G.R.E.E.N.
Grass Roots Environmental Effort Newsletter
June, 2002
To read this G.R.E.E.N. online, scroll
down to articles (or click on index links below). If you want to see an
exact copy of the printed newsletter, try the PDF
version.
WVEC Fall Convention Planned
Another World Is Possible by Mary Wildfire
WVEC Interim Lobbyist Hired
Legislative Session 2003
WVEC Bio Profile: "Doctor Don"
VICTORY FOR HEMP
Sustainable Fair 2002 by Denise Poole, co-director - Sust.
Fair
Valley fills, sludge spills, flood chills and judge thrills
by Vivian Stockman, OVEC
Meeting With Capito Goes Splendidly
by Mary Wildfire
Asthma: August Retreat creates awareness, education by
Angela Vance
Stewards of the Potomac Highlands on the move - and joining
WVEC!!
Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Dave Cooper, OVEC
Log-On For the Latest: WV-Citizen
Action Group
WVEC Fall Convention Planned
Bluestone Conference Center
September 6th - 8th, 2002
Our 14th annual Fall Convention is scheduled for September 6, 7, & 8th at
the Bluestone Conference center. Please make your plans now to attend!
The Bluestone Conference center is located in the Appalachian mountains in
Hinton, West Virginia overlooking Bluestone Lake and boasts 480 acres of lawns
and woods.
The Fall Convention is traditionally WVEC's largest gathering, and very
important to our organization. During the weekend we devote quality time to
discussing important issues and choosing our future direction - particularly for
the upcoming year. We take a fresh look at the current political climate, and
set our legislative agenda. New representatives to the board of directors are
chosen. This year a Coal Sludge Impoundment Forum is being scheduled for
Saturday, with invited speakers yet to be confirmed.
But its not all work - outings and music are planned for Saturday, and
the traditional evening camp fire will keep most folks up late bonding around
the circle. Please bring your musical instruments (including your voice and
dancing feet) along to add to the magic!!
And what would our convention be without our annual Silent Auction benefit?
Don't forget to pack numerous items for your donation to the mix! Help make this
fun, interesting and profitable! As always - no item is too tiny, enormous,
ancient, new, weird or green.....
Remember, this is a wonderful time to get reacquainted with old friends and a
great place to meet new ones! Please pre-register by August 20th. See page 8 of
this newsletter for more details and Registration Form.
See you in September!
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Another World Is Possible
As you may know, I went to Porto Alegre, Brazil at the end of January to
participate in the World Social Forum-whose slogan is “another world is
possible.” Porto Alegre is one of several Brazilian cities where the Workers
Party is in power; it’s famous for “participatory democracy,” which means
among other things that the citizens vote on which projects will be funded with
municipal monies.
“Participatory democracy” would seem to be a redundant phrase - without
general participation in decision- making, what we have is really not democracy
at all. I never attended the workshops discussing their experiences with this
philosophy, or many others in which I was keenly interested, because most were
conducted in Portuguese. The big seminars had translation, but I became
frustrated with the translation devices and ended up attending only English
language workshops. There were hundreds of these to choose from. I mostly went
to media-related workshops, and led one (it went well).
Perhaps the best part of the WSF for me was the part not much dependent on
language - the cultural events in the afternoons: music, dance (including
capoira, which is a sort of martial arts-dance), puppet shows, skits, and a
public market.
Because of the language problem, I didn’t get as much out of the WSF as
I’d expected; nonetheless, I felt my two weeks in Brazil were educational, and
I appreciate the contribution from WVEC that helped me make the trip.
Southern Brazil is the most “European” part; it was like being here
without the compulsive consumption. There were a lot of cars on the
streets despite an excellent and well-used bus system, but 90 % of these were
subcompacts. I never saw an SUV.
If anyone reading this decides to go to the third World Social Forum-to be
held again in Porto Alegre, though they’re going to move to India for 2004 -
I'd like to give you my Portuguese dictionary and the phone number of the homey,
convenient and cheap pension where I stayed. If anyone wants more detail on my
trip, e-mail me at: mwildfire@hotmail.com.
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WVEC Interim Lobbyist Hired
Conni Lewis has been retained by WVEC to represent us during the
Interim Legislative sessions! Conni is a veteran lobbyist for progressive
causes, currently lobbying for the Coalition On Responsilbe Logging (CORL) on
timber issues. She has been with CORL for the past two years. Conni has also
worked with WVEC during the regular legislative sessions, coordinating with us
on various issues.
