Posted: 2009-06-20 04:16
Photo Courtesy of wade2tall/Flickr.com
by Julia Bonds
Coal is poisoning our children and us and it is the number 1 cause of Climate Change.
I say coal is public enemy number 1 to humans and wildlife, from the mountains in ancient Appalachia to the world’s oceans.
We are all brothers and sisters on this earth. The environment is the one thing that connects us all. We are the environment; we eat it, drink it, bath in it, cook in it, excrete it and then drink it again. The environment should be our number 1 priority and we should be preaching it to our children. Green is the color that connects all of us. Green IS the color of change.
I don’t mind as much being poor or being made fun of but I DO mind being poisoned and blasted.
Don’t you dare poison my babies.
We owe our children a huge apology and we ask forgiveness. We told our children to clean up their rooms but look at the toxic mess we are leaving them to clean up. Shame on us. I have spent the last 11 years of my life trying to make up for my over consuming ways of past.
The cradle part of coal in Appalachia starts with clear cutting of the world’s most diverse temperate hardwood forest of perhaps the oldest mountains in the world. The coal industry then uses 3 ½ million pounds of explosives daily in West Virginia alone to blast our homes and mountains. The rock dust, silica, coal dust and the mix of explosives poison and foul our air, and end up in our homes and lungs. Our water and streams are poisoned and polluted and if we dare speak out then we are threatened by the coal industry and ignored by the media. It seems like mainstream media don’t want to hear about corporations poisoning neighborhoods of people of color or poor whites or hillbillies.
We won’t shut up and we aren’t going away-we are organizing together for Environmental Justice. From West Virginia to Detroit, from Kentucky to South Bronx and from Harriman, Tennessee to Little Village in Chicago, we are just starting to fight for our children. Tennessee’s toxic coal ash disaster has opened up people’s eyes living near coal plants. From Appalachia to the UK and Australia, direct action is shaping up as part of the strategy to raise awareness.
From bombing Appalachia to choking our babies living near coal fired power plants it is time to stand together. The mercury from coal-fired power plants is dumbing down our babies, causing ADD, Autism, low IQ’s, mental retardation and behavioral problems. People ask, “What wrong with our kids?” We are poisoning our kids-that is what’s wrong with them. We ask that our children hold us accountable, the world’s children. I would assume that the coal industry, along with their partners in crime, are content to continue to dumb down our children.
If you saw some one dumping poison in a baby’s bottle –wouldn’t you push them away and scream- “stop it” and don’t come back or I’ll hurt you? Well then—Lets stop them NOW! Our children are beginning to understand what is happening to them and they will hold us responsible. All of us are responsible, not just the industry, but also those that did nothing to stop them. Let us all remember that silence is approval.
As people talk of carbon capture to solve our problem so that we can burn coal, those of us on the front lines realize that will never solve the problem. Too much carbon, not enough room to store the carbon.
Carbon capture does nothing to solve the other filthy and devastating affects of coal. What about the other particulates as a result of burning coal?
What about the destruction during the extraction of coal, the environmental justice issues and human rights issues? I can point to the famous words of Gandhi- “Science without humanity” as the fools rush to carbon capture. Solar panels and wind turbines for every home is a better solution.
We need more actions, more protests, letters to the editor and much more commenting and blogging on the Internet. We hope to Help President Obama implement his plan for better lives for our children and us. Our actions will give our president the Mandate he needs to silence his critics. He can then look to his critics and say, “See, this is what the people want”. Our president needs our help and he can’t do it alone.
We must package hope and change for a new future and wrap it in truth. Environmental activists must become cool and sexy as if our lives depend upon it, because our lives DO depend upon it.
We realize that the rest of the world is waiting for America to lead on Climate Change. Now that we have elected a new President, we will move forward to take leadership and make change. We know the whole world is watching.
Julia Bonds is a community leader based in Rock Creek, West Virginia. She is the recipient of a 2003 Goldman Environmental Prize.
