Walk for Clean Energy April 20
It was great to see the CityBeat article “Leveling Appalachia” on mountaintop removal (issue of March 3). This is an issue that has enormous ramifi cations for all in our country, particularly those in this region who depend on water from Appalachian mountain streams and whose energy is obtained from these destructive practices, which have been referred to by some as terrorism. Bo Webb, a Vietnam veteran, wrote in an open letter to President Obama that he and his family are “living in a state of terror” waiting to be buried by mountain waste and living in a denuded landscape.
If readers are interested in learning more about mountaintop removal and taking action to bring an end to it, there will be a walk here organized by Footprints for Peace on April 20 to highlight the issue. The walk is held in solidarity with one in Charlotte, N.C. aimed at protesting a new coal-fired power plant that Duke Energy wants to build.
We’ll walk from Bellarmine Chapel on Xavier University’s campus to Fountain Square, circling the Duke Energy headquarters on the way, to mobilize for an end to coal-fired energy but particularly to coal energy that comes from mountaintop removal, as does much of the energy that supplies Greater Cincinnati. The walk begins at 9 a.m. and will end by 1:30.
For more information, contact Jim Toren at Footprints for Peace at [email protected] or Kathleen Smythe at [email protected]. We hope you’ll join us. — Kathleen Smythe, Madeira
