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Larry Gibson, mountaintop removal opponent, dies
Just breaking here in W.Va, he had a heart attack.- no link yet.
Here's a good piece on him:
When he watched mountaintop removal mining raze the mountain all around his home and family’s land on Kayford Mountain in West Virginia, Larry Gibson became one of the country’s first people to speak out against this extreme and egregiously irresponsible mining practice. When there was hardly a gaggle of people brave enough to go against the grain of Big Coal in Appalachia, Larry railed against the destruction and injustice that he saw happening all around him. He bought himself some highlighter-yellow T-shirts and printed a simple message on them, calling for reinforcement from anyone with the courage to join the fight: "We Are the Keepers of the Mountains, Love Them or Leave Them, Just Don't Destroy Them. If You Dare to Be One Call 304-542-1134." Today, as he travels the country in his signature fluorescent shirts educating the public on through his Keeper of the Mountains Foundation, he is a hero to many in the movement to stop mountaintop removal mining. He was named one of CNN's "Heroes" in 2007, has appeared on ABC's 20/20, testified before the United Nations, and has spoken to thousands of community, church, and university groups across the country. His courage to stand up and speak out against mountaintop removal mining has inspired and given voice to countless other Americans who live with the injustices of environmental pollution and destruction. Standing at just above five feet tall, Larry’s leadership in the movement to bring justice to Appalachia is larger than life.
http://earthjustice.org/mountain-heroes/larry-gibson
Here he is with RFK, Jr.:
Notice from Keepers of the Mountains:
Larry Gibson, long-time environmental activist, died of a heart attack Sunday, September 10, while working on Kayford Mountain, the family home in Raleigh County which he spent the last decades of his life protecting from the coal mining practice known as mountaintop removal.
Kayford was the site of Larry’s birth, the final resting place of 300 ancestors stretching back to the 18th century, and the site of Larry’s annual 4th of July festival celebrating life in the mountains. As part of his effort to preserve the mountains, Larry traveled across the country, to schools, churches and a wide range of public gatherings where he spread his simple gospel about the mountains: “Love em or leave em; just don’t destroy em.”
A private funeral is planned, and Larry’s family has requested that persons wishing to express condolences make donations to Keeper of the Mountains Foundation, which Larry founded in 2004 to support mountain communities. A public memorial service will be announced at a later time. Larry is survived by his wife, Carol, two sons Cameron and Larry, Jr. and his daughter, Victoria. He was sixty-six years old.
8 replies
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More visibility for Larry. Thank you for this thread Adenoid...I would have kicked it earlier if I had seen it 
