Working For Change

A partial guide to organizations in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia are working for change throughout the Central Appalachian coalfields. Descriptions and contact information are taken directly from each organization’s website.

WEST VIRGINIA

AURORA LIGHTS
Building Solidarity For a Healthy Appalachia
www.auroralights.org

Our Mission:
Aurora Lights supports locally-based projects that strengthen the connections within and between human communities and their natural environment by promoting environmental and social action. Ultimately, we hope to restore a sense of the sacred balance between the Earth and the human community that will promote sustainable and thoughtful land stewardship.

Our Vision:
This mission is inspired by Aurora, the mythical Goddess of the Dawn. Aurora hung the stars through the night to keep light shining until she rode across the sky in her chariot to pick up her brother, the sun. In our times, Aurora Lights represent locally-inspired creative solutions to community problems:

We support education, reforestation, and gardening programs that bring people together to regain and retain balance with the natural community.

We work with artists to encourage creative expression that will inspire local communities to develop solutions to their environmental and social problems.

We support local employment opportunities to ease tension on families who must otherwise migrate to urban centers to find employment.

Jen Osha originally co-founded this nonprofit in Ecuador while she was serving as a WorldTeach volunteer. When she returned to the United States and began working in West Virginia, she noticed many similiarities between the impacts of oil extraction on the native peoples of Ecuador and the impacts of the coal industry on southern West Virginia residents. In the summers of 2005 and 2006, she organized groups of undergraduate students to travel to Ecuador as part of "International Perspectives on Environmental Issues." Students also traveled to the southern West Virginia coalfields in preparation for the trip to gain understanding about some of the common issues facing communities organizing against large energy corporations.

Aurora Lights originally formed in Ecuador in 1998 under the name "Fundacion Nucanchi Yuracuna," which means "our trees" in the native Quichua language of the Andes. Jen Osha, Santiago Diaz, and Rodrigo Donoso worked together to purchase 12 acres of land, start a small organic farm and tree nursery, and organize environmental education projects. They also hosted summer interns in environmental education and as research assistants. We spent 12 weeks in the Sacha Huayco forest, at 13,000 feet elevation, studying the native Polylepis trees as an alternative to planting pine trees in reforestation projects. The projects were temporarily haulted when the neighboring volcano, Tungurahua, erupted and buried the farm in ash. Currently, Rodrigo Donoso still runs the tree nursery through Alta Montaña, a mountain guiding company.

Why are issues surrounding mountaintop removal at the core of many Aurora Lights programs?

Mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) results in complete habitat loss and destruction of entire headwater systems. Local communities are also impacted by blasting, loss of water quality, loss of entire streams, loss of community land, health impacts from coal dust and toxic slurry, and increased flooding. Therefore, many more specific issues of environmental and social injustice in this area can be traced back to the impacts of coal extraction through the process of MTR.

We are currently offering internship programs for students to get involved with our work in southern West Virginia. Students interested in traveling to Ecuador should contact Jen Osha directly at [email protected].

CHRISTIANS FOR THE MOUNTAINS

Christians For The Mountains (CFMT) is a network of persons committed to advocating that Christians and their churches recognize their God-given responsibility to live compatably and sustainably upon this earth God has created.

Membership is open to anyone who aligns with the principles and goals of CFTM. There is no membership fee. Members are requested to take upon themselves personal responsiblity as well as help out in the cause.

CFTM at this time is operated by a Steering Committee in order to expedite decisions. At this time all CFTM work is done on a volunteer basis with no employees or payroll.

CFTM welcomes financial contributions. These funds go toward disseminating its DVD and printed material, holding conferences, and other outreach work. CFTM has 501(c)3 nonprofit tax status through a partnership with World Stewardship Institute. Financial reports will be available upon request to the treasurer.

CFTM is nondenominational and non-partisan, but does take a critical prophetic stance in advocacy for justice, righteousness, and peace for the land and its inhabitants. CFTM seeks to be respectful to all voices seeking truth.

