In a Daring Challenge To The Power Of The Coal Industry,
Activists Blockade Power Plant
July 10, 2006, Carbo, Virginia - Early this morning,
activists with Earth First! and Rising Tide North America
set up a non-violent blockade of American Electric Power's
(AEP) nearly 50 year old Clinch River coal fired electric
facility. Emitting millions of pounds of pollutants yearly,
the Clinch River coal plant threatens the health and lives
of thousands of downwind residents and the surrounding
environment. Burning coal is not only a primary factor
behind global climate change, but also drives the expansion
of large scale strip mining. Large scale surface mining
destroys forests, streams and communities as it alters the
Appalachian landscape forever.
Over 50 activists arrived at AEP's Clinch River plant at
9:00 this morning. An Earth First!er attached a rope to the
bridge and stretched it across the road and suspended
himself below the bridge over the Clinch River. After waving
a coal truck onto the access bridge, two activists chained
themselves to the truck. The coal truck was decorated with
banners reading "No Such Thing as Clean Coal" while
protesters chatted with the driver. As of 10:40 am the
police were on the scene assessing the situation.
Earth First! and Rising Tide demand the following:
1. Shut down the Clinch River facility and all aging, dirty
coal burning power plants.
2. An immediate halt to mountaintop removal and other
destructive forms of strip mining.
3. A nationwide response to the reality of global climate
change marked by a move away from fossil fuels, transition
towards cleaner sources of energy and vigorous promotion of
electricity conservation.
"The Clinch River facility is a symbol of all that is wrong
with King Coal. Dirty air, ravaged landscapes and global
climate disruption are the legacies of a corrupt,
inefficient and destructive industry that kills with
impunity" said Patrick Garnett of Lexington, Kentucky.
"The coal industry and its government puppets are ignoring
widespread public concern over large scale strip mining, air
pollution and global climate change" said Erin Mckelvy of
Blacksburg, Virginia. "Concerned citizens are forced to take
direct action to call attention to the devestation caused by
the irresponsible mining and burning of coal" she added.
The Clinch River coal burner releases 4.25 million pounds of
carbon dioxide into the air annually, contributing to an
unpredictable change in the global climate. Particulate
pollution from burning coal has been proven to worsen asthma
for residents across the nation. Mountaintop removal coal
mining in Appalachia has destroyed over 800 square miles of
the most biologically diverse temperate forest in the world.
Over 1200 miles of streams have been buried by valley fills
and mining waste.
"I was born here in southwestern Virginia. The mountains
here are part of my soul. They are sacred to me, and also to
God" said Ernest Wayne Cantrell of Clintwood, Virginia. "I
fight back because I can't continue to watch the world's
oldest mountains be leveled forever" he continued.
Earth First! is an international environmental action
movement focusing on protecting wild nature. Rising Tide
North America is part of an international network focusing
on the root causes of global climate change.
More information available at www.mountainjusticemedia.org
and www.katuahearthfirst.org,
Contact: Earth First! Media Center - Claire Jones -
828-277-8729
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