The E-Council is fortunate to have Conni lobbying during these sessions on
our behalf this summer. She will be coordinating with other WVEC veteran
lobbyists on particular issues as they occur, and follow the rule-making
procedure that is so vital during the interim sessions.
Other WVEC folks available during the summer to attend interim meetings are
Chuck Wyrostok, Fred Sampson and John Taylor. And as always, individual groups
will be in attendance for those issues of importance to their organizations.
If you are interested in knowing the details about what is happening with our
issues during the summer, please visit our website.
Chris Hogbin will be sending out action alerts regularly. We will also keep you
informed through this newsletter - the next issue due out mid-August.
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Legislative Session 2003
We are also interested in hearing from people who may want to join the WVEC
lobby team during the regular legislative session of 2003, please submit a
resume' to: mwildfire@hotmail.com or
send to: WVEC, 1324 Virginia St East, Charleston, WV 25301.
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WVEC Bio Profile: "Doctor Don"
by Don Alexander
(except that Don didn't choose the title)
When first asked to write a bio, I thought it would be a simple task, but now
that I'm sitting behind a keyboard I'm not quite sure where to start. Which life
should I write about? Sometimes it seems like there have been several. As they
used to say on "Dragnet" (when police officers were still polite, at
least on TV), "Just the facts, sir."
I was a teenager in the 60's, into ham radio and the space program. I got to
attend my first anti-war demonstrations while a student at Ohio State University
(69-73). I also began traveling and taking extended backpacking and bicycling
trips in western states. I eventually graduated with a degree in physics and
practical experience in electronics and computers. After spending a summer
bicycling around Europe I took a job as an electronics engineer at the OSU Van
de Graaff lab.
When the first (crude) microcomputers became available in the middle 70's I
left the laboratory job to work for a start-up company, designing small-scale
energy management systems and custom control electronics. One of the best custom
widgets I ever designed was the controller that makes easy-open biscuit cans
possible (it also allows cans to be made with less paper - you wouldn't believe
how much paper goes into biscuit cans every year).
In 1985 my boss asked me to work on a bid for a project to build a
"rotary bomb launcher" for the air force. He seemed genuinely
surprised when I resigned. After an abortive attempt to move to Idaho (the cost
of land was amazingly high, or perhaps my hair too long), I landed on 66 acres
near Spencer WV, where I built a house and started an electronic repair business
(computer, TV, VCR, stereo, etc.).
The house and land are gone now, sold in 1995, the money put into a sailboat
which was quickly (and expertly) conned away by the person who convinced me that
I would love sailing. In fact, I did love sailing and living on a small boat,
and may yet get back to it.
I came back to WV to regroup because I'd learned to love the hills and people
here. It wasn't long before I got involved with the local effort to fight the
pulp mill. Naturally, I also plugged into the internet. I discovered that I
don't seem to have aptitude for attending meetings or interacting with
bureaucats and legislators (hats off to the lobby team!), so I started trying to
contribute by providing computer tech support to environmentalists.
Last fall I volunteered to update and maintain the WVEC web site. More
recently I re-designed the OVEC website as well as the Mountain Party website
and have been facilitating the posting of newsletters to the WV-CAG website. I'm
hoping to pick up a few more small website clients so I can be a bit more
selective in what repair work I take in (much of what is now sold for consumer
electronics has become disposable, a sorry trend).
---
When Don readily agreed to work on the WVEC website, I knew we were on
solid ground. “Doctor Don”, as he’s known in these parts, wins high praise
from folks with crippled computers and electronic gear. Jeez, I mean the guy
does house calls!
We marvel at the child-like glee he exudes as he does his computer techno
magic. We’re glad he drew the line after perfecting the easy-open biscuit can
and then declined to work on the “rotary bomb launcher”. And, we’re glad
he landed in West Virginia. Chuck Wyrostok
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VICTORY FOR HEMP
by Chuck Wyrostok (chuckwyro@hotmail.com)
When Governor Bob Wise signed the “Industrial Hemp Act” recently, setting
in motion a plan for the state’s farmers to cultivate the marijuana-like plant
for use in clothing, bath products, rope, car parts and hundreds of other items,
growing hemp in West Virginia came full circle.
When the Japanese had cut off the U.S. hemp supply from the Philippines in
WWII, hemp cultivation was encouraged here and all over the country. Of course,
after the war, when DuPont again wanted to control the clothing market with
synthetics rather than that pesky, sustainable, renewable hemp fiber, they
“convinced” the government to start eradication programs. How can you make
money off something that grows like a weed?!?
