tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63410111886536361142024-02-06T22:24:14.297-05:00The True Cost of Coaltrue cost of coal : campaign blogthe beehive collectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02223927943847403108noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-31021456851601663842012-09-04T20:29:00.000-04:002012-09-04T20:29:12.542-04:00Swimming Upstream: Fighting Big Coal in Alaska<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beholding the way to Hope, Alaska</td></tr>
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August isn't a time when Bees typically stray far from the Hive. As folks who follow our lifecycle know, it's usually a season of friends and fun in Machias, and one of the most abundant and beautiful times of the northern year.<br />
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But this summer brought a special request from some folks who love the northlands as much as we do: to come to Anchorage, Alaska and share the cautionary tale of Appalachian coal with folks in Cook Inlet, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and the magestic Kenai Peninsula, where proposed coal expansion threatens the lives and livelihoods of Alaskans and the salmon on whom they depend.<br />
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So a small swarm of us busted out our hats and mittens and headed north, hosted by the<a href="http://wishbonehill.blogspot.com/"> Matanuska Valley Coalition</a>, to explore the terrain of Alaskan coal. (Read Molly's personal account of our trip and see more photos of us having extracurricular adventures <a href="http://moreadventuroustoday.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-last-frontier.html">here</a>!)<br />
<h2>
The "Last Frontier" </h2>
Alaska deserves its reputation as a region of wild beauty, but violent
colonization, reckless, sprawling "development" and a politics bought and paid for by extractive industries have made
even this place vulnerable to environmental destruction on a massive scale. Most folks have heard of the <a href="http://www.eoearth.org/article/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill">Exxon Valdez oil spill </a>of 1989, at its time the largest environmental disaster in the history of the United States, while Sarah Palin's infamous rallying cry of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seXMIHgMFj8">"drill baby, drill" </a>still ricoches in the echo chamber of public discourse around fossil fuel extraction. If Alaska's most famous export is salmon, its love affair with extraction is a close second.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The state of Alaska is extremely hospitable to oil companies like Chevron, whose refinery in the low-income community of Richmond, CA (near San Francisco) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teHp0HAy5P4&feature=related">disasterously caught fire</a> during our tour, poisoning many thousands of residents.</td></tr>
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So even here, in a place that calls itself the "Last Frontier," we found
ourselves very much at the center of the "coal company town" politics
depicted in the graphic, with governments in bed with extractive industries, native nations displaced, abused, and stripped of their sovereignty, and whole workforces and communities imported and
conditioned to an extractive way of life. <br />
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Yet there's a glaring difference
between, say, West Virginia coalfield politics as usual and what's happening with extractive industries in Alaska today: so far, the people of Alaska are benefiting.<br />
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Or rather, <i>some</i> Alaskans are <i>sometimes</i> buffered from the horrific health, economic, and environmental impacts of hosting extractive industries, thanks in part to Alaska's sheer girth. Because so much oil drilling, coal mining, and mineral extraction takes place in areas that are slightly physically removed from where the majority of the white voting public live, and because Alaskan residents receive a small stipend from the oil industry simply for calling the state home, so far the power of industry is perceived as mostly carrot and very little stick.<br />
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But with coal mining coming in force to the greater Anchorage area, that's all about to change.<br />
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<h2>
The Costs Come Home <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody></tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surveying the 20,000 acres of the Wishbone mine in the Matanuska Valley. Everything visible here will be strip mined should the permits hold up in court. The state of Alaska has never once rejected a coal mining permit.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coal export hub Seward</td></tr>
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As folks trying to halt coal development explained it to us, it's awfully hard to organize communities to fight powerful industries like Big Coal if they perceive the industry as beneficial to their way of life. It's especially hard in Alaska, where there is a widespread belief in the "myth of rigorous permitting," or faith in the ability of regulators to curtail corporate abuses and ensure that "the job is done right."Add in a rugged individualism and an emphasis on privacy, property, and personal autonomy, and suddenly activists must work overtime to build a culture of collective organizing from the ground up... sometimes (as one organizer explained it) starting by running between neighboring houses, communicating messages across dirt roads for neighbors who are reluctant to talk to even each other, let alone attend an organized meeting!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Th28Ljn6zHPt5IeBghBcE0hKVTYQzrs71MfMvSZA8nboPf-wzNrbvqUPDouXJ5VZc_QSHiR8PvxAvDWs4DjKZfCAZ4QKFYnYY9MipC0MV4kb95arYiDQ3zuxjtoYFSQJA3mNHnBuY0c/s1600/DSCF6550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Th28Ljn6zHPt5IeBghBcE0hKVTYQzrs71MfMvSZA8nboPf-wzNrbvqUPDouXJ5VZc_QSHiR8PvxAvDWs4DjKZfCAZ4QKFYnYY9MipC0MV4kb95arYiDQ3zuxjtoYFSQJA3mNHnBuY0c/s320/DSCF6550.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirby Spangler of the <a href="http://www.castlemountain.org/">Castle Mountain Coalition</a> schools us on Salmon. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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But communities who live on or near proposed mine sites are a different story. In Chickaloon, for instance, a small community about an hour and half's drive from Anchorage into the Matanuska Valley, neighbors have come together across wider gulfs than dirt roads to organize to keep coal out. Here, newer resident groups like the <a href="http://www.castlemountain.org/">Castle Mountain Coalition </a>are working alongside the <a href="http://www.chickaloon.org/">Chickaloon Village</a> of the Athabaskan Nation, indigenous folks whose roots in the area go back to time immemorial and who have fought coal since the first wave of mining in the area in the 1920s.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32JiGYjRjsGgkxtNmO9QxHPStP5N4MefG4zd3xUocLhMjDTGTXgjNjZAtYgXR9uj5BWayNaPrCAEFHxwNWqZZdwFaqez4mC1Tt6R9E5wtSrEuD5i4dWRCD_TP2xtl6EF1iyIycq_ZQOE/s1600/215750_461108073924098_1044920933_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32JiGYjRjsGgkxtNmO9QxHPStP5N4MefG4zd3xUocLhMjDTGTXgjNjZAtYgXR9uj5BWayNaPrCAEFHxwNWqZZdwFaqez4mC1Tt6R9E5wtSrEuD5i4dWRCD_TP2xtl6EF1iyIycq_ZQOE/s320/215750_461108073924098_1044920933_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presenting the True Cost of Coal in Chickaloon.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-14rOyVDCEPNDz4Qu_esd_rltrPkB1d5r5l3umMpaceNDoC9mHAFjZtagDNz6xv9_XTmT6Vgi3eMkjAbV_ROhGhxxojPFhfxXkOkedhKRJdfpCEuD2NI-WVd0M3cdWfZSCqzsAwqMIMQ/s1600/551784_461107997257439_220349811_n-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-14rOyVDCEPNDz4Qu_esd_rltrPkB1d5r5l3umMpaceNDoC9mHAFjZtagDNz6xv9_XTmT6Vgi3eMkjAbV_ROhGhxxojPFhfxXkOkedhKRJdfpCEuD2NI-WVd0M3cdWfZSCqzsAwqMIMQ/s320/551784_461107997257439_220349811_n-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With our friends and hosts at a presentation in Palmer.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<h2>
Bound Together </h2>
Alaskan organizers here have a powerful opportunity: to unite communities who will be heavily impacted by coal extraction BEFORE the extraction is too far gone. And since the new coal developments in Alaska will be directly polluting the air, water, and soil of the Matanuska Valley, where the vast majority of locally produced food is grown, folks in Anchorage (75% of the state's population) now have a direct connection to the threats of coal.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsFZmRg-s91Cdu2sSJW5tgtRz2fDkq26pOtVqcz21DJjHngZe__9Kt8aDdgd0sxDPOFc4itqZhtjDGX4IWgw8VOC7_JD476HCvA7SOpV8QbJqFWMlvJw-sTgaT0JBKg_u5BpXqq-RmGY/s1600/lifecycle680x512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsFZmRg-s91Cdu2sSJW5tgtRz2fDkq26pOtVqcz21DJjHngZe__9Kt8aDdgd0sxDPOFc4itqZhtjDGX4IWgw8VOC7_JD476HCvA7SOpV8QbJqFWMlvJw-sTgaT0JBKg_u5BpXqq-RmGY/s400/lifecycle680x512.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the end of their lives, salmon return to the freshwater streams where they were born to reproduce. Mining disrupts this ancient journey, threatening the last great remaining wild salmon fishery in the world.</td></tr>
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Further, communities across Alaska are bound together beyond different geography by the remarkable lifecycle of salmon, whose disruption for coal mining, processing, and transport will be catastrophic for subsistence and personal use fisheries as well as commercial operations. As one activist put it, "Here, no one argues about how valuable the salmon are. It's not just for environmentalists. What we disagree about is whether we trust the corporations and government agencies to adequately protect them." If lessons from Appalachia and the rest of the world are any indicator of what's to come, it's a far better bet put our faith in the salmon-protective power of organized communities.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23_yGZMFU0zeskOov_m7whHXVvjp_-SMhGmPQlbkZCv97DASg1hdIGfzBRv7iverZ0J9SNq6E_8LaVtB8yYNUwVLVmFBM6wwwGWEVa0MWi5whtbuAzCBwzKX4haIXfpS4j4GOPQulSqg/s1600/255575_461496770551895_1431986946_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23_yGZMFU0zeskOov_m7whHXVvjp_-SMhGmPQlbkZCv97DASg1hdIGfzBRv7iverZ0J9SNq6E_8LaVtB8yYNUwVLVmFBM6wwwGWEVa0MWi5whtbuAzCBwzKX4haIXfpS4j4GOPQulSqg/s400/255575_461496770551895_1431986946_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We tabled for several rainy days at <a href="http://www.salmonstock.org/">Salmonstock</a>, a tribute to this best-loved fish. Yup, those are flaming salmon.</td></tr>