As the head of Christians for the Mountains, Allen Johnson rallies Christians against mountaintop-removal mining in the Appalachian Mountains. Johnson says his religious and environmental epiphany occurred while volunteering in Haiti in the early 1990s, and led him to quit his job to attend seminary. "We believe that God made this planet, that God loves the earth, God loves creation, God loves humanity, and that even though God gives us freedom to spin our destiny, God doesn't want it to be trashed," says Johnson.

Would you like to join CFTM?  If so please send your contact information to [email protected]

Questions? Ideas? Want to help protect God's Mountains?
Email us:
[email protected]

Give us a call:
304-658-4334

Or snail mail us:
405 Log Town Rd.
Ansted, WV 25812

CLIMATE GROUND ZERO
www.climategroundzero.org/

It's going to take action, continued and direct, to end mountaintop removal in Appalachia. We need to stop the coal companies from laying mountains low, poisoning air and water and ruining livelihoods. Our volunteers have put their bodies on the line to stop the over 3,000,000 pounds of explosives used every day to level West Virginia for coal.

Climate Ground Zero is not another environmental organization. It is an ongoing campaign of non-violent civil disobedience in southern West Virginia to end mountaintop removal coal mining and its effects on our future.

Here in West Virginia, an overwhelming majority of residents are opposed to this destructive form of mining. But our political leaders are afraid of Big Coal and their powerful lobbyists-a few coal state Senators and Representatives of Congress have vowed to block any reforms. Over a century of repression has created a situation where coal operators are exempt from environmental laws and regulations, and a corrupt court system refuses to enforce those laws.

To stop mountaintop removal, we need to awaken the consciousness of the country to this violent crime. Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of activists have come to the coalfields and stood with the residents of West Virginia to demand an end to the destruction. So far, over 90 people have been arrested in a series of actions that have actually stopped the blasting, garnered national media attention and elicited harsh reactions from the coal industry.

Tired of writing e-mails and attending meetings? Put on your boots, hit the road and come stand in solidarity with the people of Appalachia. We are going to keep confronting King Coal until we win, but we can't do it without you here.

Climate Ground Zero operates a base camp in the heart of the coal mining region of West Virginia. At our action camp in the coalfields of West Virginia, we provide for you and/or your affinity group a local action prep that includes a variety of trainings on: non-violent direct action, peacekeeping, legal observing, cultural awareness, local history, environmental consequences of mountaintop removal and legal updates.

Climate Ground Zero provides meals and tent space to all participants, but donations of food, supplies and/or money are welcome. Bring what you can, if you can!

Besides direct action participants, we welcome: trained medics and medical professionals, kitchen help, climbers, gardeners, video/photographers and journalists, organizers, hellraisers, back country explorers, orienteers, law students and professionals, computer programmers, scientists, eager-learners and hard workers.

If you're interested, please contact us. We will ask you to provide two references.
Contact Info:
304-854-7372
[email protected]

 

COAL RIVER MOUNTAIN WATCH
www.crmw.net

Mission
The mission of Coal River Mountain Watch is to stop the destruction of our communities and environment by mountaintop removal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area and to help rebuild sustainable communities.

History
Coal River Mountain Watch (CRMW) is a grassroots organization begun in 1998 in response to the fear and frustration of people living near or downstream from huge mountaintop removal sites. We began as a small group of volunteers working to organize the residents of southern West Virginia to fight for social, economic, and environmental justice. From our humble beginnings, we have become a major force in opposition to mountaintop removal. Our outreach coordinator, Julia Bonds, was the 2003 Goldman Prize winner for North America. CRMW's efforts figure prominently in Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s book Crimes against Nature. We have been active in federal court to challenge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits for valley fills and made regional news with demonstrations against a sludge dam and preparation plant near Marsh Fork Elementary School.

