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Weekly Show AlertsMAKING CONTACT - a weekly international radio program
Warnings from the Coal Fields
September 4, 2002
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The United States has an enormous appetite for coal. More than 50 percent of the nation's energy supply comes from coal-fired power plants. We often look to the skies when weighing the environmental consequences of burning coal. But what about the effects on mountains and communities where coal is mined?
On this edition of Making Contact, we take a look at the impacts of a common practice in the coal industry known as "mountain top removal." We also hear about alleged collusion between an Alabama-based coal company and paramilitaries in Colombia against union organizers.
Featuring:
Larry Gibson, longtime community organizer in West Virginia; Julia Bonds, Coal River Mountain Watch;Monroe Cassady, former coal miner;Vivian Stockman, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition;John Wathen, Citizens Coal Council; Cindy Rank, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy;Rodney Winston, a mineworker in Alabama;Attorney Dan Kovalik, head of the United Steelworkers legal department;Hector Castro, Central Trade Council of Colombian Unionists.
For more information:
Coal River Mountain Watch
P.O. Box 18
Whitesville, West Virginia 25209
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
P.O. Box 6753
Huntington, West Virginia 25773
304-522-0246
www.ohvec.org
West Virginia Highlands Conservancy
HC78 Box 227
Rock Cave, West Virginia 26234
304-924-5802
Alabama Environmental Council
Citizens Coal Council
5600 Holt Peterson Road
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35404
800-WATCH-DOG
www.citizenscoalcouncil.org
USWA
5 Gateway Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
412-562-2518
Local 169 UNITE
33 W. 14th St.
New York, New York 10011
212-255-9655