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<h2>
Gettin' Busy!</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1N3qNA5BN_0aveMXpJpg6AYwdSQgtR6p_U2gWPX7iv8NzSNF5hvdhYRi5gsxo7I4NFFL4WhMv9vtTHm6Xp2V8q3bdsDBtWg0e_0LPmVvgsy7Xjy-0t6biKLre_pBLj_-V5P29P8s17Xc/s1600/540234_461107840590788_1291224932_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1N3qNA5BN_0aveMXpJpg6AYwdSQgtR6p_U2gWPX7iv8NzSNF5hvdhYRi5gsxo7I4NFFL4WhMv9vtTHm6Xp2V8q3bdsDBtWg0e_0LPmVvgsy7Xjy-0t6biKLre_pBLj_-V5P29P8s17Xc/s320/540234_461107840590788_1291224932_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7e1WNCbB_ksdrFOU26F7QFxUWp8k7YpFNV3vN226HZ8MmA-QJzzg3n3bGwn4GrQQtsGf1iwTHi2ZfZ60VOuR1DPRotuzOBc12MmwU39jEOUIRF57FURjfMolxAbabLR3pjgCS2uZa44/s1600/423537_461107387257500_1957967478_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7e1WNCbB_ksdrFOU26F7QFxUWp8k7YpFNV3vN226HZ8MmA-QJzzg3n3bGwn4GrQQtsGf1iwTHi2ZfZ60VOuR1DPRotuzOBc12MmwU39jEOUIRF57FURjfMolxAbabLR3pjgCS2uZa44/s320/423537_461107387257500_1957967478_n.jpg" width="239" /></a>So... we hit the streets. And the festivals. And the community venues. We talked with folks who share our values around healthy land and healthy people with a do-it-yerself attitude, even if they might not have identified as opposed to strip mining if you'd asked them. That's how we do, after all... one conversation at time...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPr0OsA3zls3j7xRy1-hf2a-tzE1psEL9jiGUUSko2Tgx9rZSzN6dabJ3dg-eKLYUyCDbdQYMq4fqsf7Ha8Jkd_xO0-jIKO8k0BJKT25j7dv7jLFDOWrcXyCNVCRvhct_1xd9lFopwk0c/s1600/540275_461107473924158_350707584_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPr0OsA3zls3j7xRy1-hf2a-tzE1psEL9jiGUUSko2Tgx9rZSzN6dabJ3dg-eKLYUyCDbdQYMq4fqsf7Ha8Jkd_xO0-jIKO8k0BJKT25j7dv7jLFDOWrcXyCNVCRvhct_1xd9lFopwk0c/s320/540275_461107473924158_350707584_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Folks are organizing an <a href="http://salmonfirst.org/">action camp</a> to build skills and strategies for keeping Alaskan coal in the ground- help them spread the word!<br />
<h2>
<a href="http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/2010/07/hoodwinked-in-the-hothouse-false-solutions-to-climate-change-available-now/">Hoodwinked in the Hothouse?</a></h2>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6exZYuTO_UBXM1z9WlXRp4v86jYJKOgiAf30KMc34JXzvwAmha9yo43lMU5fULtPhSkNIOEYn5HnkPR02th1gimXjLRJoKR5SjAYgdn0Ru78wn-6kTdqBcdTnAz7KyZvn-7TKEHagME/s1600/DSCF6663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6exZYuTO_UBXM1z9WlXRp4v86jYJKOgiAf30KMc34JXzvwAmha9yo43lMU5fULtPhSkNIOEYn5HnkPR02th1gimXjLRJoKR5SjAYgdn0Ru78wn-6kTdqBcdTnAz7KyZvn-7TKEHagME/s320/DSCF6663.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IN a glacier.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfOIA0JcZcUR6etwkRjbFonZNw4ex9vGAakYF_e-vcWdLZ2Lnp8Ridq5jmj_sHc7LHLR8e_Sc1l7B34JT518ZrhIfEK1q8ubZRcW5qR8Z8hV9Ju3CeAVMYPTuV4Jdf1G_FvVH-oXThzg/s1600/DSCF6662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfOIA0JcZcUR6etwkRjbFonZNw4ex9vGAakYF_e-vcWdLZ2Lnp8Ridq5jmj_sHc7LHLR8e_Sc1l7B34JT518ZrhIfEK1q8ubZRcW5qR8Z8hV9Ju3CeAVMYPTuV4Jdf1G_FvVH-oXThzg/s320/DSCF6662.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, really. IN A GLACIER.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSePyPsLC739aWEGUhB2GSnsTPvp9m8Wsezyr0thrV5mTVbb2rkzDkQsT-GYf5VPyTkmOpv-fRKI2xQ0OWw9i4gPnH_RZGhsV1b7AlmH64uTi12GH6qLNuZDNl_WgEqp-2D5Uw6G-3Tso/s1600/DSCF6669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSePyPsLC739aWEGUhB2GSnsTPvp9m8Wsezyr0thrV5mTVbb2rkzDkQsT-GYf5VPyTkmOpv-fRKI2xQ0OWw9i4gPnH_RZGhsV1b7AlmH64uTi12GH6qLNuZDNl_WgEqp-2D5Uw6G-3Tso/s320/DSCF6669.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The GLACIER is behind us. That's a 22,000 year old piece of ice.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Finally, everywhere we went in Alaska, we found folks who are experiencing the everyday impacts of climate change. After all, it's a lot harder to deny when you're surrounded by melting glaciers (as above) and wildly erratic weather patterns! Moreover, folks who depend on creatures like salmon to survive have seen dramatic changes in the patterns and availability of wild foods.<br />
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Though climate change is obviously a huge threat to all Alaskans, it's also an opportunity for rallying folks around deep system change rather than the false "solutions" and dangerous distractions paraded at events like the "<a href="http://alaskarenewableenergy.org/events/alaska-renewable-energy-fair/">Alaska Renewable Energy Fair</a>" (sponsored by none other than BP, Shell, and Conoco Phillips!).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZ8JSKqTuxlO_zcDV4uMfLblyIbZUzR6DLe2nTQeSfshyphenhyphenovxr-7VaNRSDNMtoai-EyMy6NqvEzicCK_SJ7z5p7sHyTrExISkY53x_WLeIUND6pDwFNJ9N6dL1gyNE9UBiDt8ARy3_Bu0/s1600/215675_461108210590751_589564459_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZ8JSKqTuxlO_zcDV4uMfLblyIbZUzR6DLe2nTQeSfshyphenhyphenovxr-7VaNRSDNMtoai-EyMy6NqvEzicCK_SJ7z5p7sHyTrExISkY53x_WLeIUND6pDwFNJ9N6dL1gyNE9UBiDt8ARy3_Bu0/s320/215675_461108210590751_589564459_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
While we're all about ecological energy solutions, this event was celebrating (among other bad ideas) the <a href="http://susitnadamalternatives.org/">Susitna Dam Project</a>, which will be devastating for the Mat-Su Valley should it be constructed. As always, sorting out the good news from the greenwashing is tricky business, but there's one thing we know for sure- stopping coal development CAN'T mean devastating other ecosystems with oil & gas drilling, big hydro, nuclear, or other extractive energy extraction schemes. As folks in Appalachia have told us all along, we've gotta dig deep, look back, build power, and vision forward to create a future that's truly beyond a coal-dependent way of life.<br />
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Our hats off to Alaskans fighting the good fight! <br />
Don't forget to check out <a href="http://moreadventuroustoday.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-last-frontier.html">Molly's Blog</a>!Recenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10352945947306606917noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-89978909816354101702012-06-29T16:28:00.001-04:002012-07-02T15:20:18.936-04:00Appalachian coal, meet European coal!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3EndzEDL8NaBhi-W7gjg7p97einJ7UfCqFosS-cRQa3_odc2q25gSxeDFIp8mRla_0sa1ifkGJkKPgQc1bO0DyoF9TVjt7LcO_MMHIofMXQCKK_ULb7mi-dQrJP_bhiYGEgZZr4UVQXr/s1600/IMG_2635-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3EndzEDL8NaBhi-W7gjg7p97einJ7UfCqFosS-cRQa3_odc2q25gSxeDFIp8mRla_0sa1ifkGJkKPgQc1bO0DyoF9TVjt7LcO_MMHIofMXQCKK_ULb7mi-dQrJP_bhiYGEgZZr4UVQXr/s400/IMG_2635-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Germany's largest open pit coal mine in the Hambach Forest; that white dot by the digger machine is a monster pickup truck.</td></tr>
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We just got back from a whirlwind 3-week tour in Europe, taking the True Cost of Coal for the first time to Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. Whew! So interesting to see how this story plays out in another part of the world so connected to the coal economy.<br />
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We started our trip at the <a href="http://manifesta9.org/en/home" target="_blank">Manifesta Biennial</a> in Genk, Belgium, a green, historic coal mining region where the only hills are grassy slag heaps from the mines. The art show is in a giant abandoned building that used to house administration, equipment and locker/shower facilities for 4200 miners. Although we saw two coal-fired power plants on the horizon, over the last 40 years all the mines in the region have been shutting down. We were told, "It's cheaper to buy coal from China."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGw2_iu-UwuM_O9Lfj1g8ZXtSCcRTt7aSRSfSHlUlC80IGY-yk79Bhf8qJ9J1grQzN0sVHtVPbT_Z6xBTmWrP7UZGfyrV9Fmry4AxuJ2ie5tneaIoXNgGPyX28fEs82KtMC9qX0EjO5GK/s1600/coalbanner_manifesta.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGw2_iu-UwuM_O9Lfj1g8ZXtSCcRTt7aSRSfSHlUlC80IGY-yk79Bhf8qJ9J1grQzN0sVHtVPbT_Z6xBTmWrP7UZGfyrV9Fmry4AxuJ2ie5tneaIoXNgGPyX28fEs82KtMC9qX0EjO5GK/s400/coalbanner_manifesta.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The True Cost of Coal" at Manifesta 9 in the closed André Dumont mine, Genk, Belgium</td></tr>
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We asked some locals why the town didn't seem economically depressed despite losing such a major industry. Compared to coal towns in Appalachia, Scotland and Wales, this region of Belgium looks quite prosperous, busy with tourists and new construction. The old coal towns look like pretty rowhouses next to bike paths and polished cars. They told us that the coal companies needed to attract so many workers to the mines that the workers had a fair amount of bargaining power (people came from 30+ countries and stayed!) Also, compared to the U.S., the Belgian government strictly regulated the industry, and required companies to invest a good percentage of their profits into a fund to pay for transition costs after the mines closed down. So, another old mine nearby has just re-opened to house a sort of
high-art "discovery center" of deep mining along with an art college, a
cinema multiplex and a cafe.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGrOHb7OMK_bBEpVauDZTmYrQn3IANpSHTKl3DTZQ-4xvSzRy-b-8esOs9Vv6GbsJ-xlc9_dNUa4jq8kZ147EyF9qrLPJ7uCo0gF_bSBQgoAam34-NKG6xL27XrJqYH0ON0_naI7529Mn/s1600/Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGrOHb7OMK_bBEpVauDZTmYrQn3IANpSHTKl3DTZQ-4xvSzRy-b-8esOs9Vv6GbsJ-xlc9_dNUa4jq8kZ147EyF9qrLPJ7uCo0gF_bSBQgoAam34-NKG6xL27XrJqYH0ON0_naI7529Mn/s320/Picture+2.png" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Light installation in old miners' transport tunnels </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our heads reeling from Belgium's surreal post-mining economy, we next met up with our German tour collaborators: climate organizers who are also occupying the <a href="http://hambachforest.blogsport.de/" target="_blank">Hambach Forest</a> to keep it from being eaten by Germany's largest open pit coal mine. We squeezed into a microscopic hatchback and headed straight to Zurich,
Switzerland, where activists were occupying a park in the town center