 

THE OHIO VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION
www.ohvec.org

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC), formed in 1987, is a nonprofit organization. Our mission is to organize and maintain a diverse grassroots organization dedicated to the improvement and preservation of the environment through education, grassroots organizing and coalition building, leadership development and media outreach. Our work encompasses much of West Virginia.

The structure of OVEC is a common one: volunteers/members, board of directors with officers, and staff members. What is uncommon is the committed participation of many ordinary citizens in OVEC, united for the common purpose of protecting the environment in which we all live. OVEC's board of directors is active.

Contact OVEC at:

OVEC
PO Box 6753
Huntington, WV 25773-6753.
Phone: 304-522-0246
Fax: 304-525-6984
Email: [email protected]

WEST VIRGINIA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL
'We Are All Shades of Green Working Together!'
www.wvecouncil.org

The mission of the West Virginia Environmental Council is to facilitate communication and cooperation among citizens in promoting environmental protection in West Virginia, to assist in organizing grass roots groups, to facilitate interaction among established environmental organizations, and to correspond with all appropriate local, state, and federal agencies involved in the management of West Virginia's environment.

West Virginia Environmental Council, 2206 Washington Street East, Charleston, WV 25311; 304-414-0143 

WEST VIRGINIA HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY
www.wvhighlands.org/

First coming together in 1965, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is one of the state's oldest environmental activist organizations. With the increased awareness of environmental issues in the 1960s, a coalition of recreational users of the West Virginia Highlands came together to address a whole host of environmental threats to our state. Over the past 40 years, the Highlands Conservancy has continued to be the leader in protecting the natural environment of our state through both defensive and offensive campaigns.

When the Highlands Conservancy was formed, the proposed Highlands Scenic Highway would have sliced a gaping wound from north to south through the heart of the highlands, the Royal Glen dam would have flooded much of the Potomac Valley including the Smoke Hole area, the Davis Power project threatened much of Canaan Valley with inundation, the proposed Rowlesburg Dam on the Cheat River threatened to flood the Cheat River Valley including the St. George area, and newly proposed strip mines threatened many of our forests and mountains and condemned many of our waterways with acid mine drainage.

From the beginning, the Highlands Conservancy has dealt with a whole array of threats to our wonderful state. We were instrumental in the passage of the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act, which gave us our first Wilderness areas—Dolly Sods and Otter Creek. We began a campaign that lasted over 35 years to protect Canaan Valley and saw the successful establishment of a National Wildlife Refuge there. We mounted campaigns to stop numerous dams proposed around the state. We filed our first lawsuit against strip mining in 1967, which was the beginning of almost 40 years of leadership on coal mining issues in West Virginia. We helped enact important environment-protecting legislation such as the Surface Mine Control and Reclaimation Act (SMCRA) and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). Protecting clean air, clean water, forests, streams, mountains, and the health and welfare of the people that live here, is what the Highlands Conservancy is all about.

The Highlands Conservancy publishes the Hiking Guide to the Monongahela National Forest. Our monthly newspaper, the Highlands Voice, has been in continuous monthly publication since 1967. Highlands Conservancy members do far more than work to protect our state from destructive forces. Together, they also enjoy the lands and waters they work to protect through Conservancy-sponsored activities. They explore woodlands, valleys, bogs and caves, canoe and fish, climb mountains, and search out birds, wildflowers and native animals. Conservancy membership means new friendships, new experiences, and new rewards.

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is working in vigorous opposition to coal mining by mountaintop removal. This destructive form of strip mining has gotten out of control. Lawsuits brought by the Highlands Conservancy are challenging this method of resource extraction based on violations of the Clean Water Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. The environmental and social impacts of mountain top removal mining extend well beyond the streams that are filled. Forests will take centuries to regenerate, if they ever do, on the packed, barren surface left after this most destructive of mining methods. The communities below these massive operations are often devastated, either by the mining itself, or by subsequent floods and valley fill mudslides. We believe that new rules for these activities are necessary, and existing laws need to be more vigorously enforced.

