Fighting for Our Mountains

And it is a fight. Big Coal has big plans to destroy Tennessee's mountains as they have done in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is time for Tennesseans to become informed and to be effective at resistance.

The vast majority of people in Tennessee are against mountain top removal strip mining. The politicians need to know this and be threatened with loss of office if they do not comply with the wishes of the people. We need to find ways to communicate with politicians and coal executives on a personal level that this is not a Christian thing to do. Most of these Big Coal people are "church going" folks and it will be "church going" folks who convince them that Jesus is not about destroying mountains and habitats and livelihoods.

In other words, get the word out to churches.




Thanks to the Bonnie Kate Theater in Elizabethton, the word is getting out. There will be a special screening of the documentary, The Last Mountain at the Bonnie Kate January 2nd at 7 p.m. Here is the Facebook invite.





A special screening of the Academy Award™- nominated documentary "The Last Mountain" will be given the Historic Bonnie Kate Theater in downtown Elizabethton on Monday, January 2nd at 7:00pm.

Introduced by special guest, Honorable Kent Williams, R-District 4 — Carter County.

Sponsors and Supporters: The Elizabethton Star, Bonnie Kate Theater, Reedy & Sykes Architecture and Design, The E.D.G.E. Ministries, First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton, the Green Interfaith Network, Inc. (GINI), and more.

Synopsis:
"In the valleys of Appalachia, a battle is being fought over a mountain. It is a battle with severe consequences that affect every American, regardless of their social status, economic background or where they live. It is a battle that has taken many lives and continues to do so the longer it is waged. It is a battle over protecting our health and environment from the destructive power of Big Coal.

The mining and burning of coal is at the epicenter of America’s struggle to balance its energy needs with environmental concerns. Nowhere is that concern greater than in Coal River Valley, West Virginia, where a small but passionate group of ordinary citizens are trying to stop Big Coal corporations, like Massey Energy, from continuing the devastating practice of Mountain Top Removal."

That battle is coming to Tennessee. We need to fight it, and we need to fight it before Big Coal gets one more mountain. No other state has attempted legislation to stop MTR mining BEFORE the irreparable damage is done. We have that opportunity, thanks to the Scenic Vistas Protection Act. That bill was defeated in committee, thanks to the efforts of Ron Ramsey, who, with donations from Big Coal of almost $200,000 to his election campaign, held the bill in committee for 3 YEARS until he had the legislature he needed to kill it.

The fight isn't over. The bill is being reintroduced when the Tennessee State Legislature returns in mid-January. We need to get the word to our legislators that we expect them to work for the people of Tennessee, not the coal interested of Texas and West Virginia.

Eastern Tennessee once again stands at the door of history. We have the opportunity to drive this effort to save our scenic vistas, protect our natural resources, and protect the health and welfare of the people of East Tennessee.

Our people beat Ferguson at Kings Mountain. We can beat Big Coal on all the others.

Take action by downloading and distributing this action packet.