Blankenship speaks: Coal will wait out tree-sitters
Massey Energy President Don Blankenship has broken the company’s silence on the anti-mountaintop removal protesters who are sitting 80 feet up in a couple of trees, blocking blasting activity at one of his company’s Raleigh County, W.Va., mines.
In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Blankenship said:
The coal won’t spoil for a million years. I doubt the tree climbers will be there then.
West Virginia State Police indicated they are taking a similar strategy, according to the AP report, quoting Sgt. M.A. Smith:
We’re going to wait them out as long as we can wait them out, until it gets too dangerous. If I put somebody up in the tree to take them out, it’s going to be a danger. The best thing to do is to keep the others from trespassing and wait them out.
I’m not expert on tree sitting … but if you’re wondering, forced extractions by police are not unheard of … Check out links here, here and here.
Today is the fourth day of the Raleigh County tree sitting protest … you can follow it via the Climate Ground Zero Web site.
5 comments
Well, let’s hope Massey won’t be here in million years.
Every day that Nick and Laura remain in the trees above Pettry Bottom the more people across America will find out the truth about what is going on in West Virginia. Blankenship can say what ever he wants, but blasting has been halted by two young activists and there is evidently little he can do about it.
Imagine if everyone concerned about the destruction of Appalachia stood up like these two young activists and just said enough is enough. I believe that if they did, mountain top removal would come to a complete halt.
Mark my words. Mr. Blankenship will not wait much longer until he has Nick and Laura forcefully removed from the trees, and not only that, but he will bring other charges against them. Besides going to jail, they will more than likely be charged with interferring with Massey Energy, Inc. MTR mining, so the blasting will once again begin, and rain fly ash, rocks, and dust upon the people near Edwight and Pettry Bottom. Until then, I wish Nick and Laura the best of luck.
Oh, by the way, Marsh Fork Elementary School is right down the road from Sundial and Pettry Bottom, and not quite a mile from Edwight. Mr. Blankenship thinks everyone has forgotten about the silo that is to be built near the school next to the silo that is already built. He can call them the twin silos. Let us pray to God that nothing happens to the sludge dam above the school, and another 9/11 does not happen as it did with the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001.
Mr. Ward,
An interesting article. Based on your links tree sitting is evidently a dangerous occupation as Wikipedia references at least 2 fatalities from accidental falls. I sometimes wonder if certain fringe elements of the enviromental community aren’t hoping for martyrs for their cause. It is also interesting to note that protests like this are only effective in a civil society as otherwise this would have already ended violently. It is somewhat ironic that after demonizing Massey so much, the protestors are depending on them to show restraint. One question, I thought the court injunction was in effect in Raleigh County. Is this the case? If so I assume the civil penalties will start to add up quickly.
Thanks
MC
Matthew, since you are projecting perhaps you would like to identify who these “certain fringe elements” might be? There is enough historical evidence to demonstrate that “civilized societies” are in the eye of the beholder. Are Pinkertons agents of civilization?
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I think the Massey workers should be held accountable to show restraint- why shouldn’t they?
It should be “unthinkable” for the workers to use violence against non violent people.
The minute we allow certain individuals to try to convince us that unprovoked violence is acceptable- is the day that we as civilized humans lose our humanity. We lose our pretense to even be a democracy and Americans.
Pro coal supporters have the same nonviolent actions/tactics open to them but violence and intimidation is never acceptable.