(TRMS producer Rebekah Dryden spotted these COAL -- Can Obama's America Last? -- folks heading for yesterday's astroturf rally. )
Back in March, author Jeff Biggers issued a call to action in order to ensure the support of Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia for the Appalachia Restoration Act, wondering aloud: will Sen. Webb, a Democrat, fight for the act, or for Big Coal? According to Grist, the bill aims to "sharply reduce mountaintop-removal coal mining and protect clean drinking water for many of our nation's cities. It will protect the quality of life for Appalachian coalfield residents who face frequent catastrophic flooding and pollution or loss of drinking water as a result of mountaintop removal coal mining."
The bill has been referred to committee, and still has a long way to go. However, it now seems quite clear where Sen. Webb stands -- and it is with not only the coal industry, but with Tea Party, astroturf tactics, as well.
Senator Webb was joined by his fellow U.S. Senator from Virginia, Mark Warner, both spoke at a pro-coal industry rally yesterday -- and said some slightly nutty stuff. Video after the jump:
(Nice t-shirt on that guy, right? "Can Obama's America Last"? Hey, that spells C.O.A.L! Give that guy a scratch-and-sniff sticker!)
Without having seen that T-shirt, Biggers, previewing the event for the Huffington Post, goes beyond the ridiculous idea that coal is part of any clean energy solution and connects the rally to Tea Party astroturfers:
Under the guise of "celebrating the American coal miner," an infamous K-Street Big Coal front lobby group has bankrolled the buses, hotels and meals to bring Appalachian coal mining supporters to Washington, DC today...
One of the groups sponsoring the event was the West Virginia Coal Association -- which, per the Blue Virginia blog, once claimed that mountaintop removal mining has "actually helped improve habitat for wildlife in Appalachia."
But if you're not dizzy from that spin, you might like to know that the lobby group Biggers was talking about was another sponsor of the event Webb and Warner spoke at yesterday -- the Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security, or FACES of Coal. How real those "faces" are was a questioned answered on this blog back in April (they weren't).
That said, the faces of Democratic Sens. Webb and Warner at that rally were very real. Wonder if they knew who was footing the bill.
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"Clean coal" is the biggest oxymoron I've ever heard.
What is sad is that these people have been duped into believing that coal is the only industry that can ever give them a good paycheck in Appalachia. Doctors from third world countries go to rural West Virginia to train, as it is the closest thing to a third world country environment for them to learn in.
fat people support mountain top removal, judging by the pic.
Yeah, stupid fatties.
...
Let's try and watch the fatphobia, hey?
Coal no longer employs anywhere near the number of people it used to, but it is still providing some of the only high-paying jobs in that part of the country. I lived in WV for many years, and it is very apparent why nothing has really stepped up to replace it. The terrain is incredibly mountainous, and the infrastructure simply doesn't exist in many parts of the state to support other industries. Add to that the inability for many miners to pay for higher education for their children, and you have a ready-made constituency that sees coal as their only real chance for employment. That makes them very easy to manipulate.
I have lived in West Virginia my entire life, and coal is seen by the vaaaaast majority as West Virginia's life support system. There are a lot of problems in this state, from education to health care, but the coal mining industry has kept West Virginia pretty financially stable. People here are legitimately scared that, as coal goes, so goes WV. There are plenty of opportunities for work in this state: infrastructure needs A LOT of work, we have great natural resources for renewable energy, especially wind and hydro power, but rather than looking at new green industries as opportunity, this population sees it as a threat to their way of life. I'm not sure when, if ever, Appalachia will understand that coal is not the future, and in order to survive, this area needs to adapt. The stubbornness and complete lack of foresight is frightening, disheartening, and it's why West Virginia continues to see its youth leave the state for opportunities elsewhere.
I have lived my entire life along Coal River, where coal was discovered. I spent 30 years working in underground mines. I'm a fifth generation coal miner. I can tell you, that coal will never, ever, bring prosperity to WV. We have one highest poverty rates in the country. The practice of mountaintop removal, is destroying any economic future, this state has, and there is plenty that Appalachia has to offer. Our beauty of our states, is unmatched anywhere in this country. We have one of the most, bio diverse forest, on the entire planet, it's one of the most treasured places this country has to offer, and mountaintop removal coal mining, destroying it. Greedy out of state, and also out of the countries corporations, are killing people here, by contaminating our water, destroying our communities. The land, and our water is our mother, and we have to rise up and protect her. Pleas join us in Washington, D.C., next week, Sept. 25, 26, and are civil disobedient action, on the 27th, and demand that mountaintop removal has to stop now.We will not stop, we will not go away, the stakes are to high. Appalachia will rise next week in D.C. Come be a part of Appalachia Rising !!