Maybe ask them to stop financing Big Coal……? 

Congratulations, you own a gigantic multi-national bank! The American public now owns 36% of Citigroup–one of the leading financiers of dirty coal (like Duke Energy’s Cliffside plant).

The American public now owns 36% of Citigroup–one of the leading financers of dirty coal.

Now that you’re an owner you can write to the bank’s Shareholder Relations department and tell them to stop funding the expansion of coal.

You have an unprecedented opportunity to stop the investment in dirty energy that is behind so many of the struggles to stop big coal that you’ve seen and helped support across the country over the past couple of months.

I should tell you, however, that Citi doesn’t seem to want to hear from its new owners. Today I went to Citi’s annual shareholder meeting in New York City. I noticed that the bank forgot to invite you, and the rest of its new owners, to the meeting.

Today Citi executives were met by RAN and New York PIRG activists demanding that the bank stop funding destructive dirty energy projects, and start funding the renewable energy projects of the future.

But Citi needs to hear from more than just the few of us who made it to the event. The bank needs to know that thousands of its newest owners want a real voice and don’t want any more investment in dirty coal.

So a couple weeks ago some Richmond residents upset with the city’s Earth Day organizers for accepting a majority of funding from Dominion and then giving them a table at the festival called on Blue Ridge Earth First! to make an appearance at the event as well.

We were granted space for our own table and when a car-load of us got there Saturday morning and met with our hosts, we set up our table right across from Dominion.Dominion’s table focused on personal steps towards conservation that individual consumers can take and of course made no mention of the utility’s plans to construct a new coal-fired power plant in Wise County and to expand it’s nuclear power plant in Louisa County. We figured since Dominion makes claims that coal and nuclear energy are clean, safe and damn-near-godliness, that we’d join in on the fantasy theme with our own mythical representative - a large pegasus-unicorn (that’s a horse with both a horn and wings) in Dominion’s blue and white color scheme no less. Several of us took shifts in the unicorn-suite throughout the day, dancing, tumbling, charming children and adults alike and lampooning Dominion’s facade of environmentalism with hand-outs about Dominion’s Toxic Fantasy-land.

This was fun for us and very well received by the majority of fest-goers who we spoke with but after a while we thought, “you know here Dominion is trying so hard to look green which is hard enough for them what with all the coal and nukes and so on, and all we’re doing is antagonizing them and making the whole thing worse!” so then we decided we’d shift gears and help them green their image. We unveiled a large Dominion logo at our

table and offered passersby the opportunity to “greenwash” the logo with paint we had on hand. Lots of folks having come straight from the Dominion table and seen firsthand the pitiful portrayal of environmental ethics offered by the fortune 500 company were more than happy to do their part and splatter some green across that big “D”. After an hour or so RVA Earth Day participants had managed to completely cover the logo with a vast verdant spread - so green and meaningless, so much like a “reclaimed” strip-mine.

Posted April 20, 2009, 5:58 pm

| Schedule (coming soon) | Flyers | Register for camp! | Ride Board |

The beautiful Appalachian South Folklife Center, located deep in the West Virginia hills near Pipestem State Park is our location for the 2009 Mountain Justice Summer Training Camp.

Founded by poet, radical labor organizer and civil rights advocate Don West in 1965, the Appalachian South Folk honors a long tradition of struggle in the West Virginia coalfields. Mountain Justice held its first two Training Camps here, and some Mountain Justice members say they still dream of Pipestem.

Surrounded by beautiful mountain views, with a nice main lodge/dining room and fireplace, plus a chapel, outdoor stage and bonfire pit, the Folklife Center also indoor dorm-style accomodations as well as pleasant tent campsites with plenty of room.

The weather for the 2005 and 2006 Mountain Justice camps was perfect, and we have some great speakers and bands lined up for this years’ camp, including “United States of Appalachia” author Jeff Biggers, Earth First! co-founder Mike Roselle, Former Mine Safety and Health Academy Director Jack Spadaro, “To Save The Land and People” author Dr. Chad Montrie, Dr. Lynda Anne Ewen, Professor Emeritus at Marshall University, plus prominent coalfield activists and leaders, and … you!

With an emphasis on education, strategy, non-violence and cultural sensitivity the 2009 Mountain Justice Training Camp will provide participants with comprehensive workshops covering the impacts and politics behind mountaintop removal mining and the hands-on tactical training to take to the mountains and do something about it. Take this opportunity to share strategies and build relationships that will create an even stronger network of allies and coalitions organizing resistance to MTR this summer and beyond!

Folks attending training camp are asked to contribute a minimum of $20 plus $10/night at time of registration. This will help tremendously in planning and purchasing food and supplies and paying for the cost of renting the facilities for the week. Any additional contributions will allow us to offer scholarships for those without the funds to attend camp. If there are any funds remaining after camp they will be used for ongoing campaigns to fight the destruction of our mountains and communities. Your registration contribution includes camping, parking, delicious healthy food (vegetarian, vegan and meat options available) and all workshops.

