Thank you to everyone!
On Tuesday, January 21st, at 6:00 p.m., citizens of WV are honoring the Waters and holding a candlelight vigil by the Kanawha River, in front of the capitol. (more…)
Archive for January, 2014
Honoring of the waters: Stand in Solidarity at Your River in Candlelight Vigil
Tuesday, January 21st, 2014posted by fern
Help us get clean water to those in the chemical spill zone
Wednesday, January 15th, 2014posted by fern
The RAMPS campaign is working with Aurora Lights and Coal River Mountain Watch to bring clean water and sanitizer to people in areas whose water supply is contaminated by the 4-methylcyclohexane methanol spill. Right now, we’re still delivering hundreds of gallons of water a day, along with hand sanitizer and wipes (which become pretty important for maintaining hygiene when people can’t bathe or wash their hands). These supplies are being snatched up as soon as we put them out, and we need more funding to continue to distribute water.
We’re planning a big delivery day on Thursday, so please help us make that happen!
We recognize that those who are affected by the chemical spill are not the only ones whose drinking water is polluted by the coal industry right now. Coal has been creating a public health crisis here is southern West Virginia for decades, and it’s not going to end once this spill is flushed down the river. We have been, and will be, committed to fighting for clean water before, during, and after this disaster, acknowledging that the “WV water crisis” is ongoing.
Read this letter from Aurora Lights to learn the details of how you can get involved:
Dear Allies,
You can help from afar or within West Virginia.
Aurora Lights, Coal River Mountain Watch, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and Keepers of the Mountains need some more people to help with logistics and other things in the effort to get clean water to people still affected by the chemical spill who haven’t been getting enough water from the government.
(more…)
Help Support Chemical Spill Relief
Saturday, January 11th, 2014posted by fern
to send relief supplies to families affected by chemical spill
Truck leaving early Sunday morning
Aurora Lights is sending a flat-bed truck of supplies to Boone County, W.Va., for folks who have not been receiving sufficient water, liquid baby formula, etc., after Thursday’s chemical spill that poisoned their tap water. Your donations will ensure the truck is packed with as much water and other supplies as it can handle. More information is available on Aurora Lights’ Facebook page. If you live near the affected area and have a spring, well or other clean water source that people can draw from, the West Virginia Clean Water Hub has been set up to coordinate such drinking water mutual aid.
Please tonight to ensure our flat-bed truck leaves Morgantown full of supplies: http://bit.ly/wvChemRelief.
Thank you everyone who has supported this effort after Freedom Industries’ tank leaked 4-Methylchlorohexane Methanol into the Elk River.
— The Aurora Lights Crew
Stamford 14 still facing charges in Connecticut
Saturday, January 11th, 2014posted by fern
The 14 of us who were arrested during the Hands Off Appalachia actions at UBS this November attended our first court date on the 8th. We were all offered a deal that may provide us a pathway for getting our charges dropped in exchange for paying restitution, but are waiting on the prosecutor and our lawyer to work out the details. Since our case was not resolved this week, we will have to return to CT on February 6th.
These long-distance court trips are costly; we could really use help defraying the costs of travel. Please here to pitch in.
Here is a Statement from Ricki Draper about her experience with the court:
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Walking into court today with thirteen of my friends is equally as empowering as it is painful.
Ov
er the last two years, I have visited UBS’s offices over 30 times pleading with them to stop the destruction of Appalachian communities. On November 25th, I stopped asking and started demanding an end to UBS’s financing of mountaintop removal. I entered the UBS National Headquarters and dropped a banner from their front entrance and refused to leave.
Today, court is an incredibly hard place to be. I arrive at 10am, and watch person after person stand in front of the judge. I witness the criminalization of poverty. People are sentenced to jail time, fines are levied, and families are separated.
Honestly, I am scared of judges and police and jails. I am scared of having a criminal record and how worried my mom is when I call her from jail.
Even though the legal system scares me, I promise you that I will never stop fighting. As UBS profits and poisons communities, as poor people are imprisoned and people of color are marginalized, as the pipeline is built and parents are deported, we will fight back. As long as injustice is legal and those in power are criminals, I will fight back.
While our criminal justice system is insidious and our enemies strong, I believe that we are going to win.