for a week-long, unpermitted <a href="http://www.klimacamp.ch/" target="_blank">Climate Camp</a>.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookielovescake/sets/72157630310470104/" target="_blank"></a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKKV2_sZEb1E4_voZQE6s40o5aUwj4jm9mukyahk1q_RSIsdyPVh2GyimSRNEWbUfsElNvIntVJdERTPNigyz_yHFVYOpPv0yNhWufmUvkIt_VvY15Abu7562A0LXxi-WETfz-UMTkNOl/s1600/IMG_2434-01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKKV2_sZEb1E4_voZQE6s40o5aUwj4jm9mukyahk1q_RSIsdyPVh2GyimSRNEWbUfsElNvIntVJdERTPNigyz_yHFVYOpPv0yNhWufmUvkIt_VvY15Abu7562A0LXxi-WETfz-UMTkNOl/s400/IMG_2434-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climate Camp in downtown Zurich</td></tr>
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They just showed up with big trucks and started building meeting structures, a four-stall composting toilet, a wood-stove kitchen, and a solar-powered sound and lighting system, and the authorities seemed to be leaving them alone. We did a night-time storytelling by solar LED spotlight, then our German friends did a slideshow about the forest occupation and German climate organizing.<br />
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(<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookielovescake/sets/72157630310470104/" target="_blank">More photos of Belgium and Zurich)</a> <br />
<br />
After Zurich we went to Freiburg and then did a number of events in the Cologne area near the Hambach Forest, as well as in the protest camp itself. The camp is a ten-minute walk from the edge of the mine pit, in an area scheduled for destruction within the year. To see the mine, you walk through a lovely, shady, relatively diverse forest full of singing birds, bees, dragonflies etc. Then you hit the clearcut and it's suddenly sunny and you're picking your way across an obstacle course of dead brush and trees. Then a little further on you hit big ridges of loose dirt. After climbing and sliding down a few of those you're looking over the edge down at skycraper-sized machines, sand, and a layer of thick coal, 300 meters down the hole. When they're finished digging, they promise, they'll turn it into Germany's largest lake. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzL65E0LwqP9bCyW00pSNWMhAIzaahkTrEyhJ1Gv1OgApSD3QLPI3haHWn5KZAYNDUzXF2D0PalLIIOOngyyodJn8_p_x51knsK-_Tdz8oa079BLY8X5FqfutdhPZ_O1mZ5c15bSylcy2Z/s1600/IMG_2741-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzL65E0LwqP9bCyW00pSNWMhAIzaahkTrEyhJ1Gv1OgApSD3QLPI3haHWn5KZAYNDUzXF2D0PalLIIOOngyyodJn8_p_x51knsK-_Tdz8oa079BLY8X5FqfutdhPZ_O1mZ5c15bSylcy2Z/s320/IMG_2741-01.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An old treestump in Hambach Forest</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1f3Jc2X9pADc-hoVDw7ca6-IyhzGgOf9DFg0XtgjK9vX8LkaTGHyk0rKjZ6DfYfuCz3PyNoHr67trNsTy6APu9b1bxl4MCPgltA0IvG0XDnETvX8iPeFhJF3_h-uzZkkIKdM8zbTCDQmN/s1600/IMG_2713-01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1f3Jc2X9pADc-hoVDw7ca6-IyhzGgOf9DFg0XtgjK9vX8LkaTGHyk0rKjZ6DfYfuCz3PyNoHr67trNsTy6APu9b1bxl4MCPgltA0IvG0XDnETvX8iPeFhJF3_h-uzZkkIKdM8zbTCDQmN/s320/IMG_2713-01.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lilies in a forest wetland</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXAUi4_T-0MFH0VWiAXfB_Cc7xrs74MY8g44-qPkh5WiQY7TE2UPfsg46w2oPzuNmc3Tgnr7LVFDZ7mi3ix_dz-puB1vIbItT2pFkGqevA6rqaNm_fl8FsUSYTsoqxYffSvt6rSW4kimJ/s1600/IMG_2599-01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXAUi4_T-0MFH0VWiAXfB_Cc7xrs74MY8g44-qPkh5WiQY7TE2UPfsg46w2oPzuNmc3Tgnr7LVFDZ7mi3ix_dz-puB1vIbItT2pFkGqevA6rqaNm_fl8FsUSYTsoqxYffSvt6rSW4kimJ/s320/IMG_2599-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearcut at the mine's edge; coal-fired power plant in the distance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdSZusOWYcCwd3tm0kJsDsdzUgIbIbMEGXRglr-lgmaMJQGCk_mG2_43Ilvq3Sy8ugpz-yrk75bLE0ExVrouRoStZSOIVzwtDh7fLys_Y7TIGcFrGwL7L-XNjYBlIwCVVG94NTdeM7Dh_/s1600/IMG_2677-01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdSZusOWYcCwd3tm0kJsDsdzUgIbIbMEGXRglr-lgmaMJQGCk_mG2_43Ilvq3Sy8ugpz-yrk75bLE0ExVrouRoStZSOIVzwtDh7fLys_Y7TIGcFrGwL7L-XNjYBlIwCVVG94NTdeM7Dh_/s400/IMG_2677-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three of the many diggers in the mine pit</td></tr>
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The Hambach Forest isn't exactly old growth wilderness, but people drive
from
far away to walk their dogs and children there because it's the closest
thing to "wild" in a densely-populated country whose forests mostly seem
to consist of sterile-looking, monoculture pine plantations. They stop
by the camp kitchen. They chat. They check out the hanging platforms and
defense systems. Some sneer. Some bring water and food.<br />
<br />
At the camp storytelling, and in the closest town, it was inspiring to be sitting in a big circle with scruffy direct-action squatters in earnest conversation with longtime locals who are concerned they'll be displaced as the mine continues to expand. (They took the parachuter scene as a starting point! Hurrah!) <br />
<br />
Next we headed to East Germany to visit Leipzig and Cottbus, another old coal-mining region, then Berlin and Hamburg, then Amsterdam and Utrecht in the Netherlands and DONE!<br />
(<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/112132297532384753649/BeehiveCollectiveInEurope?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">More pictures</a>) (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookielovescake/collections/72157630327666752" target="_blank">And yet more pictures</a>)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>How did it compare to touring in the U.S.? </b></div>
<br />
Unlike in the U.S., even energy companies admit climate change is happening, and that human industry is responsible. The Industrial Revolution is relatively recent and familiar history. (Theft of indigenous lands for resource extraction, on the other hand, is something that happened Over There.) In the countries we visited, coal mining happens in densely-populated areas in plain view, so
companies have to work harder to convince people it's a good thing. But the tools of economic coercion and government complicity work there as well as here.<br />
<br />
Our attempts to draw "solutions" in the far right of the poster are somewhat simplistic compared to the efforts already underway in some European countries--wind power cooperatives, for example. Utrecht, we're told, is constructing an
underground parking garage next to its central train station, designed
to hold <i>20,000 bikes</i>. Amsterdam seems to have more
bicycles than people. On the other hand, the Netherlands still gets a big chunk of its electricity from coal, and the gigantic port at the Hook of Holland is a major coal terminal for the rest of Europe.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvgUJRVYWUV-u3zR-emob4E6L_OueP_VOtQaJNpIuFY2K6X10cUUQdBLcjoJPASa_QWFq5l2D6cthBvQLjfAxO4X5UsfMIYGCUUO6W2GYu9bokHdp4vaA2rOKJuMrCgITtG28vqPibN-P/s1600/IMG_2963-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvgUJRVYWUV-u3zR-emob4E6L_OueP_VOtQaJNpIuFY2K6X10cUUQdBLcjoJPASa_QWFq5l2D6cthBvQLjfAxO4X5UsfMIYGCUUO6W2GYu9bokHdp4vaA2rOKJuMrCgITtG28vqPibN-P/s400/IMG_2963-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double decker bike parking in Utrecht, Netherlands</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our European audiences had a complex understanding of climate change,
energy issues and greenwashing schemes, reflecting Europe's longer
investment and experience in alternative energy and market-based
solutions, their successes and failures. But, just like in the U.S., energy consumption keeps going up, and so do carbon emissions. Although wind turbines decorate the landscape, companies are scheming to build still more coal plants under the shelter of "clean coal" rhetoric. In Germany, people are organizing not only to shut down mine expansion, but also the greenwashing threat of Carbon Capture and Storage and experimental plans to store huge quantitites of CO2 under their villages, fields and towns.<br />
<br />
Speaking of, help spread the word! This summer, we know of three Climate Camps in Europe-- gathering places for skillshares, dialogue and action to stop climate change.<br />
<br />
July 12-18: <a href="http://www.indymediascotland.org/node/27202" target="_blank">Take Back the Land: Douglas Valley action camp</a> (Scotland)<br />
Aug. 3-12: <a href="http://www.klimacamp.ausgeco2hlt.de/" target="_blank">Klimacamp in the Hambach Forest</a> (West Germany)<br />
Aug. 11-18: <a href="http://www.lausitzcamp.info/" target="_blank">Klimacamp near Cottbus</a> (East Germany)Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-80672043033818358342011-11-01T18:26:00.005-04:002011-11-01T18:26:45.978-04:00Bees in Action<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/imagegallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2600&g2_serialNumber=2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Browse sample photos of our <a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/imagegallery/main.php?g2_itemId=2557" target="_blank">picture-lectures and workshops</a> in a startling variety of venues. This spring we had four separate groups touring in the Southeast, in the Midwest, in the Northeast (including Canada), and even in England!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/imagegallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2600&g2_serialNumber=2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.beehivecollective.org/imagegallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2600&g2_serialNumber=2" width="320" /></a></div>Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-83747761425937673312011-01-31T10:43:00.003-05:002011-01-31T10:57:20.689-05:00Bees Swarming this Spring!We Bees are currently plotting our SPRING tour schedule, and we’d LOVE to collaborate with you to organize a Beehive presentation in your area. We had a record-breaking fall tour last year with over 200 picture-lectures and graphic workshops, and we are buzzing with excitement to keep up the momentum in the coming months!<br /><br />From wide-spread hydro-fracking for natural gas and the continued coal exploration across the Abmericas, from the oil spill in the Gulf and Tar Sands development in Canada, the dire fight against fossil fuels has never been more evident on this continent. This spring, we have eager bees and powerful allies ready to swarm all over the Southeast, Northeast, Midwest and Gulf Coast, full of stories and graphics to share. <br /><br />Plus, we are SUPER excited to announce a special collaborative tour with climate justice organizer Joshua Kahn Russell. Josh will be touring alongside in Appalachia and the Northeast offering additional organizing and social movement strategy workshops to groups and organizations throughout the Spring. And we have more awesome collaborations planned, so keep your ears perked!<br /><br />YOU can help us cross-pollinate these struggles and communities by hosting the Bees this season; together let’s build this movement for climate justice!