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The difficulties with creating common ground between activists
and Massey workers notwithstanding, Bonds said having a unified
movement that combines economic issues with environmental issues could
loosen the coal industry's grip on Appalachia. But she is aware of the
challenges.
"We are trying to put pressure on politicians, but we don't have the
energy, the numbers or the money to fight all the battles. So we focus
on what we can fight. The big groups might be able to do that, but we
(Coal River Mountain Watch) are a small organization that does not have
those resources," Bonds said.
Bonds said she has heard, countless times, people defend
mountain top removal mining for economic reasons. She rejects the idea
that people have to choose between having jobs and taking care of
Appalachia's air, land, and water.
"When talk about the miner's jobs comes up, we need to say
that a good environment leads to a good economy. There are no jobs on a
dead planet," Bonds said.
Bonds said common people who are standing up for their human
rights by opposing the mining practices that are harming the
communities they live in, should not have the added responsibility of
creating less destructive jobs for the people the industry employs.
"Environmentalists and citizens like myself don't have the
power or the energy to work on both saving our air and our water and
then, on top of that, bringing in new jobs. The workers (for Massey
Energy) should put the blame on the corrupt politicians and the
industry that's doing the poisoning. They shouldn't blame people that
don't want to be poisoned. It's not our responsibility to provide jobs
in exchange for not being poisoned and terrorized."
Bonds said ending mountain top removal mining would create jobs.
"With the federal Abandoned Mine Lands money, the strip miners will
have many years of work trying to fix the destruction that has already
taken place. There's no need to even get off the bulldozer. Just turn
it around," Bonds said.
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