“It’s Easier to Mine Coal Without People Around.”

RAN’s latest Coal Risk Update highlights the potential human rights impacts of a planned mountaintop removal mine in Blair, West Virginia. Blair Mountain is a national treasure: The mountain is the site of arguably the most important post-Civil War battlefield in the US. Currently, Arch Coal plans to build a mine that would destroy the [...]

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Tell Banks to Stop Financing the Destruction of Blair Mountain

A Guest Blog by Brandon Nida, Organizer—Blair Mountain Heritage Alliance Many people have not heard of the Battle of Blair Mountain, let alone a place called Adkins Fork in Logan County, West Virginia. But in 1921, the Adkins Fork area was the scene of an intense battle between miners attempting to organize and a private army [...]

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Patriot Coal to End Mountaintop Removal Mining

Good news for Appalachia: Patriot Coal recently announced its decision to end mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining. Rainforest Action Network has been talking for many years about why this egregious form of mining needs to be ended immediately. For anyone who might want a reminder about what MTR is, watch this: This is significant news. [...]

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The Best Way To Honor Larry Gibson’s Incredible Life Is To Continue Spreading His Powerful Message

Larry Gibson was a true hero. One of the most important things we can do to honor the incredible life Larry lived is keep fighting: continue fending off King Coal, protecting our air, our mountains, our water, our climate and our communities. You can help by sharing one of these images below. Larry set a [...]

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Remembering Appalachia’s Mountain Keeper, Larry Gibson

“They tell us we’re collateral damage. Well, I ain’t collateral damage. I am somebody. My name is Larry Gibson.” –Larry Gibson Politics in West Virginia always feel more real to me. Energy and economic policies have allowed coal companies to turn the state into a national sacrifice zone. Mountains are flattened by a surface mining [...]

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Twenty Pro-Mountain Activists Held on $500,000 Combined Bail After Shutting Down Hobet Mine

Environmental crises are ravaging the country. From tar sands oil pipelines to fracking for natural gas to western coal exports, the fossil fuel industry is literally waging war on the United States. One of the most resisted forms of extraction is mountaintop removal coal mining. In the late 1990′s, a new anti-strip mining movement emerged [...]

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Patriot Coal: Another One Bites the Dust

Big news this week in the coal industry: Patriot Coal, the third-largest Mountaintop Removal (MTR) coal mining company, is filing for bankruptcy. Bank of America is among the banks providing bankruptcy filing services for Patriot. This is a real opportunity for BofA to use its influence and environmental ambition to work with Patriot and forward-thinking [...]

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West Virginia Prepares for Mountain Mobilization; July 25-Aug. 1

“Everything has to get bigger from here. We need to put our backs up against the wall and not back down.” –Larry Gibson, lifelong West Virginian This fight to end mountaintop removal coal mining is not over. And like Larry said, it needs to get bigger and not back off. Mountain fighters from all over [...]

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DC Judge Restricts The EPA’s Ability To Protect Our Water and Ecosystems

I’m outraged by today’s news from DC. Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson has ruled that the EPA exceeded its authority in revoking permits for what could now become West Virginia’s largest mountaintop removal (MTR) mine. Back in January 2011, the EPA vetoed Arch Coal’s permit to mine at the Spruce site,  as it would cause [...]

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Coal River Tree-sitter Sentenced To 7 Days In Jail

Direct action is not as glamorous as many would have you believe. Days, weeks, or years in jail or prison is not easy. But fighting to save precious land and communities is damned motivating. Coal River Mountain tree-sitter Catherine-Ann has just been sentenced to seven days in a West Virginia regional jail. Her crime? She [...]

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