<br /><br />If you are interested in collaborating, or if you know someone else who might be, please visit our TOUR PAGE (http://wwww.beehivecollective.org/booking)for complete workshop descriptions and information about hosting us at your school or venue.the beehive collectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02223927943847403108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-2162495013109236692010-12-21T14:22:00.002-05:002010-12-21T14:26:50.347-05:00Help KICKSTART the Beehive Collective's 10th Anniversary Print Run!The BEEHIVE COLLECTIVE has launched a new KICKSTARTER campaign to reprint our full body of work- over a dozen graphic posters!<br /><br />There's a new-fangled way of doing what Bees do best- fundraising poco-a-poco, little bit by little bit! Through Kickstarter we’ve made a sweet little VIDEO explaining what we do, and are offering lots of special treats to share.<br /><br /><iframe frameborder="0" height="380px" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/beehivecollective/the-beehive-collectives-10th-anniversary-poster-pr-0/widget/card.html" width="220px"></iframe><br /><br />Support the Beehive’s 10th Anniversary Print Run through Kickstarter…… and receive a special collection of limited edition, previously out-of-print, and brand new posters, all shipped direct to your doorstep!<br /><br />Every lil’ donation makes a big difference; your pledge of $25, $50, or $100 can help us cover the $12,000 total cost of this effort. This will be our biggest, and most diverse, print run to date!<br /><br />And whether or not you pledge, you can HELP US SPREAD THE WORD by telling your friends, your grandparents, your boss, your siblings, and everyone who’s connected to you on the internet about this kick-startin’ campaign…we need you to help this go viral!the beehive collectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02223927943847403108noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-34105436109632724452010-10-02T13:52:00.003-04:002010-10-02T14:02:02.001-04:00SWARMING South, West, North and beyond after Appalachia Rising!We bees just wrapped up an amazing week! We had two GIANT events to help us kick start our release tour of "The True Cost of Coal," the Common Ground Country Fair in Maine and Appalachia Rising- a mass mobilization against mountaintop removal coal mining in DC. Between the two events we shared our new work with thousands of people and have already distributed hundreds of posters!<br /><br />What a powerful moment, to stand in the streets of DC with all of the friends, allies, community members and activists who are touched by the story of Mountaintop Removal. Over 100 folks were arrested demanding an end to the destruction, and that is only the beginning! Appalachia is still Rising and we are honored to be a part of this movement. Make sure to visit appalachiarising.org for photos and news stories about the event!<br /><br />We will carry our part forward over the next few months. As we speak, four swarms of bees are traveling the country, keeping the momentum going for the largest tour in Beehive history! We already have 45 shows booked for October alone and more are in the works. Check out our tour pages to see if we are coming to a town near you!<br /><br />http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/tour.htm<br /><br />And please help spread the word to friends in the area!<br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4rvLT_2M-vU?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4rvLT_2M-vU?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>the beehive collectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02223927943847403108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-41218646124003924482010-09-17T21:24:00.001-04:002010-09-17T21:26:26.319-04:00Join the Bees at Appalachia Rising! 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<w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.15pt;">Hello friends and allies,<br /><br />As you know, we released our latest graphic, "The True Cost of Coal" this summer, and the timing could not be more apt, as we are approaching a historic moment in the anti-strip mining movement this month.<br /><br />From September 25-27, activists and community members from Appalachia and supporters from all over the country will be converging on Washington DC at Appalachia Rising!- a mass mobilization to demand an end to all forms of strip mining! The event is being organized by a broad coalition of citizen, environmental, labor, faith and community groups and individuals who have joined together in one voice to demand an end to the destruction in Appalachia. This has not happened on this scale since 1978.<br /><br />The weekend includes two full days of strategizing workshops, learning, featured speaker panels and discussions, cultural events, and entertainment. On Monday September 27, we will march, rally, and support individuals taking part in dignified non-violent civil disobedience against mountaintop removal mining.<br /><br />We bees are honored to be participating in this moment of movement history, and will be bringing "The True Cost of Coal" to the streets of DC at the end of this month to kick off our nation wide release tour of the graphic. We would like to invite you to be a part of this moment as well.<br /><br />Weather you live close to DC or not, there are many ways you can support this effort! Here are some ways to plug in:<br /><br />Register to attend Appalachia Rising - <a href="http://bit.ly/94qKJQ" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/94qKJQ</a><br /><br />Mobilize your community to Appalachia Rising- <a href="http://bit.ly/bzweZK" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/bzweZK</a><br /><br />Donate to Appalachia Rising- <a href="http://bit.ly/aYUf4O" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/aYUf4O</a><br /><br />and of course, spread the word! Visit <a href="http://www.appalachiarising.org/" target="_blank">http://www.appalachiarising.org/</a> for more info!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.15pt;">Thank you so much for your support! And hope to see some of you in DC! </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.15pt;"><br />with honey and solidarity,<br />the bees </p>the beehive collectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02223927943847403108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-72087039777832785152010-08-27T19:24:00.003-04:002010-08-27T19:35:32.523-04:00Beehive in SeattleWe met tons of awesome folks at the Seattle Anarchist Bookfair and InArtsNW, a new artists' coop in Capitol Hill..... We found out that 40% of Washington State's electricity comes from a coal plant in Centralia, WA, that uses coal from strip mines in Montana and Wyoming's Powder River Basin. Oregon also gets 40% of its power from coal.<br /><br />For more photos of West Coast tour, <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/pollinators/2010WestCoastBikeTour?feat=directlink">click here</a>.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1ieCHeVlqlpmX1vekTyD-DSN47fpydYikkIRMsFulykTyxt-4AkdWZjFMT96gGXumR_nvfUZ8-f5EOKu0Fz1aRjya9Blu3X1GmU25Gb2KyPcy5iOnQRFdKbEloYlqMF5XFSLrevvrDDD/s1600/seattle_inartsnwbreakout.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1ieCHeVlqlpmX1vekTyD-DSN47fpydYikkIRMsFulykTyxt-4AkdWZjFMT96gGXumR_nvfUZ8-f5EOKu0Fz1aRjya9Blu3X1GmU25Gb2KyPcy5iOnQRFdKbEloYlqMF5XFSLrevvrDDD/s320/seattle_inartsnwbreakout.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510236098830322242" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1o1v__pzikwOl1bkNsGvlwDFjSM6QfKiwlMt9bZkK0jlEAMB3hfUKDsPhkIG3Poacu7bxeGLu7dYuolHVYBWODENXu3nDNYEN71j3aO9UPXAdsi8lmhbm4pyAZW6gOrvYBr8ObmJhYOGx/s1600/seattle_inartsnwaudience.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1o1v__pzikwOl1bkNsGvlwDFjSM6QfKiwlMt9bZkK0jlEAMB3hfUKDsPhkIG3Poacu7bxeGLu7dYuolHVYBWODENXu3nDNYEN71j3aO9UPXAdsi8lmhbm4pyAZW6gOrvYBr8ObmJhYOGx/s320/seattle_inartsnwaudience.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510236103078863954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DY3Ag3bK6nVzz7fe3ckgstTVadUeunu4aETVg4X1tASdrNz1DCn_iuXaYtb4pEIQ7FvQ5IsfKwklAP1bncoBDb2eEr4LWqSD6zaVFxqC1nrLTvVU6uxlEc5Llw0y8tPVHkXfdhw9kCE9/s1600/seattle_bookfairzeph.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DY3Ag3bK6nVzz7fe3ckgstTVadUeunu4aETVg4X1tASdrNz1DCn_iuXaYtb4pEIQ7FvQ5IsfKwklAP1bncoBDb2eEr4LWqSD6zaVFxqC1nrLTvVU6uxlEc5Llw0y8tPVHkXfdhw9kCE9/s320/seattle_bookfairzeph.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510236084354758210" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVciS52E0XPrLS7DTjMcwFKH2zHnfXF0r_9k6wv6J0jcY7Y8iC89Cjw3mVBgn9vyGoYJEsqDqWzNqWCTde3ZDAwYh7g8fKze8L92cdYZ4IxfYTcAsA-sZkvBeKcRuXms4zlc1gJsFGfIUu/s1600/seattle_bookfairtabling.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVciS52E0XPrLS7DTjMcwFKH2zHnfXF0r_9k6wv6J0jcY7Y8iC89Cjw3mVBgn9vyGoYJEsqDqWzNqWCTde3ZDAwYh7g8fKze8L92cdYZ4IxfYTcAsA-sZkvBeKcRuXms4zlc1gJsFGfIUu/s320/seattle_bookfairtabling.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510236079634852418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVciS52E0XPrLS7DTjMcwFKH2zHnfXF0r_9k6wv6J0jcY7Y8iC89Cjw3mVBgn9vyGoYJEsqDqWzNqWCTde3ZDAwYh7g8fKze8L92cdYZ4IxfYTcAsA-sZkvBeKcRuXms4zlc1gJsFGfIUu/s1600/seattle_bookfairtabling.jpg"><br /></a>Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-33949877717831507262010-08-27T19:03:00.008-04:002010-08-27T19:39:36.933-04:00West Coast Tour Underway!The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Beehive's West Coast Bike Tour</span> is on the road! We are travelling by bicycle from Seattle to the San Francisco Bay Area with a portable fabric mural of "the True Cost of Coal," stopping along the way to do workshops and storytellings about mountain top removal coal mining, coal-fired electricity, climate change and the American Dream.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbomPMAPKmShTG8iI_mhmf_sdtvw4v-No_tcJzZzJkRNx8rQ_3Fikx_FUNGbIZbF_aQi9EeIf6_mEy3ic77SPpPqZADBa6BztAhg6k3Z4Gfc7XEyxo9zF-VoklkqdnpzQdJsDQmBzt1WCY/s1600/oly_blackberrystop.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbomPMAPKmShTG8iI_mhmf_sdtvw4v-No_tcJzZzJkRNx8rQ_3Fikx_FUNGbIZbF_aQi9EeIf6_mEy3ic77SPpPqZADBa6BztAhg6k3Z4Gfc7XEyxo9zF-VoklkqdnpzQdJsDQmBzt1WCY/s400/oly_blackberrystop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510231199190766226" border="0" /></a>We will also be stopping along the way to eat blackberries.<br /><br />To find a show happening near you, or to collaborate on organizing a show in your home town, check our <a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/tour.htm">tour page</a>!<br /><br />We will be landing in the SF Bay Area for the first week of October, then heading out again to tour a wider area of the West Coast by (*cough*) car.