Now, Ag Commissioner Gus Douglas, who used to oversee state workers slashing
and burning wild hemp in the hills of the Potomac Valley, is the man in charge
of growing hemp in West Virginia. Ironic, you say? I think it’s some form of
job security!
“I sit here and whatever the laws demand, we in the Department of
Agriculture will attempt to move in that direction,” Douglas said after hemp
was made law….again. (Nothing like a pro-active government agency, I always
say).
Maybe Gus needs some growers, sustainability advocates and entrepreneurs to
light a fire under his “sit and attempt” inertia mode. U.S. Rep. Nick Joe
Rahall, (D-WV) is up to speed. “Illegal drugs have no place in American
society,” he said. “But industrial hemp is not a drug. Thirty nations,
including Canada and Japan, harvest industrial hemp that we import into our
country. Our farmers could become part of this global industry.”
Tell it to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Nick Joe. They are stuck
in some kind of legal limbo, even thought they’ve given Hawaii a permit to
grow test crops. Asked whether it was legal to grow industrial hemp, DEA’s
Bill Steffick said he couldn’t answer that question. “You have some
questions there that I basically can’t answer because this is just an area
that there’s going to have to be some more discussion on this.” (Direct
quote, I swear…another graduate from the G.W. Bush School of Linguistics).
Eric Steenstra (no relation) of 'Vote Hemp', a national hemp advocacy
organization in D.C., said it was phenomenal that West Virginia could pass a
hemp bill into law from scratch in just one year. He said that never has
happened anywhere before. I replied that we do a lot of things from scratch
around here. During the legislative session, Eric was instrumental in supplying
vital information to the WVEC lobby team for distribution to Senate and House
members. Thank you, Eric.
Hemp makes great paper. Make paper from hemp, not from trees. Get paper
companies off their tree addiction. Please…call or write the DEA and Gus
Douglas. Tell them it’s time for farmers, processors, wholesalers and
retailers here to get into the hemp market.
Money doesn’t grow on trees…..
it grows in hemp fields.
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Sustainable Fair 2003
by Denise Poole, co-director - Sust. Fair
(deniseap@earthlink.net)
The Third annual Sustainable Fair will occur on Saturday, August 3rd at
LaPaix Herb Farm. If you've never been to a Sustainable Fair, or seen LaPaix
Herb Farm, this is your opportunity (and I'm sure you owe it to yourself) to do
both at the same time!
We have designed a beautiful day for attendees to experience the joy and
simplicity of sustainable living as well as the gorgeous setting and energy at
LaPaix. I hope to tempt you into attending this years Fair by telling you first
a little about LaPaix (French for "Peace", by the way).
The herb farm is located in Lewis County a few miles outside of Weston, WV.
Surrounded by lush mountains, the 80-plus acres are cradled at the end of a
hollow. Owner/operator (and Fair co-director) Myra Bonhage-Hale bought the
property in 1981. Since then, Myra has tended the grounds, and lives as
sustainably as anyone I know. Her love and knowledge of medicinal and culinary
herbs, plants and creatures are everywhere. She has a wonderful business
operated from there, with workshops offered seasonally.
Over the years additions include a feng-shui garden, a labyrinth, development
of paths in the woods, organic vegetable gardens, and so much more - there is
even an outdoor bathtub! The house on the property dates back to the pre civil
war era, and was part of the underground railroad. Sustainable Fair attendees
will be able to experience and have access to all of the above through
demonstrations, walks and workshops.
New this summer? None other than a sustainable shelter habitable from Spring
through Fall intended to be used by apprentices and guests of LaPaix (currently
in the beginning stages). Fair goers will get to see and learn about the
techniques and materials being used for the structure.
Other highlights include demonstrations of: essential oil distillery &
lavender growing; making herbal tinctures; solar energy; environmentally
friendly furniture; bonsai & art; soap making; whole food; dowsing for
water; feng shui garden; medicinal & culinary herbs; mushroom walk in the
woods; fuel cell. Music throughout the day, a musical performance in the evening
and a benefit auction will round out our activities. Other demonstrations yet to
be confirmed.
Final touches are still in the works, so please visit our web-site
to learn more about the event and directions to the farm as August grows near.
You will also be able to check out the past Sustainable Fairs and link into
Myra's LaPaix site to wet your appetite even more. Still have questions? Or no
on-line access? Call me at the WVEC office: (304) 346-5905 or Myra at: (304)
269-7681. No pre-registration necessary. The cost is $10 per person, or $15 per
family at the gate.