Mountaintop removal is no joke. This is an important time in a very serious campaign. Mountain Justice Training Camp is open to all activists who want to see all forms of mountaintop removal coal mining and valley fills abolished and who are willing to abide by our Mountain Justice policies of non-violent direct action. Although we often joke that we will “win” because we have more fun (and we will!) many fruits will be born of our hard labor, our ability to focus, and our tendency to come together as community to get things done. Please know that as we hope there will be much music/merry making and you will be fed for the duration of the camp, opportunities to learn and share skills will be abundant and we expect each participant to be just that - a participant, with an emphasis on fully participating in workshops, discussions, and at least two community volunteer shifts (kitchen, clean up, etc.). We rock because we work and play together.

REGISTER FOR CAMP TODAY!

View photos form the Mountain Justice Training Camp 2008

Register here!

Come on come all to the Blue Ridge Earth First! Spring Campout located in the countryside just west of Charlottsville from April 3rd - 5th.

The campout will include trainings in direct action and grassroots organizing skills led by Earth First!ers from near and far, workshops on permaculture techniques and primitive skills and good fun in the beautiful and bio-diverse Blue Ridge Mountains!

While Earth First! focuses on environmental action, we value solidarity and mutual aid among all movements working for justice. Towards realizing this vision of a more unified multi-cause movement, there will be trainings, campfires, skillshares, and strategizing about the Surry County coal plant campaign, regional anti-nuclear campaigns, and the Farmville Immigrant Detention Center.

For more info about BREF!, please visit www.BlueRidgeEF.com. Spread the word far and wide and let us know if you’re planning on coming.
Email or visit our website to RSVP, ask questions, and to get directions to the campout.

Register Here!

Blue Ridge Earth First!
blueridgeef@yahoo.com

Directions to Ivy Project + Campout

From I-64, take exit 114/Dick Woods Rd./VA-637

Turn right onto Dick Woods Road

Turn left onto Taylor Gap Road

Turn right onto Page Brook Farm Road.

Addressing recent displays of opposition to Dominion’s proposed Wise County coal plant, as well as the escalating presence of anti-coal activism on an international scale, Stan Sneezley an alleged billionaire from Harrisonburg said. “I am insulted by all of these people talking about asthma and climate change and their children’s future. These people obviously don’t care about me and my money at all! I say if a few million kids have to wheeze a little for me to breath easy, then so be it! I’m rich!”

The theatrical display at the corner of 8th and Cary bewildered and amused passing motorists and pedestrians. Though the group’s signs and chants kept on message with the façade of billionaires celebrating their controversial investments, leaflets distributed to on-lookers shed a different light on the events of the day. Made to look like large dollar bills, these leaflets revealed that the demonstration was in-fact organized by Blue Ridge Earth First! (BREF!), the same environmental organization that twice staged protests blocking entrance to Dominion’s Tredegar St. headquarters in the Spring and Summer of last year. Citing coal’s role as the chief cause of climate-change among other grievances, the leaflets starkly displayed the alleged “billionaires” alignment with the breadth of grassroots opposition to Dominion Power.

Breaking character, Luis, an Earth First! activist from Charlottesville put it plainly, “Coal is dirty, dangerous and deadly. The public knows it and our political representatives are beginning to reflect our concerns on the matter. The one and only reason that companies like Dominion are still pushing for new coal plants is money. By continuing to pursue a new coal-fired power plant in Wise County, Dominion is saying that the wealth of it’s investors is more important than the health and well-being of that area’s residents.”

You can visit mjsb.org right now and register for what is bound to be a life-changing experience.

Building upon the success of Mountain Justice Spring Break (MJSB) 2008, this year’s camp will be full of workshops, speakers, community service, direct action, hiking, music, great food, camp fires, fun times and more.. Not only will you leave with a refined understanding of mountaintop removal and the dirty coal cycle, you will learn to organize in solidarity with coal-impacted communities to maintain their land and culture and end our dependence on dirty energy.

(Check out this video/slideshow from MJSB 2008! )

MJSB 2009 will be held at Camp Buck Tom’s near the Cumberland Plateau, allowing us to explore and appreciate the land we are working to protect. The camp is only miles away from the recent TVA ash disaster, the single worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. History. We will have the unique opportunity to meet with and act in solidarity with the local people, who’s lives have been turned upside-down by the colossal one billion gallon spill of toxic coal ash. (And TVA Headquarters will only be a few miles away, in Knoxville… )

At spring break, Mountain Justice will also be recruiting volunteers to join the struggles in coal-impacted communities of Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. Internships for college credit can be set up for a wide range of areas of study. You can come work for Mountain Justice and get college credit for it!

This event is being planned largely by college students and full-time volunteers, so if you’re interested in joining in on the final stages, please email Marty to get involved!

If you have break between March 7th and 15th (or even if you don’t…), please consider coming to Eastern Tennessee and joining in on the fun and educational experience that will be Mountain Justice Spring Break. We’re looking forward to making lots of new friends and pushing the movement that much closer towards critical mass. The time for Mountain Justice is at hand, and you can be part of it!