<br /><br />We are very grateful to our superheros at Portland's <a href="http://bikefarm.org">Bike Farm collective</a> for helping us get road-ready. They stayed late, they hooked us up with gear, they helped us with vehicle logistics, they saved our butts. Thank you, Bike Farm!<br /><br />Take a gander at the <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/pollinators/2010WestCoastBikeTour?feat=directlink">photo album</a> of our bike adventure!Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-23015040393391444202010-07-29T21:31:00.007-04:002010-07-29T21:44:09.511-04:00JOYOUS NEWS! The BEEHIVE'S COAL POSTER has HATCHED!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyeGB2vGt0qXNTqG7nsJxjJgQz3mQ_4Tkenj2-BicatEtcOmW2n_LXHIytl0iud1JlFqy9ztKKCQEc1lUeG4ajcyFT5s8fBPZt91uDDBqrSPFPJnMoYhlxnbD5jt6q31BeU2v8JoTUTk/s1600/highlanderwithBORDER.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyeGB2vGt0qXNTqG7nsJxjJgQz3mQ_4Tkenj2-BicatEtcOmW2n_LXHIytl0iud1JlFqy9ztKKCQEc1lUeG4ajcyFT5s8fBPZt91uDDBqrSPFPJnMoYhlxnbD5jt6q31BeU2v8JoTUTk/s320/highlanderwithBORDER.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499507975513892514" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">THE TRUE COST OF COAL is finished, printed, and ready for you to enjoy!<br /></div><br />It’s true! After 2 ½ years of discussions, feedback, eraser marks, sketches and rough drafts, THE TRUE COST OF COAL is DONE! And we can’t wait to share it with you!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It is hard to describe the mix of emotions we ‘lil bees are feeling after this final push. Somewhere between exuberance and exhaustion, all of it steeped in immeasurable gratitude to all the folks who have helped make this graphic possible. To all the powerful people and places in Appalachia who shared their stories and their struggles with us, to all the folks who have hosted shows and offered up their floors or couches, to everyone who has kicked down money to keep us going, to friends and family who have emotionally supported us through this rollercoaster of a project, and to everyone else who has touched or inspired this graphic in some way- thank you. No doubt, YOU all are what made this project possible!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Rather than us trying to describe this excitement and gratitude in words, please check it out for yourselves! Experience the full poster and read the narrative at the TRUE COST OF COAL page on our website (http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/coal.htm), and find behind-the-scenes studio shots in our Sketchbook .<br /></div>the beehive collectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02223927943847403108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-12889705445238500782010-06-15T13:02:00.005-04:002010-06-15T13:09:29.809-04:00The Coal Graphic Blows Up for Detroit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DLmZdGaDFTa3zk_bAi5K2IXq6vn09NCtDiDMXs_e4HTHzZ1SKbC__5AFwviCRvuSlSYKGfXqWL7GRefnHF6QwSid1A0erGoYlxgtSuyl2GiqRQOD7S1ry_W4Wz3avawd41k6Wa6y4pRS/s1600/Hivebanner_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DLmZdGaDFTa3zk_bAi5K2IXq6vn09NCtDiDMXs_e4HTHzZ1SKbC__5AFwviCRvuSlSYKGfXqWL7GRefnHF6QwSid1A0erGoYlxgtSuyl2GiqRQOD7S1ry_W4Wz3avawd41k6Wa6y4pRS/s400/Hivebanner_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483047055754538354" border="0" /></a><br />The coal graphic, blown up to huge proportions for public display.... see the teeny tiny person holding up the edge of the banner at top center?<br /><br />Next stop: the Allied Media Conference and the US Social Forum in Detroit.<br /><br />If anyone is going to be in Detroit over the next few weeks, you can come and cross-pollinate with us! We're gonna be offering workshops, gallery shows, and outdoor storytellings in the following places:<br /><br />Allied Media Conference:<br />Friday, June 18 @ 9am: Let's Draw! Kid's only drawing workshop<br />Friday, June 18 @ 2pm: Collaborative Mural Making workshop with Detroit Summer<br /><br />*check out http://alliedmedia.org/ for more info on times and places!<br /><br />USSF:<br /><br />Monday, June 21st: Bees will be tabling all day and doing informal storytellings at Detroit River Days at the USSF cultural space. (http://www.detroitriverdays.com)<br /><br />Thursday, June 24th @ 1pm: Collaborative Workshop with the Chiapas Support Committee on "Megaprojects and the<br />Militarization of Mexico" in Cobo Hall D2-09<br /><br />Friday, June 25th @ 1pm: Graphics for the Commons:<br />Collaborative Graphic Design for Movement Building in Wayne<br />County Community College: 124<br /><br />We will also be displaying graphics (including the recently finished True Costs of Coal poster!) as part the USSF's Official Art show at the Hart Plaza Gallery throughout the USSF<br /><br />And of course we will be tabling all week at the USSF OUTSIDE in the Hart Plaza!<br /><br />visit: http://www.ussf2010.org/ for more info!<br /><br />Hope to see you in Detroit!Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-16483350948654068572010-05-30T18:35:00.004-04:002010-05-30T18:51:01.018-04:00It's DONE!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpH-YOdDM6Tchfy9NBptRk722kt6eKfyhZlFR3jqYSxUxLMzDujKyz90jQEqGGHrpWwRLNddIyBFrXGayWTr80dWSg4LBjeS5f6Dn0vLPg8RIBfRYkG0GWoZfdCdCqwBwk3PBzpxxSBzx/s1600/coalp_quartersize.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpH-YOdDM6Tchfy9NBptRk722kt6eKfyhZlFR3jqYSxUxLMzDujKyz90jQEqGGHrpWwRLNddIyBFrXGayWTr80dWSg4LBjeS5f6Dn0vLPg8RIBfRYkG0GWoZfdCdCqwBwk3PBzpxxSBzx/s400/coalp_quartersize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477196581304122770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It's been a marathon, but the "True Cost of Coal" poster is all wrapped up and ready to go to print. By the end of June, we'll start distributing paper posters and accompanying booklet to activists, educators, and other folks involved in coal field and climate justice struggles. We'll blow this image up into giant portable murals and tour the country, doing presentations and workshops about coal, climate change, and art activism.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/front.htm">Book us this fall</a> for your community space, high school or college!Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-47303305442098258022010-05-16T20:22:00.002-04:002010-05-16T20:32:54.140-04:0015 Days....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyMU0E4k4Ey74-gafKs1sFwjcY-kOeFUCx-BQODkmug_jKcrWLDo9u8irpa1MR9sHw8QrWhl_MDtZ5QIrlvaRJVuIDtNOcIDgxAHzTes7L9dNmraj8ooyGGqJsLX9wmnJ757Rldfy6e6E/s1600/DSC01556_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyMU0E4k4Ey74-gafKs1sFwjcY-kOeFUCx-BQODkmug_jKcrWLDo9u8irpa1MR9sHw8QrWhl_MDtZ5QIrlvaRJVuIDtNOcIDgxAHzTes7L9dNmraj8ooyGGqJsLX9wmnJ757Rldfy6e6E/s400/DSC01556_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472029326895292242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />More blank areas take on shape and form....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrZ2N0gnHNAEkVCagGYxbPYuFr0EEl7wf2MRFJrNtVqkfp7aPfr6UOjetnte4ahwjpTGVgM8S8w-0B7uCWfYiArhpzTh3wocZ0XNa-pFOzZP2jIlGS7ivMgIhq4SgNLFpGqvMiQaXZw6I/s1600/DSC01554_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrZ2N0gnHNAEkVCagGYxbPYuFr0EEl7wf2MRFJrNtVqkfp7aPfr6UOjetnte4ahwjpTGVgM8S8w-0B7uCWfYiArhpzTh3wocZ0XNa-pFOzZP2jIlGS7ivMgIhq4SgNLFpGqvMiQaXZw6I/s400/DSC01554_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472029316289152306" border="0" /></a><br /><br />An accomodating local moth poses as our live model for moth characters in the sky....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwE4sGdYbtPu9p2bX67R2JwuXi5vKzn1VYquI8ddKnK0gNmh_RXGfViQ8NPN_GwsY-GAqNovY-hrrzAsrKUDafJSDTUU-LpD7fqdMwVKu6wgZD4_KT60WKKDY4dnflNaTfqHgTlyV91pQF/s1600/DSC01544_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwE4sGdYbtPu9p2bX67R2JwuXi5vKzn1VYquI8ddKnK0gNmh_RXGfViQ8NPN_GwsY-GAqNovY-hrrzAsrKUDafJSDTUU-LpD7fqdMwVKu6wgZD4_KT60WKKDY4dnflNaTfqHgTlyV91pQF/s400/DSC01544_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472029311923300546" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A steady accumulation of "X"s on our to-do list.....Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-30914254083246067912010-05-04T11:32:00.004-04:002010-05-04T11:46:22.645-04:00Countdown to the FinishAs spring tour is wrapping up, in the studio we have one month left til we go to print! Draw, draw, draw!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMtkpQ-wWLS-8PHr2b9He2s3V5xup0mBixD6sl91eu-YocvT5CwFSOTNcWs-3Guhcmp_oS_Fqp8ywEeBacY1Dh_b51Hlfa8oi9kXv3wxg_EdQhaelPXTas_FKotYDIOFs-Wpm5RmHdGkg/s1600/DSC01528_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMtkpQ-wWLS-8PHr2b9He2s3V5xup0mBixD6sl91eu-YocvT5CwFSOTNcWs-3Guhcmp_oS_Fqp8ywEeBacY1Dh_b51Hlfa8oi9kXv3wxg_EdQhaelPXTas_FKotYDIOFs-Wpm5RmHdGkg/s400/DSC01528_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439657462208818" border="0" /></a><br />Ink spreading across the paper....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgIyQbEOM-CKdlWvuCstwz4XdbI_i1M6dOzuFCop9iISG1bo2K-9Rcu51I8120MeMCfvvtXMB6pjLYEoRfVGJiqX5QASnA7Ld0sB8j1tWjY4vnZ7Y99dvQ5Y960Mf3bB8Tk2i32sEIP9B/s1600/DSC01534_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgIyQbEOM-CKdlWvuCstwz4XdbI_i1M6dOzuFCop9iISG1bo2K-9Rcu51I8120MeMCfvvtXMB6pjLYEoRfVGJiqX5QASnA7Ld0sB8j1tWjY4vnZ7Y99dvQ5Y960Mf3bB8Tk2i32sEIP9B/s400/DSC01534_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439670057542658" border="0" /></a><br />Dragline scooping up a town<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-YcDq167fP_2y2AH-AHWmF9dmACAOVFyXLhuF7TNzcRf5G7UZJjRk4NSXB1TyvWzIBxST-1VCSjJWK42Q7sthIqoVJUwQE3zvt9MEEbagxvTpR2qkBNm1aMW993dF6E_c6Aq-wPzB9is/s1600/DSC01533_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-YcDq167fP_2y2AH-AHWmF9dmACAOVFyXLhuF7TNzcRf5G7UZJjRk4NSXB1TyvWzIBxST-1VCSjJWK42Q7sthIqoVJUwQE3zvt9MEEbagxvTpR2qkBNm1aMW993dF6E_c6Aq-wPzB9is/s400/DSC01533_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439659469394706" border="0" /></a><br />The coal-fired Power Plant and American Empire<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2c2DMZDv43uwR1wSfKepN7XNqIyOaxiN4cL2sSL5QqL_zFk-if6Cx5wNX45xYNrcY-QTB6N47Jy69TYctnN3vl9QBbby86NH1SkgXICisFTAntU2QLOJVWa_vkAn8hi19Uvmu09tjUZHT/s1600/DSC01517_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2c2DMZDv43uwR1wSfKepN7XNqIyOaxiN4cL2sSL5QqL_zFk-if6Cx5wNX45xYNrcY-QTB6N47Jy69TYctnN3vl9QBbby86NH1SkgXICisFTAntU2QLOJVWa_vkAn8hi19Uvmu09tjUZHT/s400/DSC01517_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439649347153042" border="0" /></a><br />Storytelling, craft and cycles of