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Valley fills, sludge spills, flood
chills and judge thrills
by Vivian Stockman, OVEC
Since about the beginning of May, folks attempting to lower their Prozac
doses probably have had a rough time, as the headlines have been enough to throw
anyone into a depressive-manic (sic) state. (For the stories behind the
headlines, see the current and archived news sections of the Ohio Valley
Environmental Coalition’s website, www.ohvec.org.)
Late Thursday May 2, another round of deadly floods hit southern West
Virginia, leaving nine dead, hundreds homeless, schools battered, and roads and
bridges pummeled—so far, an estimated $70 million in damages. Again, many
residents say they believe the floods were worsened because the coal and timber
industries denude huge swaths of forests. These folks don’t need to wait on
the latest study to know that a devegetated, mountain-scalped, valley-filled
landscape doesn’t absorb rain runoff the way a lush temperate forest does. By
mid- June, the WV Department of Environmental Protection was under fire for
holding back information in a study of last July’s floods, where the
final damage bill was over $190 million. (Weren’t the national forests
here established in the mid-1900s after people connected the dots between heavy
flooding and heavy deforestation?)
Early Friday May 3, the heavy rains sent 5,000 gallons a minute of sludge
(including water, coal fines and the chemicals used in treating coal for market)
spewing out of a coal waste impoundment near Gary, McDowell County W. Va., into
the Tug River (the third major sludge spill in as many years for the battered
river). All told, the WV Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) estimates
“tens of millions” of gallons escaped. DEP warned downstream
residents that the entire dam could collapse with “catastrophic” results.
Since 1999 the DEP issued at least 26 environmental violations for this
impoundment, but the companies operating the impoundment took no remedial
action. DEP could have, and obviously should have, shut down the impoundment
after just two violations in one year. On June 11, a line leading to an Arch
Coal impoundment, at their “showcase” Hobet 21 mountaintop removal site,
leaked 25,000 gallons of slurry into a tributary of the Little Coal River.
Late Friday May 3, Bush, Inc., the EPA and The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
decide, hey, we need some more excitement in southern West Virginia and eastern
Kentucky. Let’s gut the Clean Water Act - that way we’ll legalize all those
illegal valley fills we’ve permitted the coal companies to build for decades.
On June 6, in the hallway of a US Senate office building, Kevin Richardson of
the Backstreet Boys and Joan Mulhern of Earthjustice discuss the upcoming
mountaintop removal press conference. They both had just testified at a
Congressional Hearing on the Bush administration’s change to the Clean Water
Act’s definition of “fill.”
Testifying on the harmful effects of valley fills, Kevin said
“People shouldn’t have to die when it rains.” Joan called Bush’s rule
change “one of the most destructive changes to Clean Water Act regulations in
decades.”
Photo by Vivian Stockman
Nationwide, newspaper editorials railed against Bush’s incredulous act and
its potential impact on West Virginia and the entire country. In the midst of
all this, we also learn from a Freedom of Information Act request by Charleston
Gazette reporter Ken Ward that Bush, Inc. is attempting to hijack the long
overdue environmental
impact statement on mountaintop removal.
After hitting a bottle of fiery liquid or pretty pills, some people wondered
if there’s a pill that can revive the American system of government. Is there
a pill that can restore consciousness to our so-called leaders?
Wednesday May 8, something much better than a pill appeared: Judge Charles H.
Haden II, the sexiest man alive. The judge, a sage student of the law,
reiterated once again that valley fills are illegal, and, ahem, Mr. Bush, only
Congress can rewrite the laws of the land. To send Haden thanks on behalf of
West Virginia’s mountains, streams and all our futures, write to:
Chief U.S. District Judge Charles H. Haden II
Southern District of West Virginia
300 Virginia Street Charleston, WV 25301 Judge_Haden@wvsd.uscourts.gov
Robert Kennedy Jr. opens our June 6 DC press conference on mountaintop removal
and valley fills. Kennedy repeatedly emphasizes that many aspects of mountaintop
removal are illegal. Photo by Vivian Stockman
A day earlier, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
and other, bipartisan members of Congress pledged to introduce legislation that
blocks Bush’s change to the Clean Water Act and bolsters the true intent of
that Act. Shays and Pallone are apparently appalled at what is happening here
and want to do all they can to stop the insanity. On June 6, when we were in DC
at a Congressional Hearing on Bush’s move to gut the Clean Water Act, Senator
Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) announced that he too would introduce a bill solidifying
the true intent of the Clean Water Act.
