Together we <a href=”http://www.climategroundzero.org/2010/01/callmasseyonjan25″>made hundreds of phone calls yesterday</a> to Massey Coal, flooding their phone lines asking them to stop abusing the tree sitters and stop blasting Coal River Mountain. We did a great job, but it wasn’t enough and we need to take the next step and get WV Governor Joe Manchin to make them stop.<br><br>
Governor’s office: 1-888-438-2731<br>
<a href=”http://climategroundzero.net/2010/01/manchin_save_mountain_stop_harassment/”>Click here to report your call</a><br><br>
Massey Coal continues to break the law, harassing the two remaining tree sitters with horns at dangerous decibel levels, likely to cause permanent ear damage. This act is violent and can be classified under West Virginia State Code as felony endangerment.<br><br>
West Virginia state police have acknowledged the illegal nature of this act, but have done nothing in response to repeated pleas to state emergency numbers, state and federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, and other legal resources.<br><br>
Yesterday, Governor Manchin said “We will not in any way, shape or form in this state of West Virginia tolerate any violence against anyone on any side.” Massey air horns haven’t stopped. In addition, the sitters overheard the guards talking on the radio about using fire-hoses as an abuse tactic. Getting sprayed with water in sub-freezing temperatures while 60 feet up in the tree would be outright deadly and would prevent them from being able to even safely descend.<br><br>
Call Governor Manchin’s office and ask him to intervene in the violence against the sitters and support the end to mountaintop removal.<br><br>
Governor’s office: 1-888-438-2731<br>
<a href=”http://climategroundzero.net/2010/01/manchin_save_mountain_stop_harassment/”>Click here to report your call</a><br><br>
This abuse must stop. Massey has proven itself to be a criminal corporation, both in it’s policies towards the sitters and the people of the mountains. We need Governor Manchin to protect clean drinking water in West Virginia and nationwide. An end to mountaintop mining will protect the quality of life for Appalachian coalfield residents who face frequent and catastrophic flooding, heavy metals pollution and loss of freshwater streams as a result of mountaintop removal coal mining.<br><br>
What action can you take?<br>
Report your call here and let us know how it went<br>
Tell your friends by forwarding them this email or checking out our Facebook event<br><br>
Eric Blevins and Amber Nitchman are in high spirits, swinging high up in the trees. See <a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/climategroundzero/CoalRiverTreeSit”>photos from their cell phones</a> and <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/user/ClimateGndZero”>watch videos of the activists talking about this fight</a>. <br><br>
Thanks for contributing to this strong national effort — we all live downstream.<br><br>
The Climate Ground Zero team<br><br><br>
<i>Read about Governor Manchin’s statement yesterday on escalating violence in the coal fields on Coal Tattoo:<br>
<a href=”http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2010/01/25/manchin-calls-for-calm-in-the-coalfields/#more-1732″>http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2010/01/25/manchin-calls-for-calm-in-the-coalfields/#more-1732</a><br><br>
Read the day 5 update on Climate Ground Zero’s website:<br>
<a href=”http://climategroundzero.net/2010/01/coal-river-tree-sit-day-5-inside-the-action/”>http://climategroundzero.net/2010/01/coal-river-tree-sit-day-5-inside-the-action/</a></i>