Fourteen people were arrested on June 18 in a protest meant to launch a week of action against mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia. Four people climbed a 150-foot dragline at a mine site near Twilight, WV, and unfurled a banner reading, “Stop Mountaintop Removal Mining”. Another 9 entered the mine site to unfurl another banner. Climbers remained atop the dragline for more than three hours before being arrested.
This action is the first time ever that a dragline, one of the largest machines on earth, has ever been shut down in a protest, and is an important escalation in the fight against mountaintop removal.
The week of action will culminate with a civil disobedience action featuring leading climate scientist Dr. James Hansen, actress Daryl Hannah, Rainforest Action Network Executive Direction Michael Brune and former Representative Ken Hechler.
The week of action was initiated only days after President Obama announced his plans to reform, rather than abolish, mountaintop removal coal mining. The Obama administration approved environmental permits for 42 of the 48 proposed new mountaintop removal mines it has considered so far.
For more information, to get involved or to make donations for bail, visit www.mountainaction.org.