Comments on: Daryl Hannah: Why I Was Arrested in Coal River, West Virginia http://understory.ran.org/2009/06/30/daryl-hannah-why-i-was-arrested-in-coal-river-west-virginia/ The Understory is the official blog of Rainforest Action Network. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:33:44 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Chuck Nelson http://understory.ran.org/2009/06/30/daryl-hannah-why-i-was-arrested-in-coal-river-west-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-359141 Chuck Nelson Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:20:52 +0000 http://understory.ran.org/?p=3130#comment-359141 I want to personally thank Daryl for taking the time, and putting herself in harms way, to bring awareness to the worst environmental destruction that is happening in our nation today. I have great respect for someone of her caliber, taking the time to send a strong message that people are dying throughout the country, because of our nation's addiction to coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, and also the major contributor to global warming. Thank you so much. Chuck Nelson, a retired underground miner. I want to personally thank Daryl for taking the time, and putting herself in harms way, to bring awareness to the worst environmental destruction that is happening in our nation today. I have great respect for someone of her caliber, taking the time to send a strong message that people are dying throughout the country, because of our nation’s addiction to coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, and also the major contributor to global warming. Thank you so much. Chuck Nelson, a retired underground miner.

]]> By: bo webb http://understory.ran.org/2009/06/30/daryl-hannah-why-i-was-arrested-in-coal-river-west-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-359013 bo webb Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:22:39 +0000 http://understory.ran.org/?p=3130#comment-359013 I understand where Jamie P is coming from, but I think Jamie needs to look a little further. Mountaintop removal does affect everyone. What directly affects one American indirectly effects all Americans. What is taking place here in the Appalachian coalfields is a subversion of democracy. Our constitution was written with great care and thought. Equal protection under the law and by the law is afforded to all Americans. That equal protection is not afforded to those that live near mtr operations. I live directly beneath a mtr site, the same one that hovers over Marsh Fork Elementary School. I have witnessed fly-rock coming off that site. Many basketball sized rocks have been blown off or rolled down the mountain towards my home including one the size of a car hood that landed within 100 feet of my garden. The blasting so near our homes spreads silica dust into the air we are breathing. Black water spills have occurred many times here on Coal River. In Dec. of 2007 a huge spill of toxic coal waste poured out of a pumping station at the Brushy Fork Dam and into the Coal River, and down into the town of Whitesville's drinking water pumping station. I was there and witnessed this spill and reported it to the WV DEP. The river was jet black and the pumping station was still pumping drinking water from it for a couple of hours before shutting the pumps down. Massey did not bother to notify the town until they were aware that the WV DEP was on their way. These black water spills contain the toxic chemicals and heavy metals associated with prepping coal for shipment to coal fired power plants. Water rolls down hill. The drinking water supply for much of the east coast and mid Atlantic comes from the head water source streams of the Appalachian Mountains. Black water spills are not the only danger to these drinking water sources but the head-water source streams themselves are being buried in strip mining waste that includes selenium, arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals that are being disturbed by blasting and dumping. Absolutely nothing justifies this type of mining. Not jobs, not energy supply. President Obama has designated billions of dollars of stimulas money to rebuild and repair America's infrastructure. Mountaintop removal could be banned today and tomorrow those same workers could go to work turning their bull dozers around and begin to repair the overwhelming damage that mountaintop removal has done to our mountains and water supply. Over a million acres of carbon capturing forest have been destroyed by mtr. If we are to be serious about addressing global climate change then a logical first step is to ban mtr today and get to work at creating a sustainable future for our children tomorrow. I hope Jamie P and others can begin to understand the connection that mtr has on all of our lives, and the lives of the yet to be born. I understand where Jamie P is coming from, but I think Jamie needs to look a little further. Mountaintop removal does affect everyone. What directly affects one American indirectly effects all Americans. What is taking place here in the Appalachian coalfields is a subversion of democracy. Our constitution was written with great care and thought. Equal protection under the law and by the law is afforded to all Americans. That equal protection is not afforded to those that live near mtr operations.
I live directly beneath a mtr site, the same one that hovers over Marsh Fork Elementary School. I have witnessed fly-rock coming off that site. Many basketball sized rocks have been blown off or rolled down the mountain towards my home including one the size of a car hood that landed within 100 feet of my garden. The blasting so near our homes spreads silica dust into the air we are breathing. Black water spills have occurred many times here on Coal River. In Dec. of 2007 a huge spill of toxic coal waste poured out of a pumping station at the Brushy Fork Dam and into the Coal River, and down into the town of Whitesville’s drinking water pumping station. I was there and witnessed this spill and reported it to the WV DEP. The river was jet black and the pumping station was still pumping drinking water from it for a couple of hours before shutting the pumps down. Massey did not bother to notify the town until they were aware that the WV DEP was on their way. These black water spills contain the toxic chemicals and heavy metals associated with prepping coal for shipment to coal fired power plants.
Water rolls down hill. The drinking water supply for much of the east coast and mid Atlantic comes from the head water source streams of the Appalachian Mountains. Black water spills are not the only danger to these drinking water sources but the head-water source streams themselves are being buried in strip mining waste that includes selenium, arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals that are being disturbed by blasting and dumping.
Absolutely nothing justifies this type of mining. Not jobs, not energy supply. President Obama has designated billions of dollars of stimulas money to rebuild and repair America’s infrastructure. Mountaintop removal could be banned today and tomorrow those same workers could go to work turning their bull dozers around and begin to repair the overwhelming damage that mountaintop removal has done to our mountains and water supply. Over a million acres of carbon capturing forest have been destroyed by mtr. If we are to be serious about addressing global climate change then a logical first step is to ban mtr today and get to work at creating a sustainable future for our children tomorrow. I hope Jamie P and others can begin to understand the connection that mtr has on all of our lives, and the lives of the yet to be born.

