Appalachia is Rising
Grassroots resistance is building against mountaintop removal. Coalfield and environmental groups have been challenging coal extraction in the public and private sectors.
King Coal runs rampant over the coalfields like a 19th century robber baron. Behind the scenes of the coal industry are Wall Street banks like Citi, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase financing this sinister destruction.
This Friday, coalfield and environmental activists have organized actions in 22 cities at Bank of America branches and offices.
Between 2005 and 2007, Bank of America facilitated nearly $1 billion in loans to Massey Energy and Arch Coal, two of the largest companies responsible for the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining.
Bank of America has also facilitated the lending of billions of dollars to Peabody Coal, who is currently surface mining on indigenous land in the southwest US.
Finally, Bank of America is rapidly developing it’s financing of the coal-fired power plant build out. The Bush Administration has called for the build-out of 150 new climate changing coal-fired power plants. Bank of America is hoping to fund a portion on them.
Two weeks ago, climate activists locked down in a Bank of America branch in Asheville NC to tell Bank of America to stop funding coal from the cradle to the grave. This week, coalfield and grassroots groups all over the country are rising up against big coal and their bankers with the same message.
Join Mountain Justice Summer’s Day of Action against Bank of America’s coal investments on Friday, August 31st.
4 Responses to “Appalachia is Rising”
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August 29th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I found out about the Bank of America Day of Action too late to organize anything, but I’m potentially interested in doing things like this in the future. I have a question, though: do you need a permit from the city (or anywhere else) before distributing fliers outside a bank? If so, how do you get it?
Thanks a lot - I hope I can use this information to be a more effective activist.
August 29th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
hi Nick– you can check with the city where you live, but that should be 1st amendment protected speech.
Scott
August 30th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Yes, Peabody Coal has wreaked havoc for tens of thousands of indigenous peoples by mining on their ancestral homelands in the SouthWest. Since 1974 more than 14,000 Dine’ (Navajo) families have been forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands. A fabricated land dispute with the neighboring Hopi tribe was created by mining interests to access the coal beneath Black Mesa. Residents on Black Mesa continue to struggle against mining interests, forced relocation, forced livestock reduction, and more. The coal company has drawn down the water table in the region, the sole drinking source of the Hopi and Western Dine’ peoples, affecting the terrain drastically. Despite the hardships that these families endure, they continue to refuse to be forced from their homes.
From a fellow traditional resister: “At Big Mountain, (a community on Black Mesa) traditional Dineh elder resisters declared independence in 1977, and they have acted upon it since then.Big Mountain cannot be excluded from the legacy of the Four Corners energy wars. They have inspired and reinforced the indigenous identity and they gave courage to fight for (real) freedom, justice and peace.
For a breakdown of the relocation aspect of Peabody Coal:
http://www.blackmesais.org/bigmtbackground.html
September 1st, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Here’s an NYC report as good as any other, courtesy of NYC Indymedia:
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2007/09/90405.html
Although my face is blocked in that last picture, I did, in fact, make the sign on the right.
Also, our group wasn’t THAT small. 12+ at least, counting Ed Wiley.