life<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6M4eUdOenxJG7lxg-StOPVNvAzdRbNUI_LS0XspkaxydM7cDU5WVI5SdmYDMYa8-ojSrO86pnJ-vq6tJu1FORKSBZps1kYAvQqjnfCcecKvU3frAsPMnU1aOkgqxd4sAm_6W4pbel6anS/s1600/DSC01514_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6M4eUdOenxJG7lxg-StOPVNvAzdRbNUI_LS0XspkaxydM7cDU5WVI5SdmYDMYa8-ojSrO86pnJ-vq6tJu1FORKSBZps1kYAvQqjnfCcecKvU3frAsPMnU1aOkgqxd4sAm_6W4pbel6anS/s400/DSC01514_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439640392216786" border="0" /></a><br />Resistance<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4xU1ppjjjn1cpIPWY28oExKvyHlBcNwahCizkujantyaw24vKDj_G34wEOOuqkJP_T_HMr7PIN8N0GEEDT_opKyHdvRhTuts8osbrH1IOGxbtl1td7_NsYOFky7z_dTSE1nLTaIhKVsJ/s1600/DSC01513_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4xU1ppjjjn1cpIPWY28oExKvyHlBcNwahCizkujantyaw24vKDj_G34wEOOuqkJP_T_HMr7PIN8N0GEEDT_opKyHdvRhTuts8osbrH1IOGxbtl1td7_NsYOFky7z_dTSE1nLTaIhKVsJ/s400/DSC01513_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439143919286130" border="0" /></a><br />Resistance (wide view)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkJhooom7UBi9o1aP_h4pIplpHifkxMxwyGBIeiMY6ZbjBl-s7XSRRhoE1FrUOr1sA-qSE535p5nntDF0R4l4wj1FOysZxA1ba1lo9xcLJb-9fzHFrY1ZAgg1mC-koC6xvxnt2H75mdj_/s1600/DSC01512_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkJhooom7UBi9o1aP_h4pIplpHifkxMxwyGBIeiMY6ZbjBl-s7XSRRhoE1FrUOr1sA-qSE535p5nntDF0R4l4wj1FOysZxA1ba1lo9xcLJb-9fzHFrY1ZAgg1mC-koC6xvxnt2H75mdj_/s400/DSC01512_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439142627368914" border="0" /></a><br />Working for the company<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQt3wBoA8WfkhFolQW7xxpuVoZulus97EYERQdloMqqGrKeHTib4AJ_Ws3eipsE80yi1Yn6dfBZaXkGLq_zUimCNwEQY468isOfJ1FV_QHILLAUPK_tFZJn0UWYdOiRf3plQFo_SLNuFI/s1600/DSC01508_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQt3wBoA8WfkhFolQW7xxpuVoZulus97EYERQdloMqqGrKeHTib4AJ_Ws3eipsE80yi1Yn6dfBZaXkGLq_zUimCNwEQY468isOfJ1FV_QHILLAUPK_tFZJn0UWYdOiRf3plQFo_SLNuFI/s400/DSC01508_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439138652972962" border="0" /></a><br />Around the base of the hemlock tree<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3i4Fi4WTj8V5hOpIeJjki1qBSZkqW49o73JY2jKwU6GikWU9zg_3k-gyubyCI37KH8a7S3HW3uM-wc_vXNpEmFoFSPy7FnawWLoax6q7HbKjpprnjaaZTzwMS619Hd2QmABLk8Nnwp4PK/s1600/DSC01506_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3i4Fi4WTj8V5hOpIeJjki1qBSZkqW49o73JY2jKwU6GikWU9zg_3k-gyubyCI37KH8a7S3HW3uM-wc_vXNpEmFoFSPy7FnawWLoax6q7HbKjpprnjaaZTzwMS619Hd2QmABLk8Nnwp4PK/s400/DSC01506_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439124333300306" border="0" /></a><br />Sustainable land and water use<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPGiNoJ8CfWz2FZgaabVH3sW9YT6JNG0lJFv-H1m8EvT7nQP9bYzcBrirwJvZCOzTT2sHZHbEJHO6rU3DBkj7dg6XUSy8d_gsg9bBYTEK-lzEo2rx97fwTJIFc6iDQ1Fy8XOPVaI0x3M_/s1600/DSC01482_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPGiNoJ8CfWz2FZgaabVH3sW9YT6JNG0lJFv-H1m8EvT7nQP9bYzcBrirwJvZCOzTT2sHZHbEJHO6rU3DBkj7dg6XUSy8d_gsg9bBYTEK-lzEo2rx97fwTJIFc6iDQ1Fy8XOPVaI0x3M_/s400/DSC01482_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467439109966931842" border="0" /></a><br />Solutions: community kitchen, native land rights, microhydroZephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-28143179135093442002010-04-29T16:02:00.003-04:002010-04-29T16:17:02.820-04:00PPP poster, meet Coal poster. Coal, meet PPP.The Beehive's two major drawing projects cross paths in Asheville. Folks working on the <a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/ppp.htm">Mesoamerica Resiste!</a> project came through North Carolina with giant rolls of paper in tow. After clearing our horizontal table of miscellaneous debris, we were able to stretch the Mesoamerica Resiste graphic out next to the coal graphic, prompting lively art geek discussion about different media, image choices and impacts.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfiS9waNfH7y-lDv08rcdVNAjR-hSVfd2Z-D03PpgrAypOMScvh0CjRdADgKZG5QfMMk3_fE7h6-jXFWZLa1-3J1CMdUY7uGeVaruJyEeNK3oFFp2_W395bQxhVCF2fSM04z40miWulJ7/s1600/ppp-meets-coal_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfiS9waNfH7y-lDv08rcdVNAjR-hSVfd2Z-D03PpgrAypOMScvh0CjRdADgKZG5QfMMk3_fE7h6-jXFWZLa1-3J1CMdUY7uGeVaruJyEeNK3oFFp2_W395bQxhVCF2fSM04z40miWulJ7/s400/ppp-meets-coal_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465654633511739938" border="0" /></a>Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-35716334342074225142010-04-15T14:00:00.004-04:002010-04-15T14:10:21.802-04:00Ink Spreads....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZ90LSKcYPn3m4owQBwvVa12t9Nac58-5fdC3RmzquCnWQqcCnhPZ_JjRENQ_EnPZesdeJe_8xco69-HeHbLIYuKVhVv2RUUlNMo0EPUE6hHia_clmYOVE2YnnAEM3owNUFBmlcSFiOHk/s1600/DSC01418_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZ90LSKcYPn3m4owQBwvVa12t9Nac58-5fdC3RmzquCnWQqcCnhPZ_JjRENQ_EnPZesdeJe_8xco69-HeHbLIYuKVhVv2RUUlNMo0EPUE6hHia_clmYOVE2YnnAEM3owNUFBmlcSFiOHk/s400/DSC01418_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460426588913972018" border="0" /></a><br />Preliminary washes done, detailing underway...<br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgb2OvoiPXux6dpaaUSF8B_yeDwToIBYCAIXM321vQJdDhNodf554Z9jPVis3gJNJ7YShaAkt0G4JmBBDXi7W16rtvCG5ToscTuqsbE_xjK7P3MCSFZwCevC4MQ5TR6dOoZJsW5t9Zo_m/s1600/DSC01413_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgb2OvoiPXux6dpaaUSF8B_yeDwToIBYCAIXM321vQJdDhNodf554Z9jPVis3gJNJ7YShaAkt0G4JmBBDXi7W16rtvCG5ToscTuqsbE_xjK7P3MCSFZwCevC4MQ5TR6dOoZJsW5t9Zo_m/s400/DSC01413_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460426575573425522" border="0" /></a><br />Tools of the trade: bottles of ink wash, pencils, brushes, erasers, and books on tape....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo52-6IzF52y7-spLZ40OThM7VLVt2Xxa0IzvlFQnNEttrPGkx5Nyj1yjElmsekRFahowHQfFYWsqQH5MdlBqG0WIrEpYDMpv1Bki2uENTYb7QaG9PGABhZjTC7mNMB31_Lh-nSLJ6qVFX/s1600/DSC01419_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo52-6IzF52y7-spLZ40OThM7VLVt2Xxa0IzvlFQnNEttrPGkx5Nyj1yjElmsekRFahowHQfFYWsqQH5MdlBqG0WIrEpYDMpv1Bki2uENTYb7QaG9PGABhZjTC7mNMB31_Lh-nSLJ6qVFX/s400/DSC01419_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460426592631494466" border="0" /></a><br />The bottom and right hand side of the poster begins to take shape....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOW3ukjbDmE-pLN5SHZ9xgxtoN9p097GcneBX5nqn0KEXhnA7qLlfPjTDdxvstRNDqzNZmB8AcVdpuTdQQiQeqlQZgIOsTtUDS9CMzVMA4VKOTBTUoKRt_Tq89lWQozMw8y-oM76gtSa9q/s1600/DSC01421_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOW3ukjbDmE-pLN5SHZ9xgxtoN9p097GcneBX5nqn0KEXhnA7qLlfPjTDdxvstRNDqzNZmB8AcVdpuTdQQiQeqlQZgIOsTtUDS9CMzVMA4VKOTBTUoKRt_Tq89lWQozMw8y-oM76gtSa9q/s400/DSC01421_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460426596545071218" border="0" /></a><br />Scenes of miners' resistance to company power....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrAwjhsBfo0GyKhFKUkKracx1Tlwq3o-hae9O7NbBCZuVHiKL9F0hm3RDorC5dugIEc7ujHghkiZZ8X4Xg2c9dE0LYprn0tAS1kD-N48QiQzXkXH3D7p0l6kUyICUHvgstfNdJjWQXRoU/s1600/DSC01415_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrAwjhsBfo0GyKhFKUkKracx1Tlwq3o-hae9O7NbBCZuVHiKL9F0hm3RDorC5dugIEc7ujHghkiZZ8X4Xg2c9dE0LYprn0tAS1kD-N48QiQzXkXH3D7p0l6kUyICUHvgstfNdJjWQXRoU/s400/DSC01415_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460426585696808258" border="0" /></a><br />Pencilling in the creek waters.....Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-44442257779417960522010-03-11T11:23:00.009-05:002010-04-15T13:24:02.535-04:00INK!!Bees just got back from a visit to Rock Creek, WV to check in with on-the-ground organizers in the coal fields (<a href="http://www.crmw.net/" target="_blank">Coal River Mountain Watch</a>, <a href="http://climategroundzero.org/" target="_blank">Climate Ground Zero</a> and allies) and get last-minute feedback on our imagery as we're committing it to ink.<br /><br />We got a lot of juice out of this visit and made a few more tweaks to the poster. We were excited to meet the folks who are creating "<a href="http://auroralights.org/map_project/" target="_blank">Journey Up Coal River</a>," an online mapping project that opens windows on the current and historical complexities of life in the Coal River Valley. In many ways, it parallels the stories we're trying to tell in visual form.<br /><br />Our educator bees are fine-tuning our presentation methods and educational materials in preparation for <a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/front.htm" target="_blank">Spring Touring</a>. Bring us to your school or community center!<br /><br />Meanwhile, in the studio, we're in the final stage of postermaking. We're using ballpoint pen, microns, pencils, brushes and ink washes to build up shading and texture in the landscape and characters in preparation for printing in early summer. We are still open to mutually-beneficial <a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/printruncollaboration.html">print collaborations</a> with organizations who would like bulk posters--get in touch soon.<br /><br />To see more pix of poster-making in action, go to our <a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/imagegallery/main.php?g2_itemId=237" target="_blank">online gallery.</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSKBmlzgGST7bz_aWOozwfmf_9SIJsg48aDl1CgAbqCTBWH2diNA_NCQwaWlYAYjHP2t_K2zAW0DmxSu_oboGr8c0ITA_vE15so_vd7AZupCsgnknhbMtwnlcZdDU6SEMRZCO0wYXduSd/s1600-h/inking_mayflower.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSKBmlzgGST7bz_aWOozwfmf_9SIJsg48aDl1CgAbqCTBWH2diNA_NCQwaWlYAYjHP2t_K2zAW0DmxSu_oboGr8c0ITA_vE15so_vd7AZupCsgnknhbMtwnlcZdDU6SEMRZCO0wYXduSd/s400/inking_mayflower.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447426720557176962" border="0" /></a><br />Shading the Mayapple<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLWu_Iwsnaf5KffFBvcVQrgXkv1w23RRd8H968_9Mvgg_wctGJq0T9pTOIFgUbLZljNb7O1O8b0xqo_Fb_KJnkOFJVT_-RPOPsNe5c4HK8aIPnK_lFOR5zQke4pYW7TZXUqLLVkqn670l/s1600-h/inking_pedicularis2.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLWu_Iwsnaf5KffFBvcVQrgXkv1w23RRd8H968_9Mvgg_wctGJq0T9pTOIFgUbLZljNb7O1O8b0xqo_Fb_KJnkOFJVT_-RPOPsNe5c4HK8aIPnK_lFOR5zQke4pYW7TZXUqLLVkqn670l/s400/inking_pedicularis2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447427416830587954" border="0" /></a><br />Shading the Pedicularis<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuE4nboV2jDmnZkdFSV23F7kQ1Rz4PrcAfvjHBwrqEl_7ZGextZE9AX3EAvG8vhzXiTUcV3bIB0slctrp8MgkdrRL6qIZg6OZ9xJ88b1qAe439M7sPMAS-zmTrPWrKbipPiy99MwqWuyb0/s1600-h/inking_coaltruck_wide.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuE4nboV2jDmnZkdFSV23F7kQ1Rz4PrcAfvjHBwrqEl_7ZGextZE9AX3EAvG8vhzXiTUcV3bIB0slctrp8MgkdrRL6qIZg6OZ9xJ88b1qAe439M7sPMAS-zmTrPWrKbipPiy99MwqWuyb0/s400/inking_coaltruck_wide.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447424687997761202" border="0" /></a><br />Inking the Minepit<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_iKKYZPzCEYrP2drslhbGaiAXMRPPew_jFeg1-KhM5ionxpQW6Yce45VE-vUBmIIQdvH6DCS62R6_eLWbPhHBVfch2sU_ZUyiSVqHvxqFx_O_-bQZK35uItazoehJrQ-d6RLJgk-ag8A/s1600-h/inking_coaltruck_close.