30 Days to Save the Mountains: That's All, Folks
by Devilstower
Fri Nov 16, 2007 at 09:51:52 AM PDT
If you were to turn to the news this morning and see this story:
Dam breaks in the Hollywood Hills. Wall of mud sweeps away homes and businesses. Many well known stars missing, presumed dead. Thousands homeless.
How much attention do you think it would receive? Or what if the lede on the Times was
Kiloton explosion rocks Central Park. Homes shaken, windows broken miles away. Air filled with dust as giant blast knocks buildings from their foundations and sends rock flying.
What laws might we pass in response? What would people do to stop these things from happening again?
The answer must be nothing. Because these things are happening. They're just not happening to rich, glamorous people in the middle of powerful cities.
They're happening in towns like Saunders, where a coal-slurry dam burst, releasing more than 130 million gallons of black, toxic sludge. The town was swept away in an instant, leaving 125 dead, over 1,000 injured, and 4,000 homeless. Did we outlaw the practices that had destroyed Saunders? Of course not.
Those explosions are happening every day -- and night -- right next to people like kossack wisecountyva. Is any news crew there to cover the damage? No.
That's because the law says it's okay to explode neighborhoods and flood towns, so long as those neighborhoods happen to be perched on coal. And so long as they're filled with poor, rural people, who aren't heading up ten thousand dollar a plate fund raisers for candidates.
I've spent a piddling thirty days trying to bring this issue some attention, and by now I'm sure you're ready for it to be done. So the good news is... this is it. Day 30. The other good news is this number: 103, 105, 107, 108, 111, 117 (and word is it really should be 118). That's the number of cosponsors for H.R. 2169, the Clean Water Protection Act. I'm not taking any credit for those 14 names (though six signed on yesterday, which was one hell of a birthday present for me). Other people -- including some of our fellow kossacks -- have been at this for years.
I'm far from the loudest or most effective voice on this subject. ilovemountains.org has put together some fantastic tools, using Google Earth, that can even show your relationship to mountaintop removal. These tools are so cool, that they are getting the attention of the traditional media. These people deserve huge applause for their work.
But I think you should also take some credit for what's happened in the last month. On Daily Kos, there is no such thing as a voice crying in the wilderness. Everyone gets heard. Action gets taken. You guys have stepped up in an amazing way, and now the legislation that could stop another Buffalo Creek Flood, or quiet the explosions Kathy Selvage is living with every day, is that much closer to passage.
One last time (for now), I'm going to ask you to pull out your telephone and make some calls. This is the last day of this "attention drive." Let's make it a big one. These members of Congress are all on the committee that will determine the fate of the Clean Water Protection Act. Let them know that this issue is important to you -- even if it's not pushing OJ out of the news.
| Name | District | Local # | D.C. # |
| Eddie Bernice Johnson | TX-30 | (214) 922-8885 | (202) 225-8885 |
| Gene Taylor | MS-4 | (228) 864-7670 | (202 225-5772 |
| Brian Baird | WA-3 | (360) 695-6292 | (202) 225-3536 |
| Jerry Costello | IL-12 | (618) 233-8026 | (202) 225-5661 |
| Russ Carnahan | MO-3 | (314) 962-1523 | (202) 225-2671 |
| John Salazar | CO-3 | (970) 245-7107 | (202) 225-4761 |
| Mazie Hirono | HI-2 | (808) 541-1986 | (202) 225-4906 |
| Harry Mitchell | AZ-5 | (480) 946-2411 | (202) 225-2190 |
| Steve Kagen | WI-8 | (920) 437-1954 | (202) 225-5665 |
| Grace Napolitano | CA-38 | (562) 801-2134 | (202) 225-5256 |
If you're not able to call today, please take a moment to write.
And be sure to look in after the break for a very important list. This one shows your fellow kossacks who have taken the time to talk to a representative (or two, or ten, or two hundred) about this fight. Thanks.
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