly trying to run me and my husband off the road.

A Letter from Silas House

2008-03-08T14:40:00.003-05:00

I received this forwarded letter from Silas this afternoon. Great stuff. Let me make one factual correction: the bill will not be voted on on Monday, but Tuesday if everyone is present at the Appropriations and Revenue committee meeting. This date was just changed yesterday evening.

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

From: Silas House
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2008 13:08:47 -0500
Subject: The Fight Heats Up

I sent the following editorial to the Lexington Herald Leader this morning, but am not sure if they'll be able to get it in on-time or not (the next vote is on Monday, so it'll be useless after that). If you can use it in any way, please do so; feel free to pass it on to anyone you'd like (but please copy and paste to cut out email address). I'm also typing in the text of the letter from the coal industry being given out at stores and such. Yours, Silas

Going Through the Emotions
by Silas House

Is it possible to be a proud Appalachian and to also be against mountaintop removal mining? I think so. In fact, it seems to me that if you really love Eastern Kentucky, you'll want to find a way for it to not be destroyed. Not the other way around.

The coal industry would have us believe otherwise, of course. Knowing of our regional pride, they want us to believe that good Appalachians will always put the coal industry's success first—even over our own success. Otherwise the coal industry won't be in charge. And they can't have that. Oh, no.

When the Stream Saver Bill finally got put before the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee last week, after languishing for three years, the coal industry started running scared immediately. Although it looked like the bill might actually be voted on, three members of the committee were absent, putting the vote off a week and giving the industry time to get its ducks in a row.

The industry started strengthening itself the way they only do when they are taking drastic measures. Whereas the anti-mountaintop removal camp has always been grassroots, going straight to the people first and giving them the power, the coal industry only goes to the people last, when they're desperate. Otherwise why fool with the plebeians? The industry hired people to go out to the stores, hollers, and gas stations of Eastern Kentucky to pass out petitions and spout propaganda. Many of their representatives were spouting lies, too.

The petitions going around contained information that was so misleading they were downright laughable. For one, they claimed that passage of the Stream Saver Bill would end mountaintop removal mining. The Bill only calls for the elimination of dumping waste irresponsibly (the bill can be read at www.lrc.ky.gov/record/08RS/HB164.htm).

This won't take coal miners' jobs away. It will only make it more expensive for the coal company to do mountaintop removal mining because it will require them to be more responsible.

They're going to mine this coal no matter what—there's too much money to be made—but they'd have us believe they'll quit if they don't get to do it exactly the way they want to. They won't.

If I decide I'm tired of my old house and tear it down, I'm not allowed to just throw the remnants of my first house in the road (or push it in the creek) where its nails will flatten the tires of my neighbors, where its discarded gas-lines and such will be a hazard to other people. I'm required to dispose of that waste properly. Sure, it'd be easier and cheaper for me to just throw it in the road, but I am required—not only by law but by common human decency—to clean up my mess properly.

Right now the coal companies are not required to do that and they're not going to do it voluntarily, even though it's the right thing to do. When morals collapse, laws must be enacted.

They also claim that only 7% of Appalachia will ever be impacted by surface mining. I would venture to say that all of Appalachia is already impacted by it. All of Kentucky is being impacted. All of the nation.

I live thirty minutes away from a mountaintop removal site—much farther than many people—yet I am impacted by it everyday: by the trucks that are overloaded to keep up with the high production rates by this quick and cheap way of mining, trucks that are owned by hardworking local people who shouldn't be forced by the company to overload, yet the state gives the company that right, not the driver. I am impacted by the waste that goes into my headwaters. I'm impacted by the feeling of worthlessness that invades your life when you live in state-sanctioned destruction all the time. I'm impacted by the fact that big business is given a free pass while normal, hard-working citizens have to pay the price, trying to clean up the streams and patch the roads and just get by the best way they can.

There are so many lies being circulated by the papers and rumors being passed around Eastern Kentucky that I could never tackle them all here. But the biggest lie being told—in writing, no less, on a paper that coal industry reps are asking people to sign so they can be presented to the legislature—is that there are only eight active MTR mines in Eastern Kentucky. Anyone who has ever driven across Hwy 80 has seen more active MTR sites than that, and the vast majority of sites can't even be seen, tucked way back where no one can see them (and certainly where no one will ever go to those malls or golf courses that the industry is always bragging about).

I had already heard about the circulating papers when I went to the store to buy some pre-blizzard milk and bread. A woman approached me, asking me to sign one of the anti-bill papers. Much to her chagrin, I took it with me. The letter ends this way: "Don't let your common sense be swayed by broad-brush emotional statements. This is about the future of eastern Kentucky, not about remembrances of the past."