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_iKKYZPzCEYrP2drslhbGaiAXMRPPew_jFeg1-KhM5ionxpQW6Yce45VE-vUBmIIQdvH6DCS62R6_eLWbPhHBVfch2sU_ZUyiSVqHvxqFx_O_-bQZK35uItazoehJrQ-d6RLJgk-ag8A/s400/inking_coaltruck_close.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447422210878752738" border="0" /></a><br />Closeup of Coal Trucks and Hard ChoicesZephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-304421497493239782010-01-07T10:14:00.003-05:002010-01-07T11:07:47.382-05:00Coal Graphic hits the Toronto Stock Exchange<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYD8nCZWqngzxjV-02-NEHYJeat6n8RXqgLs2GeE7nXmrVYuaCcxUE5D6wNB0UFbQbvBsC41Szyhy_SiVB5QosnDT5-cVw2p2qzMb2E3gXJgLlXJt775jy2MEFqLdT7QMs6Rwe2o5AUhyphenhyphen/s1600-h/hearnoevil.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYD8nCZWqngzxjV-02-NEHYJeat6n8RXqgLs2GeE7nXmrVYuaCcxUE5D6wNB0UFbQbvBsC41Szyhy_SiVB5QosnDT5-cVw2p2qzMb2E3gXJgLlXJt775jy2MEFqLdT7QMs6Rwe2o5AUhyphenhyphen/s400/hearnoevil.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424018067326536306" border="0" /></a><br />Activists pose as the "speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil" monkeys in front of the coal banner, at a protest in front of the Toronto Stock Exchange.Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-24924083370266836612009-12-17T21:24:00.006-05:002009-12-17T22:52:51.357-05:00Getting Ready to Ink<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPLycYMN4zY_xKCr8xsumu4uGWwipg8il2BhSTCqZ7zpr_QhVmPyUndne1RMyd9ewtk41V7-TiJls-mxzPvO2u05RUrYgBMqB1QMqbKIhtSwSLIEkCsEHoN8Tnjtw-kLwSzOD4uj2QHCq/s1600-h/teststrip_city_72dpi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 108px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPLycYMN4zY_xKCr8xsumu4uGWwipg8il2BhSTCqZ7zpr_QhVmPyUndne1RMyd9ewtk41V7-TiJls-mxzPvO2u05RUrYgBMqB1QMqbKIhtSwSLIEkCsEHoN8Tnjtw-kLwSzOD4uj2QHCq/s400/teststrip_city_72dpi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416401171521704370" border="0" /></a><br />As our fall tour winds up, we've settled into our winter studio outside of Asheville and stocked up on firewood. We're testing out pens and brushes and washes, and putting in shading and details on every scene in the poster. <a href="http://beehive.site.aplus.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2416">Here's a teaser</a> of how we're imagining doing the deep background.....Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-40580469922741435772009-10-25T14:55:00.002-04:002009-10-25T15:02:25.713-04:00BREAKING NEWS: Blasting Started on Coal River Mtn.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The following is an excerpt from Jeff Biggers' article on the Huffington Post - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="The Battle at Coal River Mountain has officially begun. At the same time President Barack Obama invoked the "legacy of daring men and women" in our nation's quest for renewable energy initiatives, and as millions of concerned citizens rallied in support of 350.org climate change events around the world this past weekend, Big Coal bulldozers reportedly clear cut a swath of lush deciduous forests in the carbon sink of Appalachia and fired the opening salvos in the mountaintop removal mining blasting process to destroy the historic range slated for the Coal River Mountain Wind Project--the most symbolic clean energy project in the nation. But not without a fight. Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/exclusive-photos-battle-a_b_333000.html">read the full article here.</a></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; "><p style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Battle at Coal River Mountain has officially begun.</span></span></p><p style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "><br /></p><p style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; ">At the same time President Barack Obama <a href="http://www.grist.org/article/2009-10-23-obama-energy-speech-mit-climate-change/" style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(57, 152, 0); ">invoked</a> the "legacy of daring men and women" in our nation's quest for renewable energy initiatives, and as millions of concerned citizens <a href="http://www.350.org/" style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(57, 152, 0); ">rallied in support of 350.org</a> climate change events around the world this past weekend, Big Coal bulldozers reportedly clear cut a swath of lush deciduous forests in the carbon sink of Appalachia and fired the opening salvos in the mountaintop removal mining blasting process to destroy the historic range slated for the Coal River Mountain Wind Project--<a href="http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2009/01/29/mountaintop_removal/index.html" style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(57, 152, 0); ">the most symbolic clean energy project in the nation</a>.</p><p style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; ">But not without a fight.</p><div style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "><br /><br />Read more at: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/exclusive-photos-battle-a_b_333000.html" target="_blank_" style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(57, 152, 0); ">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/exclusive-photos-battle-a_b_333000.html</a></div></span></span></div>the beehive collectivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02223927943847403108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-66730240923672287652009-09-14T21:22:00.009-04:002009-10-11T21:19:15.643-04:00In the Final Stages of the "True Cost of Coal"!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzg_erUrU242SbAI78db3BiclvSO1kFzstmq8kEEw2ymCM_E8AROcbUZrfxis6xCbRgL0S5rigDbpuTe_X5hYCj2B40NygX_VKwj9bdtmpOUDymippiz_ShyphenhyphencITFguoyjPXi4mQYDEmdKT/s1600-h/coalp_sept09_screenproof.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzg_erUrU242SbAI78db3BiclvSO1kFzstmq8kEEw2ymCM_E8AROcbUZrfxis6xCbRgL0S5rigDbpuTe_X5hYCj2B40NygX_VKwj9bdtmpOUDymippiz_ShyphenhyphencITFguoyjPXi4mQYDEmdKT/s400/coalp_sept09_screenproof.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381869220298877890" /></a><br /><br />We've finally completed the entire pencil sketch version of the "True Cost of Coal" poster. Now all that remains is to render the final drawing in graphite and ink and make it beautiful. <br /><br />Click here for a <a href="http://beehive.web.aplus.net/special/coal/coalp_sept09_halfsize.jpg" target="_blank">higher-resolution version of the redraw</a>. Or download it <a href="http://beehive.web.aplus.net/special/coal/coalp_sept09_halfsize.jpg.zip" target="_blank">here</a>. <br /><br />We've also done a <a href="http://beehive.web.aplus.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=237" target="_blank">major update of our gallery</a> with closeups and crops of new and revised scenes. Check it out! <br /><br />We're in the final months of drawing and will be printing this winter once we raise $10,000. Excited? Want to help us? <a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/store_gate.htm">Prepay for a poster</a> and get one hot off the press! Want to get a bunch of posters and educational materials to distribute to your own networks? Get your school or organization to <a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/printruncollaboration.html" target="_blank">collaborate with us on our print run</a>!Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-25985551496972821162009-07-21T23:01:00.000-04:002009-07-21T22:44:01.009-04:00Vote for the Beehive Online<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSc1oQh1TblfG4LeJEkK9YSOFZFQMlbLg1gOOpPENmVrH0YmUw0pLvxHO2YgXCL3_4K1-PRVvckO3Y71-R6pd0UCuv7WY_fXx2c66eeT8FfTh0IKYJcmKbtMhXQ4ubGbSffXnb8VbI1nH/s1600-h/caroljudy_n_friends.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSc1oQh1TblfG4LeJEkK9YSOFZFQMlbLg1gOOpPENmVrH0YmUw0pLvxHO2YgXCL3_4K1-PRVvckO3Y71-R6pd0UCuv7WY_fXx2c66eeT8FfTh0IKYJcmKbtMhXQ4ubGbSffXnb8VbI1nH/s320/caroljudy_n_friends.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358518658577663282" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The Beehive just applied for a poster-printing grant from a new clothing company that will make its decisions partially according to online voting. Help make the Coal Graphic a reality by visiting their site. <a href="http://www.nau.com/collective/grant-for-change/beatriz-mendoza-and-zeph-fishlyn-507.html" target="_blank">Register and vote for us</a>. <br /><br />While we normally work anonymously under the Beehive label, we were required to choose two names for this grant application; but there is a whole team of artists and educators who've put in tons of work on this project.<br /><br />Thank you for your support!Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-5813932399171185222009-07-15T21:28:00.007-04:002009-08-21T16:38:09.548-04:00Collaborate with the Bees on the Coal Poster Print Run<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6fHB3pOY9zag32XJ5Zh0VRSqUwSoGO-fnaZXDIsSGltgXUTY1QL14OZTO5zegE9QtBw0-DbI8tXZkujboSowUgVJaEwG8_kNEmVG5LLzbqDfPkA1pgR1t5h4w7s-bW9J1rRGCZDVJc6w/s1600-h/wasp_printing_cleaner_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6fHB3pOY9zag32XJ5Zh0VRSqUwSoGO-fnaZXDIsSGltgXUTY1QL14OZTO5zegE9QtBw0-DbI8tXZkujboSowUgVJaEwG8_kNEmVG5LLzbqDfPkA1pgR1t5h4w7s-bW9J1rRGCZDVJc6w/s320/wasp_printing_cleaner_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358866907470366418" border="0" /></a><br />We’ve been hard at work to bring <a href="http://beehive.web.aplus.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=237" target="_blank">The True Cost of Coal graphic illustration</a> to life on the page. Grounded in the stories and suggestions <span class="il">our</span> allies in Appalachia have shared with us over the last year, we have worked collaboratively to design a poster that can be a multi-tool for inspiring critical reflection and strategic action. We have tried to honor history, respect complexity, be real about <span class="il">our</span> own relationship to the story, ask for lots of feedback, and depict every image - from the biggest dragline to the smallest ant - with care and accuracy.<br /><br />We are nearing completion and are eager to bring the illustration to the world, distributing thousands of copies both within the coal fields and across the world. Please help us reach this goal by pre-purchasing posters at a highly discounted bulk rate. Your group can get 50-200 (or more!) posters “hot <span class="il">off</span> the presses” and become an integral part of this popular education project by distributing them in your community.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Why collaborate with the bees on a print run?