Our efforts on the coal mining issue go well beyond just mountain top removal. We continue to defend our mining laws and work on other mining related issues like Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), which is destroying streams in the northern part of the state.

Through our Forest Watch program WVHC is a leader in protecting the Monongahela National Forest. The Highlands Conservancy provides West Virginians a strong voice for protecting these public resources from the exploiting and destructive forces of industry. As part of this program our Mountain Odyssey outings calendar provides adventurous people the opportunity to get out and explore and enjoy our wonderful state. We also give back to the Mon through trail maintenance projects as well as helping with forest restoration and other conservation efforts.

WVHC continues its Wilderness tradition, and after 40 years of winning Wilderness protection for the Mon, it continues this effort through its work with the West Virginia Wilderness Coalition.

WVHC is deeply involved in the current debate about the massive wind energy facilities now coming to the Highlands. These projects produce green energy on the one hand, but also seriously damage the ecology and aesthetics of the West Virginia Highlands on the other.

WVHC supports bringing Blackwater Canyon into public ownership. This dramatic canyon lies below Blackwater Falls State Park and is surrounded by Monongahela National Forest. It is considered by many to be one of West Virginia's greatest scenic treasures.

WVHC continues to work to keep massive highway projects such as Corridor H from further destroying and fragmenting our mountainous highlands.

WVHC works to protect our native flora and fauna while encouraging a fight against harmful invasive exotic species.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT: Hugh Rogers, Moon Run, Kerens, WV 26276; 304-636-2662, [email protected].

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT: Buff Rodman, 32 Crystal Dr., Oakmont, PA 15139; 412- 828-8983; [email protected].

VICE PRESIDENT FOR FEDERAL AFFAIRS: Marilyn Shoenfeld, HC 70 Box 553, 23 Sands SpringsLane, Davis, WV 26260; 304-866-3484, [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT FOR STATE AFFAIRS: Julian Martin, 1525 Hampton Rd., Charleston , WV 25314; 304-342-8989, [email protected]

SECRETARY: John McFerrin, 114 Beckley Ave., Beckley, WV 25801; 304-252-8733, [email protected]

TREASURER: Bob Marshall, 886-Z Divide Ridge Road, Kenna WV 25248; 304-545-6817; [email protected]

PAST PRESIDENT: Frank Young, Rt. 1, Box 108, Ripley, WV 25271; 304-372-3945, [email protected].

 

WEST VIRGINIA RIVERS COALITION
www.wvrivers.org

The mission of West Virginia Rivers Coalition (WVRC) is to "seek the conservation and restoration of West Virginia's exceptional rivers and streams.” The goals pursuant to that mission include preserving the high quality waters of the state, and improving those waters that should be of a higher quality.

We serve those who use and appreciate the waters of West Virginia. Of course, this includes the habitat and wildlife in the state's watersheds, but most notably, it is people: those who visit West Virginia to recreate, those who live upon the banks of the state's fine rivers, and those who rely upon West Virginia's the water resources for supply.

West Virginia Rivers Coalition
329 Davis Avenue, Suite 7 Elkins, WV 26241
Office: 304-637-7201
Fax: 304-637-7204

Shanda Minney, Executive Director
Email: [email protected]

Evan Hansen, Science Advisor
[email protected]

KENTUCKY

KENTUCKIANS FOR THE COMMONWEALTH
www.kftc.org

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a community of people taking action for justice. We work with people to organize in their home communities and across the state. We help everyday community members become extraordinary community leaders. We support community leaders as they build effective organizations.  Together, we win important issue campaigns.  If you want a better Kentucky—for all of us—join KFTC.

The Canary Project
Teri Blanton, Madison County
For years, coal miners would take canaries into the mines to warn of dangerous gases.  When the canaries died, the miners knew it was time to get out of the mine.  Now, we are the canaries, warning everyone about the dangers of coal before it is too late.  We no longer believe the big lie that coal is a cheap source of energy, and we are no longer willing to have our homes and lives sacrificed for coal company profits. 

