UPDATE: Coal River Mountain Survives Another Day

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x185451

We wanted to let you know that Coal River Mountain has survived another day! Due to the fact that Massey coal company had not obtained the required permits, they were prevented from starting the blasting yesterday from a legal standpoint. However, it was your calls and emails to Governor Manchin that pressured him into sending his own team of inspectors down to the mine site to make sure they didn't blast. So for the residents of the Coal River Valley, and for the future of West Virginia, we wanted to say THANK YOU!!

Since Tuesday morning, nearly 2,500 of you have emailed the Governor, and the emails are still going through at a steady pace. From what we can tell, the Governor also received hundreds of calls, and about 600 of you signed our petition (if you didn't do so, please sign the petition). This was a great push, and the pressure on the governor is vital to winning this campaign and bringing wind power to southern West Virginia. He now knows that people all over West Virginia and all over the nation are watching to see if he'll let Coal River Mountain - and the potential for clean energy development in an economically depressed, coal-dependent area - be destroyed for only 14 years of coal mining, or if he'll do the right thing and rescind the permits altogether. He may have helped stop the blasting, but he only did so for legal reasons, and you can bet that Massey is pushing hard to get the required blasting and mining permits, so We Still Need Your Help!!

Can you forward this email to at least 5 friends, asking them to help save Coal River Mountain for wind power? We need to ramp up the pressure, and keep the calls and emails coming in, for once Massey gets those permits, only Governor Manchin can take them away.

Also, if you are in the area, come join us on September 16th as we celebrate the opportunity that exists here on Coal River Mountain, as well as all over West Virginia, to transition away from a heavy dependence on coal and toward a cleaner, greener energy and economic future. We'll be holding a "Rally for Green Jobs and Healthy Mountains" on the steps of the State Capitol building in Charleston, WV from 5:00-6:30pm, and we would love to have all of you there if you can make it. Pass the word around, because the more people that attend, the louder our message will be, and Governor Manchin will hear it ringing through the halls of the Capitol.

Thank you for all of your support, and for helping save Coal River Mountain for a little while longer.

Lorelei, Rory and the Coal River Wind Team.



ACTION ALERT: Coal company to begin destruction of major West Virginia wind energy resource
Help us ask WV Governor Manchin for "stay of execution" for Coal River Mountain

Hey Folks,

The residents of the Coal River Valley in West Virginia urgently need your help. While we thought we had months to stop the proposed Mountaintop Removal coal mining operation for Coal River Mountain, the coal company – Massey Energy – circumvented the law and altered their permits, and are set to begin blasting the mountain for coal TOMORROW, September 10th. If they are allowed to proceed, the blasting will eliminate some of the potential for the production of clean wind energy and creation of good, green jobs on Coal River Mountain, and it will be harder for local residents to stop the continuation of the mining once it has started. So, we need your help.

Could you call Governor Manchin, today, and ask him to issue a "stay of execution" for Coal River Mountain? He already knows that there is a real alternative to Mountaintop Removal here, and he knows it is the better option, now he needs to hear it from you! He needs to know that the state and the nation are watching him, and that you know that the decision is HIS to make. The Coal River Mountain Wind Project is such a great alternative that it was awarded Co-Op America's "Building Economic Alternatives" Award, and is also being highlighted for the national Green Jobs Now! Day of Action on September 27th. But without your help, all of this will be lost for short-term, destructive coal mining.

Please pass this around to your friends, family, colleagues and email lists. The louder the voice, the better the chance of stopping the blasting. YOU can help by:

* Watching the Online video to see what's is at stake. This home page and the rest of the website will also give you more information about the campaign, and presents a comparison between the benefits of Wind Power versus Mountaintop Removal coal mining.
* Sign the Petition!
* Pass Around the Press Release to your local media – Available on our media page.
* Come to the Rally on September 16th - Information about the rally is available on the website. Please come support the residents of the Coal River Valley, and the creation of a new, clean economy and Green Jobs for West Virginia and the nation.
* Calling Governor Manchin Today!! His phone number is 1-888-438-2731, and an example call message is available below.
* Email Governor Manchin! It's easy. Just go to www.CoalRiverWind.org and let him know how you feel

Governor Manchin,

I am asking you to support the Coal River Wind Farm and halt blasting until you can look into this opportunity further. Massey Energy has issued notice for blasting at the site to begin tomorrow (Wednesday, September 10). Community members have requested for weeks that you put a freeze on the mountaintop removal mine and give citizens of West Virginia a chance to save Coal River Mountain.

Many people across southern West Virginia and across the United States were excited to learn recently that you are planning to make your case for renewable energy development in your upcoming "State of the State" speech, and that you have been publicly supporting the development of renewable energy in West Virginia in various speeches. During your 2008 State of the State address you pointed out "that the main ingredient to a successful energy future is sustainability" and encouraged the development of renewable energy like wind and solar. For this reason we hope you will be supportive of this landmark opportunity to put West Virginia on the renewable energy map.

Coal River Mountain in West Virginia has enough wind potential to provide electricity for over 150,000 homes and create 50 well-paying, good jobs, forever. The proposed wind farm would also help diversify the local economy in an area historically dependent upon sparse, temporary coal mining jobs. This opportunity depends upon the mountain being left intact.

We feel you could do no better than to highlight Coal River Mountain, and to lend your full support for the development of a utility-scale wind farm as an economically viable alternative to Massey's proposed 6,000+ acre mountaintop removal operation that is currently planned for the mountain.

By supporting this project, you will show both the state and the nation that you are truly committed to diversifying West Virginia's energy portfolio, and that you are willing to make tough choices in order to ensure the future of energy production and strong economy for the state and nation.

Citizens everywhere are concerned about the state of our economy and rising energy prices. Recent estimates produced by the U.S. Geologic Survey show that West Virginia has only 20-30 more years at which current levels of coal production in West Virginia can be maintained, so the time to begin developing these alternative energy sources is now, for as remaining coal runs out, the price of electricity will skyrocket.

However, we have a new and better option, and we are asking that you lend your full support for this project based on its long-term economic, social and environmental benefits, especially as they compare positively to the short-term benefits and long-term costs that will result from proposed strip-mining operations.

Governor Manchin, the choice is yours, and we hope that you make the right one – for the residents of Coal River Mountain, for West Virginia, and for the nation.

Sincerely,






Thank you for all of your help and support,


With Great Appreciation,

Lorelei Scarbro, Rory McIlmoil and the rest of the Coal River Mountain Wind Team

I can only imagine how relieved you all must feel. I'll make my calls tomorrow!

The new industry of wind power and the jobs it would bring to the area could be the start of something really wonderful in this area. I hope your Governor realizes this.