When most of us flip on the lights (or type into our computers, for that matter), we aren’t thinking about how those simple acts might affect those living in coal country. Yet nearly half of the country’s electricity is generated by coal, and increasingly that coal is being More…
Members of the House Education and Labor Committee are holding a satellite hearing this morning in Beckley, W.Va., to examine the Upper Big Branch mine explosion, which killed 29 Massey miners and almost killed a 30th not far from Beckley.
What’s striking is how closely today’s testimony from More…
About 15 hours after Massey CEO Don Blankenship told Congress that worker safety is the company’s top priority, another Massey miner died in West Virginia, The Associated Press reports.
State of West Virginia spokesman Hoy Murphy says 55-year-old James Erwin of Delbarton died about 6 a.m. Friday.
Scientists for years have warned about the irreversible damage to Appalachian ecosystems caused by mountaintop removal coal mining (which makes sense, considering that the nation’s oldest mountains can’t grow back once they’ve been topped). But don’t tell that to the coal industry.
At a West Virginia More…
Today marks Massey Energy’s annual shareholders meeting in Richmond, Va, and they’re getting quite a reception from environmentalists and members of the United Mine Workers of America, who are picketing the event by the hundreds. The Wall Street Journal provides some context:
NPR’s Howard Berkes and Frank Langfitt have spent weeks on the ground in southern West Virginia, the site of last month’s deadly blast at Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine. And today they’re reporting that “most” of the 10 UBB miners they’ve interviewed over that span noted “continuing problems” More…
Two young activists arrested this morning for protesting mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia will have to come up with $100,000 in bail if they want to leave jail any time soon, a West Virginia court ruled today. The Associated Press reports:
Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Barker says
For weeks there have been reports that the FBI is investigating Massey Energy for possible criminal neglect following last month’s deadly mine explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va. On Friday, that news was confirmed, when the DoJ warned the Labor Department, which More…
With all the focus on Massey Energy, it’s worth noting that they’re not the lone coal company facing fire over safety issues in recent weeks. Indeed, federal officials this week closed down a West Virginia mine owned by St. Louis-based Patriot Coal Corp over safety concerns, Reuters reports. More…
Leaders of the Mine Safety and Health Administration have, for months, been warning Congress that they simply don’t have the resources to address the enormous backlog in safety citations that’s piled up largely because the industry wants to delay fines and avoid the “pattern of violations” status that More…
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