King Coal has dominated the economy and the politics of Kentucky and central Appalachia for the past hundred years. Coal has brought great wealth to a few in Kentucky, and jobs to some, but it has left too many scars on the land and people and not much else. Harlan County, my home county, has produced over 1 billion tons of coal in the past century, yet today we are still one of the poorest counties in the state. Coal has left us with polluted water, a corrupted political system, poor schools, too many unhealthy people, and a disappearing heritage. And today the destruction is increasing.

For decades, the people of Kentucky have fought to protect our homes, our land, our water, and our jobs from the worst abuses of the coal industry.  And though we have often been successful, the coal industry is always working to get around the laws and new communities to exploit.

The Canary Project is building a better future—beyond coal! We are building awareness about the dangers from coal because everyone that breathes air, drinks water, and lives on this planet is affected by the production and burning of coal. We are developing the skills we need to protect our communities and homes. We are working for a new economy to sustain, instead of exploit, our communities. We are supporting new energy sources that will replace the burning of coal. And, we are winning campaigns to protect our state and build a better future.

KFTC
P.O. Box 1450
London, KY 40743
606-878-2161 (office); 606-878-5714 (fax)
For email contacts, visit www.kftc.org/about-kftc/contact-us

KENTUCKY WATERWAYS ALLIANCE
www.kwalliance.org/

Vision: We envision healthy waterways throughout Kentucky.

Mission: The mission of Kentucky Waterways Alliance is to protect and restore Kentucky's waterways.

Principles and Values: Kentucky Waterways Alliance is an advocate for healthy watersheds and waterways. We:
—Work across ecological and social boundaries.
—Are inclusive rather than exclusive.
—Make decisions on sound science and data.
—Value environmental education.
—Regard local watershed groups as vital.
—Make alliances that aren't limited to water advocacy organizations.
—Collaborate to solve problems, but not to the exclusion of administrative or judicial remedies. 

Judy Petersen, Executive Director
Jason Flickner, Water Resources Program Director
Tessa Edelen, Watershed Program Director
Jennifer Milburn, Outreach Director
Kelly Craig, Membership Assistant

KWA Staff can be reached via email at (firstname)@kwalliance.org or by calling the office numbers below. For general inquiries, email [email protected].

OFFICES
Louisville
Bakery Square
Suite 217
120 Webster Street
Louisville, KY 40206
502-589-8008

Greensburg
107 East Court Street
Greensburg KY 42743
270-932-2884
  

MACED—Mountain Association for Community Economic Development
www.maced.org

Meaningful work, stronger communities... respected natural resources, higher quality of life... everyday people, extraordinary results. Welcome to our vision of Appalachia.

MACED works to create economic alternatives that make a difference to people and places in eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia. We invest in good ideas and help others move their good ideas forward.

Our work is organized into three major strategies.

• Providing financial investments and technical assistance that helps local people and communities prosper.

• Conducting research to inform and support good public policy that is inclusive and considers everyone affected.

• Crafting effective development tools that make a difference. For Appalachian communities to have a brighter tomorrow, they need better tools to retain the natural resources and wealth they are losing today.

Our work today is built upon 30 years of listening, learning and experience working in the mountains of Kentucky and Central Appalachia. We believe our vision can become real only if people have the proper tools, resources and belief in a better way.

e-mail: [email protected]

Berea Office
433 Chestnut Street
Berea, KY 40403
Phone: 859-986-2373 _fax: 859-986-1299

Big Sandy Office
Kentucky Highlands Entrepreneur Center
120 Scott Perry Drive
Paintsville, KY 41240
phone: 606-788-6007; fax: 606-789-5652_

 

VIRGINIA

WISE ENERGY FOR VIRGINIA
www.wiseenergyforvirginia.org

Wise Energy for Virginia is a growing coalition of national, regional and local organizations committed to securing a clean energy future for Virginia. In 2007 Appalachian Voices, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Sierra Club's Virginia Chapter, and the Southern Environmental Law Center joined the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards to support its fight against a proposed coal-burning plant in Wise County, Virginia and raise awareness of the benefits of clean and efficient energy. The coalition has since partnered with other organizations including the Virginia Climate Action Network, a statewide student coalition, and the faith-based Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light.