Well, I couldn't have said it better myself. The coal industry thinks it can sway our common sense so easily because they think that Eastern Kentuckians are stupid. We're not, and it's time we stand up and let them know that by supporting a bill that won't do anything except protect our waterways.

The industry wants to keep talking about how emotional the anti-MTR camp is, but they should take a look in the mirror. They're the ones who are being emotional and playing on people's fears. And if we're worried about the future of this region, we need to start making sure that it isn't polluted, that it's a safe place for our children, that we're not under the thumb of a multi-billion dollar industry that gives back very little, if anything.

We have to stand up together and let them know that we're not buying their big, whiny lies any more.

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

The following is the letter people are being asked to sign at stores, stations, etc.

TO: Honorable members of the Kentucky House of Representatives and Senate

House Bill 164, the Stream Saver Bill, will seriously impact surface and
underground mining in Kentucky by not allowing excess rock to be placed in
streams that only flow when it is raining.

Why focus only on coal? Our fills are no different than those needed for
highway construction, real estate development, commercial development, other
mineral extraction, and farming.

People living in the flatlands take level land for granted. There is no
level land outside the floodplain in Appalachia that hasn't been created by
man. We need this land for our future economy.

* Only a small percentage, 7%, of the Appalachian coal fields will be
impacted by surface mining.

* You cannot surface mine without the surface owner's permission. The
surface owner must agree on the post-mining reclamation.

* There are only eight active mountaintop removal permits in Kentucky.
Only two mountaintop removal permits have been issued since 2005.

* In the 24 eastern Kentucky coal-producing counties:
--6,055 surface miners mine 45.5 million tons of coal
--$354,629,000 is paid in direct wages
--23,000 trickle down or extra jobs
--$1.9 billion in gross sales of coal (79.5% is exported out of Kentucky)
--$1.5 billion brought back to eastern Kentucky where 85 cents on each
dollar stays and circulates
--$87 million paid in severance taxes ($43 million back to 24 coal counties)

Coal provides high paying jobs and delivers cheap, dependable electricity.
Kentucky has the 4th lowest electrical rate in the U.S., which is critical
not only for attracting businesses like aluminum plants and auto
manufacturing plants but also for our low income and elderly residents.

The elimination of surface mining will end future farms, airports, housing
subdivisions, industrial parks, recreational areas, commercial sites, golf
courses, and a host of other actual uses of reclaimed coal mine lands.

Don't let your common sense be swayed by broad-brush, emotional statements.
This is about the future of eastern Kentucky, not about remembrances of the
past.

Energy, Politics, and . . . Fun!

2008-03-07T14:20:00.006-05:00

I realize that I write a lot about energy and politics on here, and don't give you (whoever you all are) much fun--not much personal life, nothing very jokey. Which, I don't like doing, because I know I like reading people's blogs sometimes for their intimate details and obsessions and zany senses of humor. So, here is something that combines all three for me: my obsession with fossil fuel & renewable energy, my sometimes unhealthy obsession with politics, and my love of funny things (which I think you'd realize from me in person, but that rarely comes across in my writing, whether it's blogging or poetry).

Picked up from the Crooks & Liars website.

Windows Media:
Download | Play

Quicktime:
Download | Play

I think my favorite line is "Come for the friends, stay for the hummus."

Mmmmm...hummus. I could eat some hummus right now.

On a totally different note: who all out there has been snowed or iced in today? What're you doing for fun while you stay in from this crazy weather? I'm not sure myself, as all the weekend plans around here have just gone up in smoke. So, I'll get back to you on that. But, one thing I know: I'll be learning to play "Buffalo Gals" with the new techniques I'm learning on the banjo. Now *that's* some real fun!

Later, gators.

Saying it perfectly

2008-03-04T12:02:00.005-05:00

My thoughts in another woman's mouth.

From the Nashville Tennesseean:

DON'T BE DECEIVED ON ENERGY PROMISES

By Cathie Bird -- March 3, 2008

Let's be honest: The only clean coal is the stuff that lies right where it formed, deep within protective layers of rock and soil.

Once we crack through this natural protection, whether we are extracting it, burning it, or disposing of combustion wastes, we're knee-deep in dirty coal.

The coal industry tries to hijack our common sense with promises of zero-emissions power plants that will generate safe, green byproducts — slag for construction materials, marketable sulphur, clean fuels — and capture solid and gaseous wastes such as mercury that can be buried, and carbon dioxide that can be pumped underground or into the ocean.

Be not deceived! As long as we burn coal, we will always have to deal with pollutants that must go somewhere — back into the ground, the air or the water. Methods being promoted to capture, use and store these pollutants raise the cost of production for each kilowatt astronomically.

