An email from NY Loves Mountains (sent Jan 18th):
The new year has already seen big changes in the the movement to end
mountaintop removal that have made us pause to mourn and to express
gratitude. On January 3rd, Julia "Judy" Bonds passed away after a
struggle with cancer. Judy, a Goldman prize award winner in 2003, was
a beloved leader who had devoted her life to the fight to end the coal
mining practice that was destroying her family's home.
...It is with gratitude and hope that we met the news this past week
that the EPA has chosen to veto the permit for the proposed Spruce No.
1 mine in West Virginia, what would have been the largest mountaintop
mine in Appalachia to date, stating that "the proposed Spruce No. 1
Mine would use destructive and unsustainable mining practices that
jeopardize the health of Appalachian communities and clean water on
which they depend." Many see this decision as a landmark victory,
marking a turning of the tide in the regulation of the mining
industry. However, with a new administration could come a very
different EPA, reversing the progress being made now.
...New Yorkers absolutely have a connection to mountaintop removal. Not
only do we burn MTR coal, our state retirement fund invests in Massey
Energy, the company behind more MTR mines than any other. If you know
a state employee that does not want his or her retirement money
invested in mountaintop removal coal mining, please tell him or her to
get in touch with us. We need to push Albany to stop supporting a
company that destroys entire habitats and communities and sends its
miners into deadly mines without proper safety precautions. It's time
to end Comptroller's DiNapoli's appeasement strategy and get our money
out of Massey. Sign the petition calling for NYS Retirement Fund to
divest from Massey Energy here.
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