Mission
The Wise Energy for Virginia coalition is committed to securing a clean energy future for Virginia. Our mission is to promote clean and affordable energy that will protect our mountains and southwest Virginia communities from mountaintop removal coal mining, invigorate the economy by creating jobs that cannot be exported, and commit the Commonwealth to science-based reductions in global warming pollution.

For more information contact the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition Coordinator:
Kayti Wingfield: [email protected], 540-470-0643

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN STEWARDS
www.samsva.org

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards is an organization of concerned community members and their allies who are working to stop the destruction of our communities by surface coal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area, and to help rebuild sustainable communities.

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
P.O. Box 352
Big Stone Gap, VA 24219
(276) 523-4380
[email protected]

Staff
Kathy Selvage—Vice President
Adam Wells—Outreach Coordinator

TENNESSEE

SAVE OUR CUMBERLAND MOUNTAINS
www.socm.org

Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM) is a member-run organization that encourages civic involvement and collective action so that the people of Tennessee have a greater voice in determining their future. The mission of SOCM is to empower Tennesseans to protect, defend, and improve the quality of life in their communities across the state. SOCM is working for social, economic, and environmental justice for all. We are committed to the journey of becoming an anti-racist organization. Recognizing our interdependence, SOCM is committed to overcoming social and institutional racism and embracing our diverse cultures.

Values Statement
We believe there is strength in organization, in people working together with their inherent power and right to affect the course of their lives and surroundings. We are committed to developing and using this power to improve the quality of life in our communities.

We believe that we have the right to know about and have a voice in developments for the common good. We acknowledge our interdependence and interconnectedness and therefore take responsibility for inspiring growth and change for the common good.

Those who engage in enterprises, commerce and industry have a responsibility to be accountable to the communities in which they operate, as do politicians and government officials. Recognizing the dignity and rights of all people, we work together across lines of age, race, and income for social, economic, and environmental justice.

Vision Statement

SOCM envisions a society where people of diverse backgrounds are empowered through community action and leadership development to achieve changes that improve their quality of life by organizing for social, economic, and environmental justice. SOCM envisions a Tennessee with clean air and water, decent housing, adequate food, affordable health care, good educational opportunities, a fair tax system and a living wage with good jobs for all people. We envision a Tennessee where all people are treated fairly and equally across lines of age, race and income. We see a Tennessee where our communities are preserved and protected with a sustainable environment and where corporations and all public officials are held accountable to the people.

Main Office:
224 South Main Street, Suite 1
Lake City, TN 37769
865-426-9455
865-426-9289 (fax)

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 479
Lake City, TN 37769

West TN Office:
1029 Campbell Street
Jackson, TN 38303
731-422-2500
731-422-2515 (fax)

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 3184
Jackson,TN 38301

UNITED MOUNTAIN DEFENSE
www.unitedmountaindefense.org

United Mountain Defense (UMD) is a volunteer driven nonprofit organization committed to halting mountaintop removal coal mining in Tennessee and assisting coal impacted communities. We have many years of experience working on issues relating to surface mining and its impacts on communities. UMD conducts activities in three principle areas: scientific monitoring and data collection, community organizing including outreach and education, and data collection and analysis from federal and state agencies. These activities are conducted within the state of Tennessee, primarily in Campbell, Claiborne, Scott, Fentress, Bledsoe, Knox Blount, and Roane counties.

