NASA climate scientist James Hansen was among those arrested Tuesday protesting mountaintop removal outside a Massey Energy operation in Raleigh County, W.Va. Gazette photo by Christ Dorst.
We’ve had more questions from readers about whether the debate between climate scientist James Hansen and Massey Energy President Don Blankenship is on or off … I wish I could say for sure.
The best information available right now probably comes from my friend Scott Finn over at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, who was working pretty hard to try to pull this one off. According to this post from the public broadcasting Web site, it doesn’t look good:
Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship and NASA climatologist James Hansen have agreed to debate one another – just in two different places at two different times.
Hansen says he will stay an extra day in West Virginia after today’s protest for a debate. He accepted an offer to attend an event at Mountain State University at 1 p.m., moderated by West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
But …
In a statement today, Blankenship said he would debate Hansen at a live televised event at WOWK-TV, part of West Virginia Media.
“This televised debate will enable the most West Virginians to participate in the discussion involving these important issues for the state,†said Mr. Blankenship. “I look forward to a productive dialogue about the future of Appalachia and the economic vitality of the West Virginia.â€
When I talked to Hansen today before his arrest at the Marsh Fork protest, he sounded like he wasn’t planning to stay beyond Wednesday, after already extending his visit for a day to try to work something out with Blankenship.
But we’ll see …
Updated, noon Wednesday: Blankenship issued the following statement regarding the protests:
“Today, more than ever, America needs jobs, affordable energy and energy independence. I am confident that coal can help us meet these needs, and I believe that we should have a meaningful dialogue about the role coal must play in our energy and economic policies.
“The protests and pointless arrests by Dr. Hansen, a Hollywood actress and their friends do nothing to move such a conversation forward.
“It is my desire that a meaningful discussion of the issues will end these pointless protests that waste the taxpayers’ money and put our miners and law enforcement personnel at risk.
“In an effort to have real discussion about the real issues that affect real working families I have accepted an offer by West Virginia Media television stations on Thursday, June 25 at 7:00 PM to debate Dr. Hansen. I hope we have this opportunity to debate these important issues.”
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Of course Don wants to have this debate on the friendly turf of WOWK. We could put an end to MTR in WV if people could get past their fear/belief that coal is all this state has or will ever have.
Since Mr. Blankenships finances have ben fully examined, how about the Gazette investigate just how many coal dollars Mr Heckler accepted over his long career.
If the debate cannot happen this week, I hope both parties work to find a time in the future when it can take place.
Although I’m generally in favor of public forums, I’m concerned about the difficulty in maintaining order for such an important discussion. I’d love to see a format where both can present their views without interruption, then respond to questions from a neutral moderator and the general public.
Although many in this state are already firmly entrenched in their positions, this is a great opportunity for two leaders from their respective perspectives to interact directly while the rest of us watch and learn.
I hope there’s a way found to make it happen.
Hi, I would like to make a change to my original comment. I should have known better and researched further and I do apologize. I no longer believe that there is a provision in the proposed “Cap and Trade” legislation that demands homeowners retrofit their homes. Please delete that whole paragraph becasue I certainly do not want to be a party to “urban myths”. Thank you, Stephanie
Tonight at West Virginia’s own private jewel, the University of Charleston, history could be made. If you don’t have essential plans for 6:30 p.m., I recommend that you fire up your computer and watch what is sure to be a spectacle.
In what promises to be a cross between the Monty Python Grim Reaper skit, “don’t eat the salmon mousse” and the Nixon/Kennedy debates, Robert Kennedy Jr. will go toe to toe with Don Blankenship.
That’s right, the Don Blankenship who this month was named Rolling Stone magazines #12 on their list of “The Planets Worst Enemies.” He also runs Massey Energy, a coal mining company with a penchant for blowing up mountains and everything that lives on them.
And he doesn’t stop there. His rapaciously greedy desire for coal extraction as cheaply as possible means that after Massey does their best to evacuate the coal, they also excavate the real coal mining families along with the economic health of the communities. Blankenship will test his wits against RFK JR., the son of martyred Presidential Candidate Senator Robert Kennedy, who earned the title of Time magazine’s “Hero for the Planet.”
Maybe they should just record this video in black and white if for no other reason than that the symbolism would match the rabid distinction for the two perceived sides. At least that’s how I believe that Hunter S. Thompson – a Kentucky boy who loved the mountains – might have characterized this scene.
Blankenship will somehow try and make this a discussion about mythology and the variability in our weather. He’ll pretend that someone brought up climate change and global warming as reasons that his company shouldn’t use tens of thousands of tons of TNT to decimate and then extract coal from our Appalachian mountains.
Hopefully while we watch, we’ll catch a glimpse of Governor Manchin who might poke his head out of Blankenship’s pocket, biting his lip bloody and then chime in that these mountains, left 800 feet shorter will be an ideal location for wind energy. But alas, that won’t happen. The former mountains will then be just more land poisoned and abandoned like so much of it is in WV.
Blankenship will try and spin the whole discussion toward a debate of global warming because you and I are freezing our collective behinds off. And West Virginians are shoveling record snowfalls as they endure successive cold snaps and power outages.
But we know better. We know that if Massey wants to bring coal out of the mountains they should do it the job intensive way. It is called underground coalmining – union labor coal mining- It too can be done cleaner and safer today than when our elders did it for a living.
Way too many West Virginians are out of work. Our air and our water are polluted by the “over burden” which is the coal industry’s term for the rest of the mountain they’ve blown open for all time to get to the coal veins. And then there’s all that waste! Mountain Top Removal dumps a hundred years or more of cleaner energy “for the taking” -coal bed methane- into the atmosphere in the wake of this unsustainable process.
I hope that for the sake of the kids and for our sake as an available workforce and co-inhabitants of this beautiful planet that Robert Kennedy can stay on that message. Every time Blankenship says global warming, Kennedy should tell him to quit changing the subject. If Blankenship mentions climate change, Kennedy should mention parts per million of effluents in our neighborhoods, bloodstreams and our children’s lungs and their brains.
And woe to Blankenship if he mentions money! Because Robert Kennedy needs to remind us all that the money Blankenship intends to save by decimating unions, influencing local politicians and exploding mountains rather than expanding work forces, is going to go right into his pocket.