Protesting Mountain Removal (!) in TN.

(Passing this along...)

Aug. 17, 2003

A note from John Johnson to my friends and comrades in the
conservation community. I hope you all are well and thanks for your
work. By the time you read this I will either still be locked down
on the road to Tennessee's first mountaintop removal project or in
jail. Please take some time and forward the below press release out
to list serves and media outlets. Many of you have massive press
lists and access to email lists that we cannot hope to get to in the
early morning hours of this intense direct action. Katuah Earth
First! really wants to generate some media coverage on this issue.

We are gearing for a long fight to stop mountaintop removal in TN.
When we stop it here, we will start pushing the companies out of KY,
VA and WVA. I know that many of you are doing crucial work to stop
mining, clear cutting and air pollution and more. The mountain top
removal is the final clear cut, the final solution for these
mountains, critters and peoples that we all love. And it will
encourage air pollution. Please support our direct action. We hope
to inspire folks all over coal country to rise up in open rebellion
against the coal companies. They take and take and it's time to stop
them. please forward this press release all over the planet. Its
time we got the liberation of southern Appalachia well under way.
Thanks for your time and support. I look forward to seein' many of
y'all this fall at gatherings, meetings, in the forests, and in the
streets of Miami as we work together to roll back the tide of
destruction sweeping over us all and begin to create something new
and beautiful and save what's left of the beauty around us.

_________________________________________________________________

Subject: ACTION ALERT PRESS RELEASE!! URGENT! READ NOW!!
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 03:59:49 -0700


For Immediate Release

Katuah Earth First! Blockades Mountain Top Removal Site on Zeb
Mountain in Campbell County, TN

Elk Valley (near LaFollette, TN) - Early this morning, environmental
activists with Katuah Earth First! have blockaded the entrance to the
Zeb Mountain coal removal operation in scenic Elk Valley in Campbell
County, TN. Three activists have their arms chained inside concrete
filled barrels across the access road in an attempt to halt the
destruction of Zeb Mountain. Two activists have climbed 100' to drop
two banners from a giant billboard on I-75 protesting the new mining
practice of mountain top removal. The activists intend to stay all
day.

Mountain top removal is just what the name implies, the mountain top
is blown up and bulldozed into adjacent valleys in order to get to a
thin layer of coal. This project will devour three peaks of Zeb
Mountain, over 2100 acres of forest habitat.

"If the coal industry is successful in forcing this mountain top
removal project on Zeb Mountain and Elk Valley, the whole Cumberland
Plateau will be open to this destructive practice" said john johnson
of Katuah Earth First! "This project will destroy habitat for a
number of endangered species such as the black sided dace (a small
fish), the Indiana Bat, and several freshwater mussels. It will also
destroy streams, forests and mountains that are still trying to
recover from past logging and mining abuses" added johnson, who lives
on the side of the Cumberland Plateau near Dunlap, TN.

"There is an open conspiracy among the coal industry, the Tennessee
Valley Authority, the Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation, and the Office of Surface Mining to jump start
dangerous and destructive mountain top removal practices in Tennessee
for private profit and to provide high sulfur coal for TVA to burn at
their coal facilities with new scrubbers" said Meagan Carter of
Katuah Earth First! "This will lead to flattened mountains,
decimated forests, polluted streams and more air pollution" she added.

"Mountain top removal has already terrorized West Virginia. It
typically uses 100 times the amount of explosives used in the
Oklahoma City bombing, more than enough to cause serious structural
damage to surrounding homes and churches" said Alex Solomon, a native
of West Virginia and current University of Tennessee Law student. "In
2001, flooding and mudslides from mountain top removal practices
caused the death of two West Virginians and the destruction of 3500
homes in Dorothy, West Virginia" she added.

Katuah Earth First! demands an unconditional end to destructive coal
mining practices and immediate protection for communities, forests,
rivers, mountains and rare, threatened, and endangered species.
Katuah Earth First! also demands that the permit for mountain top
removal given to the Robert Clear Coal Corporation be immediately
revoked and their corporate charter revoked for past violations.

Katuah Earth First! calls on all citizens up and down the Tennessee
Valley and the Cumberland Plateau to stand up and demand an end to
destructive coal mining that ruins nature, culture and mountain
heritage.

"The coal companies are corporate carpetbaggers who have historically
cheated people out of their land, trashed the area, exploited local
workers and sent all profits up north and overseas" said Chris Irwin,
a sixth generation Tennessean active with Katuah Earth First!

This project will create only 40 temporary jobs and destroy Zeb
Mountain - ruining hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding and
other outdoor opportunities. Outdoor recreation and tourism provide
more long term economic benefits than do short term resource
extraction.

Directions:
Go north on I-275 and merge onto I-75 NORTH towards Lexington, KY, go
33.6 miles to Exit #141 (Huntsville/Oneida/Big South Fork). Get off
at Exit #141 and turn left, go one tenth of a mile and follow TN-63
West for about 4.4 miles. Bear Right on the Elk Valley/Pioneer road
(There is a Post Office on the right). Continue on TN-297 - go about
5.4 miles and then Make a Sharp Turn Left on LICK FORK RD. Go down
Lick Fork Road about a tenth of a mile to the Robert Clear Coal Mine
Access Road. There will be protesters, cops, workers and big signs
warning of blasting.
The banners will be visible on both sides of a GIANT billboard about
a mile south of Exit 144 on I-75 Southbound, in between exits 141 and
144.
###


SEE THE WEBSITE!!
http://www.angelfire.com/rebellion2/zebmountain

.

Down by the Green river where paradise lay.
Well I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking.
Mr. Peabody's coal train has hauled it away!"
Life means nothing to the BFEE.

something as destructive as mountain top removal is taking place. This is rape. Shame, shame, shame!

:toast: to Katuah EF !