Mission
United Mountain Defense is dedicated to protecting Tennessee's Watersheds, Air Mountains and People.

United Mountain Defense
PO Box 20363
Knoxville, TN 37920
[email protected]

UMD Volunteer House
865-689-2778
[email protected]

REGIONAL

APPALACHIAN VOICES
www.appvoices.org

Mission
Appalachian Voices brings people together to solve the environmental problems having the greatest impact on the central and southern Appalachian Mountains. Our mission is to empower people to defend our region's rich natural and cultural heritage by providing them with tools and strategies for successful grassroots campaigns.

Because the threats to our mountains do not respect state boundaries or political ideologies, we tackle them by reaching out to a broad spectrum of people from across the region. We are member-based and promote individual and community involvement in the important environmental decisions facing our neighbors. We believe that success is most likely when a diversity of people are involved and empowered to work together for change, and all our programs are guided by this commitment to build a broad base of public support for environmental protection in the southern mountains.

We develop credible resources and effective strategies that are accessible, informative and inspiring. We take strong, thoughtful positions on issues and work tirelessly to achieve our goals, in order to secure meaningful, lasting protections for the land and people of our region.

For general inquiries, email: [email protected]

Appalachian Voices has offices in Boone, NC, Asheville, NC, Charlottesville, VA, and Washington, DC. Contact Information for each are listed below. If you have a question or comment regarding membership in Appalachian Voices or a general request, email us at [email protected], or give us a call at our main office in Boone. For inquiries pertaining to The Appalachian Voice newspaper, contact [email protected].

Boone, NC: Main Office
Appalachian Voices
191 Howard St.
Boone, NC 28607
Phone: 828-262-1500; Fax: 828-262-1540; Toll Free: 1-877-APP-VOICE

Asheville, NC Office
Scott Gollwitzer, In-house Counsel
Mailing Address:
16 Eagle Street
Suite 200
Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: 828-505-1963

Washington, D.C. Office
JW Randolph, Legislative Associate, cell: 202-669-3670
Stephanie Pistello, National Field Coordinator

Mailing Address:
344 8th St. NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-652-0891
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Charlottesville, VA Office
Tom Cormons, Virginia Campaign Coordinator
Mike McCoy, Virginia Field Organizer

Mailing address:
408 E. Market St.
Suite 201C
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Phone: 434-293-6373
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

The Appalachian Voice Editor
Bill Kovarik, Appalachian Voice Editor

Mailing Address:
1408 Spring Street
Radford, VA 24141
Phone: 540-831-6033
E-mail: [email protected]

 

MOUNTAIN JUSTICE
www.mountainjustice.org
Serving Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee

Mountain Justice is both a call to action and a request for help from the people of the Appalachian mountains. We seek to save our mountains, streams and forest from greedy coal companies. Why are we asking for help?

Over 1200 miles of streams have been buried and destroyed and countless mountains and ridge tops have been blown up-gone for all eternity. The Bush administration has altered laws to encourage and accelerate the destruction. The price of coal has doubled and the destruction of our watersheds is accelerating and spreading out like cancer. Our state and federal agencies charged with protecting our environment are liquidating our mountains.

We are losing. Our loss is not only for our own generation-but for future generations. Where there once were water producing mountains—now there are barren scraped-biologically-dead toxic wastelands. Water is going to be more important to future generations than coal. You cannot drink coal. The Pentagon has predicted than many of the future wars on our planet will not be fought over coal or oil-but for water. The lack of clean drinking water is already a global problem for humanity—as our population increases it will only get worse. The destruction of water producing mountains is not only a crime of the present-it is a very real attack on the future generations.

We cannot afford to continue losing this struggle. A few already rich coal company executives are getting wealthier at the expense of us all. The acceleration of mountaintop, side and ridge removal is a curse on the future and present generations. We need your help.

www.mountainjustice.org
Additional contact information is available at website.

Mountain Justice
PO Box 86
Naoma, WV 25140