]]> By: jamie p rakes http://understory.ran.org/2009/06/30/daryl-hannah-why-i-was-arrested-in-coal-river-west-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-358764 jamie p rakes Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:40:33 +0000 http://understory.ran.org/?p=3130#comment-358764 copied from my blog this unfortunately, is a jumbled, jumping mess, but i worked last night, and im tired as shit... the idea of letting someone come in here, who has no ties to this area, has no family here, and whose lives are not and will not be affected by what happens in west virginia is borderline lunacy... daryl hannah comes in... (and others come in who are not from west virginia and again, are not affected by the "cause" they champion) causing an uproar, bringing all this negative attention that could inevitably help pass legislation and sway public opinion causing thousands to lose their jobs, and either live in poverty or LEAVE wv (and statistically, wv has the highest number of people leaving their home state in the country)... then what? these people get to go back home, sleep in their comfy beds, reap the personal benefits of their involvment, (whether financial, personal, or simply to fullfill their god complex ego needs) and move on while the area suffers... you think if legislation is passed, bringing changes, and causing thousands to be out of work, you think daryl hannah (or any other celebrity whore) will come back to wv, give out some money, work a food kitchen, help all of those she helps put out of work? you think she will come back, and lobby for assitance programs to help re-educate and place these miners in other jobs? after she's reaped the benefits of her championing her cause, newspaper articles, television shows... when its all said and done, you think she will go back on tv, and try to do anything to assist and help those she so "nobly" bankrupted? no, because thats not a cause thats trendy, its not egotistical enough... she gets to go home, call her agent, and decide which new justified "cause" could garner her more personal attention and gain... honestly, when was the last time you saw "daryl hannah" in a headline or news report... it is not coincidence that as her career is nearing its death, that she comes in and gets her name splashed across websites and newspapers? where the hell was she, during the height of her career? where was her nobility then? it was nonexistant... she was too busy making movies and money to be concerned with us poor defenseless west virginians... but now that the roles arent pouring in like they once were, now that she has TIME to come and be our savior, we should blindly believe that its all out of good nature? we should believe that in no way could she possibly be here to exploit an issue for personal gain that thus far, no bigger "celebrity" has came to endorse... i understand coal companies have been exploiting the area for hundred years, but to accept that it is okay to allow someone else to exploit you as long as it undermines other exploitation is guillible... to simply accept without questioning motives is idiotic, but the bigger atrocity is to accept the possibility of exploitation as the motive simply because you feel that it may benefit you... it equates to a pimp and a whore... pimp exploits a woman who accepts her exploitation because she gets to keep some of the money she makes and offers her protection... i will not accept being someone elses whore... i am NOT defending mountaintop removal at all... but by pushing the issue to tighten restrictions and sanctions on it before having some type of recovery program for the thousands that could potentially be put out of work is economic suicide, and regional genocide... it is just as ridiculous as george bush and cock cheney's stance on Iraq- lacking an exit strategy, or simply put, what do we do now that we have succeeded? copied from my blog

this unfortunately, is a jumbled, jumping mess, but i worked last night, and im tired as shit…

the idea of letting someone come in here, who has no ties to this area, has no family here, and whose lives are not and will not be affected by what happens in west virginia is borderline lunacy…

daryl hannah comes in… (and others come in who are not from west virginia and again, are not affected by the “cause” they champion) causing an uproar, bringing all this negative attention that could inevitably help pass legislation and sway public opinion causing thousands to lose their jobs, and either live in poverty or LEAVE wv (and statistically, wv has the highest number of people leaving their home state in the country)…

then what?