</span></span><br /><br />Printers charge a hefty fee for every “run” of posters (because of the high cost of initial set-up), making it most economical to print posters in bulk. Unfortunately, to do so involves substantial up-front costs, more than we can muster on <span class="il">our</span> own or secure in grants.<br /><br />As an all-volunteer collective operating on a shoestring budget, we work <span class="il">our</span> <span class="il">wings</span> <span class="il">off</span> to make sure that we squeeze all the potential out of every dollar donated to support this work. If we combine <span class="il">our</span> resources to get this new graphic printed, we can all have posters to distribute for fundraising, organizing, and education. That’s why we’re asking <span class="il">our</span> friends and allies who are committed to justice in Appalachia to help us pull together the final funds needed to make THE TRUE COST OF COAL GRAPHIC CAMPAIGN a reality!<br /><br />Every day we are losing ground, literally, to mountain-top removal mining, and we need to work together to expose and educate as many people as possible, to help build the movement for grassroots resistance before more mountains are lost. By pre-purchasing a bulk package of posters at just above cost, you are becoming a part of this graphics campaign in two very important ways: you are helping us with the initial cost of printing, and you can become an integral part of the "pollination" process by distributing these posters throughout your community.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">How can we use </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" class="il">our</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> share of the print run?</span></span><br /><br />So many ways! You can:<br /><ul><br /><li>distribute posters as a fundraiser (we suggest a sliding scale donation of free to $10-20 depending on your community’s resources) for your organization and/or others engaged in justice work<br /><br /></li><li>use the funds generated to bring the bees to your school or town for a presentation or workshop<br /><br /></li><li>use the posters to fund the purchase of a beehive banner and do the presentation yourself!<br /><br /></li><li>start a dialogue at your school or with your members (ask us for tools & ideas)<br /><br /></li><li>donate posters to area high schools or other educational programs<br /><br /></li><li>talk to your membership or community base for the best ways to use beehive posters to tell stories, catalyze or sustain dialogue, make connections between different struggles, and fight for justice in Appalachia!</li></ul><br /><br />Want more info? See <a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/printruncollaboration.html" target="_blank">more details on our website</a>!<a href="http://www.beehivecollective.org/english/contactinfo.htm"></a>Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-29108954584264943432009-07-13T23:19:00.001-04:002009-07-14T23:31:56.530-04:00Coal Graphic on Tour: a Video<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1ORkEAiLmU"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkANanCcgA5mH0AqZOLearRMIr7LsKrQO4Lg6bt3FyAvs0HuB7GK1QTneR3pZJsjJRrzeHLurBJKJsP-izXcOplZfd6JV1xKIe1GWXfgxvHC2LxOj0TIOLNpF0GKz9pw52Dta4PIaA5hV/s320/cliffside_present.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358523511312954386" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We just found out that somebody posted a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1ORkEAiLmU">YouTube video</a> of one of the Bees presenting the coal poster at the Earth Day Duke Energy Cliffside Coal Action during spring tour. See a sampling of how we're already using the graphic-in-progress to share stories about coal and climate change.Zephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689288781701826326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6341011188653636114.post-70453503060932301232009-06-18T09:01:00.004-04:002009-06-18T09:05:21.920-04:00BREAKING NEWS: Activists Risk Arrest to Stop Mountaintop Removal<h1>BREAKING NEWS: <strong>Activists Risk Arrest to Stop Mountaintop Removal</strong></h1><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<br /><em><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thursday June 18th, 2009<br /></span></em></strong><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Hi-Res Photos, B-roll and Video will be available,</span></em></p><p style="text-align: left;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.mountainaction.org"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">www.mountainaction.org</span></a>. </span></em></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img class="size-full wp-image-80 aligncenter" title="Big John Dragline" src="http://mountainaction.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Big-John-Dragline.jpg" alt="Big John Dragline" width="463" height="340" /></p><strong>Activists Risk Arrest to Stop Mountaintop Removal </strong><br /><br /><em>Scale 20-storey tall machinery to call attention to nation’s worst form of coal mining; </em><em>This is the first time a dragline has been scaled on a mountaintop removal site </em><br /><br /><strong> </strong><br /><br /><strong>COAL RIVER VALLEY, W. VA.</strong>—Moments ago, four concerned citizens entered onto Massey Energy’s mountaintop removal mine site near Twilight WV and have begun to scale a150-foot dragline machine to drop a banner that says, ‘stop mountaintop removal mining.’ The climbers plan to stay on the enormous dragline, a massive piece of equipment that removes house-sized chunks of blasted rock and earth to expose coal, until police arrest them. Equipped with satellites phones and a web camera, the climbers will be available for interviews.<br /><br />This is the first time a dragline has been scaled on a mountaintop removal site, and marks the latest in a string of increasingly dramatic protests in West Virginia by residents and allies from across the country. This act of protest against mountaintop removal comes just days after the Obama Administration announced a plan to reform, but not abolish, the aggressive strip mining practice.<br /><br />“It’s way past time for civil disobedience to stop mountaintop removal and move quickly toward clean, renewable energy sources,” said Judy Bonds, Goldman Environmental Prize winner and co-director of Coal River Mountain Watch of West Virginia. “For over a century, Appalachian communities have been crushed, flooded, and poisoned as a result of the country’s dangerous and outdated reliance on coal. How could the country care so little about our American mountains, our culture and our lives?”<br /><br />An increasing number of concerned Appalachians and environmentalists are calling for the end to mountaintop removal, a practice that harms the people and places of Appalachia, destroys the economic potential of the Appalachian Mountains for long term clean energy opportunities and jobs, and furthers the burning of climate-killing coal.<br /><br />"I've written letters, attended hearings and called my congressman, so far they have done nothing to stop the disastrous and unnecessary practice of mountaintop removal,” said Charles Suggs, a 25-year old of Rock Creek, WV who is one of those climbing today. “It has come to the point when we must take direct action to abolish this practice that is immorally robbing Appalachian communities of their culture, their health and their future.”<br /><br />Every day, mountaintop removal mines use more explosive power than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Mining companies are clear-cutting thousands of acres of some of the world's most biologically diverse forests. They're burying biologically crucial headwaters streams with blasting debris, releasing toxic levels of heavy metals into the remaining streams and groundwater and poisoning essential drinking water. According to the EPA, this destructive practice has damaged or destroyed nearly 2,000 miles of streams and threatens to destroy 1.4 million acres of forest by 2020.<br /><br />“We are all complicit in mountaintop removal whenever we turn on our lights, and we are all responsible to stop it. Mountaintop removal, the world's worst strip-mining, is unacceptable. Period.” said Rebecca Tarbotton of Rainforest Action Network, a lead supporter of the action today. “This is not a practice that needs to be reformed. It is a practice that needs to be abolished. By sacrificing the Appalachian Mountains for the country's coal addiction, we undermine future investments in 21st century clean energy solutions that will protect our planet, produce more jobs and preserve our natural resources.”<br /><br />Mountaintop removal coal provides less than seven percent of all coal produced in the United States, and could be replaced with energy efficiency initiatives or renewable energy sources, instead of permitting massive environmental destruction of historic mountain ranges and essential drinking water for a relatively tiny amount of coal.<br /><br />Recent studies have shown that the Appalachia Mountains could support commercial scale wind energy facilities, which would bring long-term, sustainable jobs to the region – but only if the mountains are left standing. In West Virginia, jobs from mining account for just 3.3% employment in the Mountain State – that is less than 20,000 jobs total. A recent University of Massachusetts study found investing in clean energy projects like wind power and mass transit creates three to four times more jobs than the same expenditure on the coal industry. The wind power sector has grown to employ more Americans than coal mining as demand for clean energy has jumped over the past decade.<br /><br />Just days before this action, the Obama Administration announced steps to end the fast-tracking of certain mountaintop removal coal mine permits and to add tougher enforcement in Appalachia. However, it remains unclear what, if any, improvements this will have on-the-ground in Appalachia or elsewhere. Without a significant change in policy, mining companies will continue to destroy historic mountain ranges and bury community’s drinking water in toxic waste.<br /><br />Following this protest, on June 23<sup>rd</sup> leading climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, actress Daryl Hannah, Michael Brune, the Executive Director of Rainforest Action Network, and former Representative Hechler will join Coal River Valley residents in a second round of protests in West Virginia.<br /><br />###<br /><br /><em>For more information, video and photos, please visit <a href="http://www.mountainaction.org/"><strong>www.mountainaction.org</strong></a></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0