"Clean" coal consistently presents the American people with tremendous costs and injustices. It increases the rates of disease. The American Lung Association has found that 24,000 people each year die prematurely because of coal-fired power plants. Every year 38,000 heart attacks, 12,000 hospital admissions, and an additional 550,000 astham attacks occur as a result of power plant pollution. And, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 12,000 miners died from black lung disease between 1992 and 2002.
Also, burning "clean" coal emits mercury due to electrical generation and mercury is hugely responsible for interfering with the development of babies' brains and neurological systems if it gets into a mother's blood or breast milk. This production of mercury also pollutes seafood and freshwater fish.
Activists taking on King Coal will now have a day in federal court. Over the course of the action, seven were arrested and Massey Energy now seeks $75,000 for "damages."
Total cost of bail for the activists was $9,625 and two tree-sitters remain in jail until each can raise funds for their bail, $2,500 (cash-only). [The activists encourage those who want to help to go to PayPal or, the website for Climate Ground Zero. ]
Over the course of the action, the tree sitters endured the typical harassment that activists have grown to expect from police or security.
Climate Ground Zero reported on January 27th:
"While the tree sitters conduct this non-violent protest of mountaintop removal, they face constant harassment from Massey Security. The security personnel have been blasting five airhorns just below the sitters' platforms to force the sitters to descend. At one point, security personnel tied a rope to a thinner tree next to the one occupied by Nitchman, and repeatedly pulled and released the rope so that it would hit the bottom of Nitchman's platform. Discussion of spraying the sitters with firehoses has been heard over two-way radios. The police have been shown the appropriate West Virginia legal statute, 61-3E-10, have acknowledged the felony endangerment,and have declined to take any action. Prosecutors and Manchins' office have also refused to act after being notified of the situation and the laws that Massey is breaking."
News of harassment and possible violence against protesters led hundreds to contact Gov. Manchin, who "promised" that violence would not be tolerated.
Massey Energy put out a statement on the tree sit. In it, the company stated:
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