Fortunately, recent reports have turned the lights on true costs of clean-coal technology. In 2007, 59 of 151 proposed coal-fired plants were scrubbed or failed to secure a license, and 50 others faced legal challenges. Citigroup downgraded coal stocks and advised clients to switch investments to non-coal energy. Four leading investment banks revised lending criteria for coal-fired power. This year, the U.S. Department of Energy withdrew support for FutureGen when production costs for that clean-coal prototype doubled.

Brutal methods being used

Even so, coal-fired power plants and their wastes are only the back end of the clean-coal whitewash.

Coal-extraction methods such as mountaintop removal mining are among the most brutal ever to be imposed by mankind upon the face of the Earth. Consolidated chunks of Earth's crust become movable piles of rubble, some of which is dumped into hollows, obliterating hundreds of miles of Appalachian headwaters. Poisonous metals and other pollutants bypass engineered drainage-control systems, leaching their way into groundwater.

The Sewanee coal seam in Tennessee is so toxic, for example, that there is no known technology to prevent acid mine drainage caused by disruptions of this seam. Communities of people inextricably tied to their coalfield homelands take an economic beating from dirty-coal monoculture. For many in Appalachia, the security of good health, safe homes and clean air and water has been compromised by corporate coal operations.

For all of these reasons, coal is not cheap and never will be clean.

We need to let coal-fired energy die a natural death — withdraw huge subsidies, stop blowing up mountaintops, stop building new coal plants.

Simultaneously, we need to help displaced miners and coalfield communities make the leap from coal-black to sustainable-green economies driven by proven alternative energy technologies (beware the ethanol rush!), home-based industries, infrastructure rehabilitation and restoration of watersheds damaged by mining, forestry, construction and urban sprawl.

--------

Cathie Bird chairs the Strip-mine Issues Committee of Save Our Cumberland Mountains.

What's New.

2008-03-04T11:31:00.002-05:00

I was just looking at my last post and realized I've gotten some work done on the things I said I was going to do. Often, these lists are equal parts wishful thinking and actual goals. So, for once, it's good to see some of the wishes happening.

I *did* learn a bit on how to make the Learning Center a "Green & Healthy School" at the...take a guess...Green and Healthy School Summit in Lexington this weekend. I found out some great work going on in Kenton county (near the Kentucky side of Cincinnati). They're a big public school system, so what they're doing isn't feasible for a school of 30 here in eastern KY, but it is inspiring to see engineers, architects, school administrators, teachers and students working together to build net-zero energy schools. The national average of new schools built is an energy usage of 73 kBTUs per sq.ft. per year. So, 73 is the magic number. Kenton county built a school last year (and so they have a year's worth of data to prove this) that uses only 28 kBTUs per sq.ft. per year. The engineer who gave the presentation believes that if he can continue to bring this number down to 18, then he can design a net-zero school--that is: a school that can produce as much energy (with solar PV, mostly) as it uses. You can check out the real time "vital signs" of one of the schools here. (Be sure to click on the buttons on the left to see how the solar cell, rainwater collection, and geothermal heating and cooling systems are currently working. *Really* cool stuff.)

More practical for the school here: I got information on starting an outdoor classroom and ways to integrate it into the curriculum, and some introductory information on how to work to get locally grown produce into the cafeteria. (And, I got an unexpected education on the labyrinthine ways the public school lunch program and the USDA works. Ugggh--just awful.)

What else?...

Whit and I went and looked around the area where we'll be planting a garden with neighbors/friends/colleagues, starting as soon as possible--after the ground dries out a bit. Can't wait until I can get some early season crops in the ground: lettuce, spinach, maybe some peas, etc.!

I wrote my little bits for KFTC's newsletter, Balancing the Scales.

Made updates to the LEAF website. I'm *so, so, so* excited that there is the possibility, through Dawn and Pat's nonstop work at LEAF, that MTR might actually be stopped in Tennessee. Oh, oh, oh, how exciting! And, you know, what's good for Tennessee in that respect, is good for Kentucky.

We've gotten the house cleaned up a bit from it's pre-dissertation-turn-in squalor. Feels *very* nice. More of that today.

This evening: The Gingerbread Festival committee meeting at the Holly Hills Mall Restaurant. How Hindman is that! (I think you might just have to be here to know what I'm talking about).

And, working on job applications today...

Busy, busy.

Oh, and the kitchen door is wide open. Enjoying this fresh, warm, humid (it's so drizzly today) air before we crash back into winter for at least a few more days again.

Oh, for springtime in Appalachia!