Please visit mjsb.org for more information, and register by February 18th!

Can’t make it to MJSB 2009?  Then maybe you can come to DC for the 4th Annual End Mountaintop Removal Week in DC, March 14-18th.  Check out this event and many more at powerpastcoal.org

Come one, come all to a Billionaires for Coal rally in front of Dominion Power’s high-rise office building in downtown Richmond on Saturday February 7th at 12:00 pm. The affair will be the latest in now years-long grassroots movement opposing Dominion’s plans to construct a new coal-fired power plant in Wise County, Va.

This event is being organized by Blue Ridge Earth First! and will be a fun, funny and festive way for folks to offer some commentary on the real reason that Dominion, or anyone else for that matter, is still hell-bent on burning coal - money! Rather than standing on the sidewalk holding signs stating our objections to Dominion’s dirty coal agenda, we’ll be donning our fanciest billionaire attire - evening gowns, top-hats, monocles and such - and showing the world why a select few still love coal: because they stand to make a lot of money off of it! Look for signs to the effect of, “We love money! #*!@ everything else!,” “Coal makes me rich! Down with mountains!,” “Climate Change, Mountain-top Removal, asthma, air and water pollution - It all spells profit to me!” and of course a big banner announcing our presence stating, “Billionaires for Coal.”

Previous high-profile BREF! actions have included civil disobedience and subsequent arrests but this tactic will not be a part of the billionaires for coal rally. Our antics, though deliciously subversive and absurd, will remain in public space and within the confines of the law. We hope folks who are supportive of BREF!’s previous activities in the campaign to halt Dominion’s plans for more coal infrastructure but don’t feel comfortable taking part in illegal protests themselves will take this opportunity to join Blue Ridge Earth First! in reminding Dominion’s investors, directors and CEO Tom Farrel that “We won’t stop until you do!”

After the rally, BREF! activists who are able, and anyone else who wants to join, will attend a meeting hosted by the People United focused on continued organized resistance to the proposed immigrant detention center in Farmville, Va. Check out  www.thepeopleunited.org for more information, and feel free to come along!

please forward this email around and check out www.blueridgeEF.com for more information.

Update (Thanks Dave Cooper): This Tennessee TVA spill is over 40-48 times bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, if local news accounts are correct.  This is a huge environmental disaster of epic proportions; approximately 500 million gallons of nasty black coal ash flowed into tributaries of the Tennessee River - the water supply for Chattanooga TN and millions of people living downstream in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. We’re “lucky” it was sludgy and slow moving, or thousands could have died.  Click here to see an amazing aerial video of the spill - the big chunks in the river are mounds of coal ash.

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Suprisingly, the industry still says that coal will be “clean” if we find out how to sequester the carbon– here is more terrible proof they are wrong. On Monday, 39 groups, including our friends with the Citizens Coal Council and The Alliance for Appalachia banded together to ask President-Elect Obama to overturn Bush’s recent attempts to de-regulate coal ash even more.

In some twist of grim irony, the night before these groups sent out their demand for increased regulation of coal ash, 4 to 6 feet of toxic coal ash and ice cold slurry burst out of a faulty TVA containment pond in Eastern Tennessee and destroyed 12 homes, 400 acres, and wrecked a train; you can read more about it in the Knoxville News Sentinel. This break isn’t the first terrible sludge dam disaster. It is a huge tragedy, and we won’t know for years how the mercury, arsenic, and other toxic heavy metals like beryllium and cadmium commonly found in coal ash will have impacted the local community and wildlife.

Coal ash is what is leftover when you burn coal. Coal ash is an enormous problem throughout the US. It is more radioactive than nuclear waste, according to Scientific American and is under-regulated. It is made into concrete, drywall, and as a road building material. People living near coal ash dumps have been estimated to have up to 900 times the national cancer rates.

I might hazard a guess that that cancer figure just increased even more in eastern Tennessee.

Update:  After four hours blockading the construction site this morning, 11 protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing and unlawful assembly.They are currently being held in nearby Duffield jail. As of 2:30 Monday afternoon they are still being processed, and bail is not yet set. Check back here or here for details.

At roughly 6 A.M. this morning more than 20 peaceful protesters locked themselves to steel barrels with functional solar panels attached at the construction site for a giant new coal-fired power plant in Wise County, VA. Right now, at 7:33A.M. the lockdown, which is the first project of Rainforest Action Network’s new Action Tank, continues at the site where Dominion Virginia wants to build a 585 megawatt plant. Find out more about the long fight against Dominion, past actions and here and an upcoming Virginia Power Shift Conference. Pictures from the action deployment are up on RAN’s Flickr site and you can follow all the news and updates today at www.wiseupdominion.org more coming soon to itsgettinghotinhere later.

activists lock down at SW Virginia Coal Plant Construction Site in St. Paul VA