Since his first day on the job, May 1, OVEC’s new organizer Dave Cooper,
has been in full throttle, organizing TWO trips to Washington, DC. Please be
sure to see the OVEC website’s
People in Action pages for photos, news coverage, Congressional Hearing
testimonies and more on these trips.
Our second trip, on June 6, received massive news coverage, as we were joined
by Robert Kennedy Jr., who noted repeatedly that many aspects of mountaintop
removal are illegal, and by Kentucky native Kevin Richardson of the wildly
popular Backstreet Boys. These two famed individuals have pledged to help us
stop mountaintop removal.
Also, be sure to check out the Action Alerts on our web pages (or send an
e-mail to vivian@ohvec.org) if you would
like to receive Action Alerts via e-mail). We’ll keep you updated on actions
needed to help end the massacre of the mountains and mountain culture of West
Virginia and Kentucky.
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Meeting With Capito Goes Splendidly
On June 3rd, seven people from the West Virginia Fair Trade Coalition met
with Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito to shore up her support for defeating
Fast Track. She voted against it the first time around, but as a Republican, is
under greater pressure to vote for it. Fast Track makes it easier to pass
“free trade” pacts like NAFTA and the WTO rules which have been disastrous
to labor rights, democratic choices, and the environment. It has passed both
Houses of Congress, but there’s a good chance of defeating it in the House
when the compromise version gets back there.
Our group included myself and WVEC Vice President Mary Ellen O Farrell (who
also represented health care workers, and showed up in her “scrubs” right
after work) as well as WVEC board member Carol Warren, who also is the head of
the Justice and Life Ministry of the Catholic Church in this part of the state;
Rick Wilson for American Friends Service Committee; Bob Wilson who is active in
several Roane county organizations; Calhoun County Commissioner Bob Wilson; and
Larry Metheney who is the Legislative Coordinator for the Steelworkers in West
Virginia.
The mood was very friendly. Both Capito and her aide were attentive, and
everyone spoke well. The best quote of the day though, was Capito’s. Three
times she said, “I can’t imagine any scenario in which I would vote for Fast
Track.” She pointed out that this is not quite an absolute promise - but
it’s close, and she gave us permission to quote her. She also promised to
watch the copy I gave her of the hard-hitting Bill Moyers documentary on
NAFTA’s infamous Chapter Eleven, Trading Democracy.
So Fast Track may have passed both Houses of Congress, but it did so
without the help of a single WV representative—and here some people think West
Virginia is a backward state!
If you want to know how you can get a copy of the Bill Moyers video, Trading
Democracy, or if you are one of those who already borrowed a copy and are
ready to pass it on - please contact me at mwildfire@hotmail.com
or 655-7486. If you can watch this video through to the end and not become
outraged, then the doctors can have your organs—you’re clearly dead!!
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Asthma: August Retreat
creates awareness, education
by Angela Vance, American Lung Association of West
Virginia (angela@alawv.org)
In 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) began
developing a National Asthma Control Program to reduce the number of deaths,
hospitalizations, emergency department visits, school or workdays missed, and
limitations on activity due to asthma. In a report released on July 10, 2001 by
the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), West Virginia was identified as one of
the twelve high pollution states failing to track asthma.
The TFAH report analyzed the levels of three pollutants public health
officials believe are linked to asthma: particulate matter, ozone and suspected
respiratory toxicants. Poor air quality can also trigger asthma attacks.
According to the American Lung Association six counties in West Virginia
received a grade of F for the number of High ozone days in the unhealthy ranges.
Two of the counties, Cabell and Kanawha, are the most populated counties in the
state.
The prevalence of asthma has been increasing since the early 1980’s for all
ages, sexes and racial groups. It is one of the most common chronic diseases in
the United States and the leading serious chronic disease in children. Asthma is
the number one cause of school absences attributed to chronic illnesses, leading
to an average of 4.6 school days missed annually for each child with asthma. To
date, asthma in West Virginia has not been formally addressed in an organized,
statewide and strategic fashion.
In 2001, the CDC charged West Virginia with the task of addressing asthma
from a public health perspective, to develop, implement and evaluate a statewide
strategic asthma plan.
In January of 2002 the West Virginia Multi- Disciplinary Task Force on Asthma
Disease State Management held it’s first meeting. The West Virginia Bureau for
Public Health, Tobacco Prevention Program (WV-TPP), has partnered with the
American Lung Association of West Virginia and CAMC Research Institute to
develop this statewide task force.