these people get to go back home, sleep in their comfy beds, reap the personal benefits of their involvment, (whether financial, personal, or simply to fullfill their god complex ego needs) and move on while the area suffers…

you think if legislation is passed, bringing changes, and causing thousands to be out of work, you think daryl hannah (or any other celebrity whore) will come back to wv, give out some money, work a food kitchen, help all of those she helps put out of work? you think she will come back, and lobby for assitance programs to help re-educate and place these miners in other jobs?

after she’s reaped the benefits of her championing her cause, newspaper articles, television shows… when its all said and done, you think she will go back on tv, and try to do anything to assist and help those she so “nobly” bankrupted?

no, because thats not a cause thats trendy, its not egotistical enough…
she gets to go home, call her agent, and decide which new justified “cause” could garner her more personal attention and gain…

honestly, when was the last time you saw “daryl hannah” in a headline or news report… it is not coincidence that as her career is nearing its death, that she comes in and gets her name splashed across websites and newspapers? where the hell was she, during the height of her career? where was her nobility then? it was nonexistant… she was too busy making movies and money to be concerned with us poor defenseless west virginians… but now that the roles arent pouring in like they once were, now that she has TIME to come and be our savior, we should blindly believe that its all out of good nature? we should believe that in no way could she possibly be here to exploit an issue for personal gain that thus far, no bigger “celebrity” has came to endorse…

i understand coal companies have been exploiting the area for hundred years, but to accept that it is okay to allow someone else to exploit you as long as it undermines other exploitation is guillible… to simply accept without questioning motives is idiotic, but the bigger atrocity is to accept the possibility of exploitation as the motive simply because you feel that it may benefit you… it equates to a pimp and a whore… pimp exploits a woman who accepts her exploitation because she gets to keep some of the money she makes and offers her protection… i will not accept being someone elses whore…

i am NOT defending mountaintop removal at all… but by pushing the issue to tighten restrictions and sanctions on it before having some type of recovery program for the thousands that could potentially be put out of work is economic suicide, and regional genocide… it is just as ridiculous as george bush and cock cheney’s stance on Iraq- lacking an exit strategy, or simply put, what do we do now that we have succeeded?

]]> By: Judy Bonds http://understory.ran.org/2009/06/30/daryl-hannah-why-i-was-arrested-in-coal-river-west-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-358739 Judy Bonds Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:54:21 +0000 http://understory.ran.org/?p=3130#comment-358739 I want to once again thank Ms. Hannah for coming to the Coal River Valley to stand with us and to raise awareness about the crime of strip mining. Ms. Hannah showed courage and poise in a "hairy" situation. Bless you Ms. Hannah. I want to once again thank Ms. Hannah for coming to the Coal River Valley to stand with us and to raise awareness about the crime of strip mining. Ms. Hannah showed courage and poise in a “hairy” situation. Bless you Ms. Hannah.

]]> By: Dave Cooper http://understory.ran.org/2009/06/30/daryl-hannah-why-i-was-arrested-in-coal-river-west-virginia/comment-page-1/#comment-358733 Dave Cooper Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:05:54 +0000 http://understory.ran.org/?p=3130#comment-358733 " ... we are 15 miles from Marsha Fork where they are making (was supposed to be shut down) a cyanide based pesticide that in an accident killed 1800 people in India." Someone is really confused here. The Bayer (formerly Union Carbide) plant using Methyl Isocyanate is in Institute WV just west of Charleston, and not anywhere near the Marsh Fork School. This is the chemical that tragically killed people in Bhopal, India. I am told by someone who used to work at the Massey Goals Coal plant that there is a very dangerous form of ammonia used next tot he school - and also there is the danger of a silo dust explosion. At any rate, it is insane to allow this next to the school. Gov. Manchin and Rep. Nick Rahall - what are you thinking? ” … we are 15 miles from Marsha Fork where they are making (was supposed to be shut down) a cyanide based pesticide that in an accident killed 1800 people in India.”

Someone is really confused here. The Bayer (formerly Union Carbide) plant using Methyl Isocyanate is in Institute WV just west of Charleston, and not anywhere near the Marsh Fork School. This is the chemical that tragically killed people in Bhopal, India. I am told by someone who used to work at the Massey Goals Coal plant that there is a very dangerous form of ammonia used next tot he school – and also there is the danger of a silo dust explosion. At any rate, it is insane to allow this next to the school. Gov. Manchin and Rep. Nick Rahall – what are you thinking?

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