Kentucky Rising

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

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Monday, February 14, 2011

Environmental Writer & Activist Rick Bass Endorses Kentucky Rising Protest

"A country in which a patriot like Wendell Berry must step outside the law is a nation in uprising indeed. He is not the canary in the coal mine, the canaries have all died. He is the bald eagle in the coal mine. Our country is burning and his love for it--and for us--has no bounds. What an amazing American he is, to believe that words and actions still matter, and that we might yet all escape our corporate and political captors, and cool the inferno of our hastening destruction. It is a hastening destruction—a delamination—that we can all sense and can see the tips of, now, but which—unless we heed the leadership of men and women like Berry—our children will have to inhabit fully."

Fourteen Protesters Emerge Victorious from Kentucky Governor’s Office Sit-In Protesting Mountaintop Removal Mining

Fourteen Protesters Emerge Victorious from Kentucky Governor’s Office Sit-In Protesting Mountaintop Removal Mining

Feb. 14, 2001

12:15 P.M.

FRANKFORT – Fourteen protesters emerged from their four-day occupation of the Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s office in protest of mountaintop removal mining before an exuberant crowd of over 1,000 people on the steps of the state Capitol.

In a statement delivered before the cheering throng of supporters, internationally-known writer Wendell Berry explained, “We came because the land, its forests, and its streams are being destroyed by the surface mining of coal, because the people are suffering intolerable harms to their homes, their health, and their communities.”

The protesters (who also included a retired coal miner, a nurse practitioner who treats miners, community organizers, a graduate student, and others) had been staying in the office since talks between them and Gov. Beshear came to a stalemate on Friday afternoon, when he finally agreed to meet with them after initially refusing to do so that morning. In the meeting, Gov. Beshear continued to express his steadfast support for both mountaintop removal and the coal industry.

The citizens found his position unacceptable, and refused to vacate his office. When they declined to leave, the governor instructed his security team to inform the protesters that they were welcome to stay “as long as they wanted.”

The sit-in, which the protesters dubbed Kentucky Rising, has attracted international attention, with messages of support coming in from Argentina and Germany. Leading environmental figures including Bill McKibben (350.org) and best-selling environmental writer Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) issued strong statements of support.

“People across America today…are electrified by what's going on in Frankfort,” McKibben said. ”It's about time that people said: 'No more business as usual, if that means leveling the mountains of southern Appalachia.'”

The citizens say they will hold Gov. Beshear, who is running for reelection this year, to a pledge he made this morning: to travel to eastern Kentucky within thirty days and personally inspect damage caused by mountaintop removal. “This is only the beginning. There’s no going back at the point. The pressure will continue.”

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Contact:

Jason Howard (Media Liaison) 606.224.1208

Silas House (Media Liaison) 606.344.0662

Lora Smith (Media Liaison) 606.524.4074

Naomi Klein Issues Support for Kentucky Rising Governor's Office Sit-In

"Wendell Berry has taught us all so much about the importance of knowing and cherishing our place in the world. How thrilling and fitting that he is now putting his body on the line to protest against the ultimate erasure of cherished places: mountaintop removal coal mining."

Environmental Writer Wes Jackson Joins Chorus in Support of Kentucky Rising Protest

"Hail to the citizens of Kentucky, forced to sleep on the floor in their state capital because the governor refused to honor their agenda of concerns about mountain top removal. One can bet they are from the margin from which change almost always comes. Unencumbered by greed and envy they know one big thing: the extractive economy featuring fossil fuels will end one day, either because enough citizens say it must or the earth’s limits will impose it. They know that if we fail in our citizenship, it won’t be pretty. They know that something will have gone out of us as a people if we fail to stop the forward stampede."

Press Release: National Environmental Writers Rally Around Wendell Berry in Kentucky Governor’s Office Sit-In

National Environmental Writers Rally Around Wendell Berry in Kentucky Governor’s Office Sit-In

Feb. 14, 2011

11:30 A.M.

FRANKFORT – The nation’s most acclaimed environment writers are rallying around Wendell Berry, whom they called “the dean of their profession,” in support of his four-day long sit-in protesting mountaintop removal mining that continues in the office of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.

In strong statements of support, writer and 350.org founder Bill McKibben, along with bestselling authors Michael Pollan and Terry Tempest Williams, expressed their solidarity with the group of fourteen protesters that also includes a retired coal miner, a nurse practitioner who treats miners, community organizers, a graduate student, and others.

“People across America today…are electrified by what's going on in Frankfort,” McKibben said. “It's about time that people said: 'No more business as usual, if that means leveling the mountains of southern Appalachia.' And it comes as no surprise that Wendell Berry is in the forefront, as he has been for an entire generation.”

Michael Pollan, author of the bestselling The Omnivore’s Dilemma, agreed: "All of us who care about the future of the planet stand in solidarity with Wendell Berry and his compatriots in Frankfort, Kentucky, where they are conducting a ‘sleep in’ to protest mountaintop removal.”

“I can think of no more appropriate action to be taking on Valentine's Day than what Wendell Berry and his fellow Kentuckians are doing: taking a stand from one's heart,” Terry Tempest Williams (The Open Space of Democracy) said. “Mountaintop removal is an act of aggression. Civil disobedience is an act of love. We are right there with them in solidarity and support.”

The sit-in, which the protesters dubbed Kentucky Rising, has attracted international attention, with messages of support coming in from Argentina and Germany. In a statement issued last night, they called on Gov. Beshear, who is running for reelection this year, to join with them in opposing mountaintop removal.

“It’s disappointing that Gov. Beshear is choosing to play election-year politics with the lives and livelihoods of eastern Kentuckians. We continue to call on him to engage in a sincere, public dialogue about ending mountaintop removal and beginning a program of economic renewal for our miners and mountain communities.”

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