On August 22-23, 2002 a retreat will be held at Snowshoe Mountain Resort free
of charge for 60 participants. It is the hope of the task force that asthma
educators will collaborate to enhance asthma awareness, to educate, promote and
improve the health of our state.
For more information please contact Angela Vance at: 1-800-LUNG-USA/
304- 342-6600 or angela@alawv.org
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Stewards of the Potomac Highlands
on the move - and joining WVEC!!
Recently, the Stewards of the Potomac Highlands joined the E-Council. We
certainly welcome this wonderful coalition of folks from the Potomac Highlands!
Chris Hogbin, WVEC e-mail action alert coordinator will be posting information
on issues and events from this region. Meanwhile, anyone wishing to learn more
about the organization can visit their website.
Steward activist Bonni McKeown writes:
"Stewards of the Potomac Highlands, in addition to taking on occasional
battles with the Corridor H highway, is growing into a broader organization
which will help us support each other as we protect the area we love.
We are reaching out to activists in the eastern eight counties of West
Virginia, and in Maryland’s Allegheny highlands and Virginia’s Shenandoah
Valley. By getting to know one another and what each of us is already doing, we
will grow smarter and stronger. With friends in our own county and surrounding
areas, we will have the personal support needed to help our neighbors to
understanding and action.
One of our tools for introducing ourselves is…. Picnics! We plan to
participate in potluck picnics this summer and fall, hosted by folks in our
group or other groups around our region.
Another tool is an email network. You can take action on clean rivers and
groundwater, unneeded highways, sprawl development, mountaintop removal mining,
landfills, farm and forest conservation, neighborhood schools, and other key
issues in the West Virginia legislature and in Congress."
Kirsten Weiblen, a sustainable farmer in Yellow Springs, living in eastern
Hampshire County, will be the Stewards e-mail coordinator.
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Allow Me to Introduce Myself
by Dave Cooper, OVEC (dave@ohvec.org)
As of May 1, I am the new organizer for OVEC in Huntington. I am absolutely
thrilled to work for one of the most dynamic environmental groups in the region
- a group whose work I have followed and admired from a hundred miles away while
living in Lexington, KY.
I know that Laura Forman was beloved and respected by everyone, and I can
never fill those shoes. But my first few weeks on the job have been eventful,
thanks to Bush’s re-write of the Clean Water Act, flooding in Southern West
Virginia, another slurry spill into the Big Sandy, etc.
A brief biography: I graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville TN in
1981 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. After 20 years of
working in the automotive, defense, printing and packaging industries, and 20
years of watching downsizing, layoffs and jobs going overseas, I took a year off
work to re-evaluate my choice of professions.
With a little time to reflect, it became clear that my real heart was in the
environmental movement. I had been active with the Sierra Club in Lexington, and
had also helped rejuvenate the Lexington chapter of Kentuckians for the
Commonwealth (KFTC), along the way joining many other groups like Heartwood,
NRDC, and OVEC. When the Martin County sludge spill hit in October, 2000, I
visited the scene several times and became very interested in coal issues. A
visit to Larry Gibson’s Kayford Mountain homeplace a few months later was one
of the most moving and powerful experiences of my life. I was hooked!
So here I am! Please feel free to call me at the OVEC office (304) 522-0246,
or email me at dave@ohvec.org. I look
forward to working with all of you stopping the most destructive environmental
practice of our times: mountaintop removal.
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Log-On For the Latest
WV-Citizen Action Group
Please log on to www.wvcag.org
to see the changes we’ve made. Once you’re there, you can:
Read the first newsletter of the Kanawha Valley Greenspace Coalition! Want to
get involved in community clean-up projects and tree plantings? This is the
place to start. Click on our Parks and Greenspaces section (left-hand margin of
home page).
Sign an on-line petition that urges your governor and legislators to support
a bottle bill in West Virginia! One of our top priorities at WV-CAG and WVEC is
to pass a West Virginia container law. And we hope you’ll go to your e-address
book and ask your friends to also sign on. We need you! (This section is
currently “under construction” so if you don’t find it on your first
visit, please come back).
Click on Overweight Coal Trucks to read the two latest WVCAG reports on
citations issued to overweight coal trucks. With data from WV Department of
Transportation records, we’ve been able to show, in black and white, the
preferential treatment the coal industry has been receiving (surprise,
surprise!).
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