As reports of revamped mountaintop removal operations and detonations continue to rock the electricity-bereft disaster areas in the West Virginia coalfields, ailing residents -- entering their second week of a mounting humanitarian crisis -- expressed disbelief and contempt for the inaction of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and multimillionaire coal baron Jim Justice. Both of these men have been accused of making sure the PGA golf tournament at the Greenbrier Resort lit up in joyfully air-conditioned clubhouses and parties.
"William Shakespeare once famously wrote 'The show must go on,'" West Virginia broadcaster Bob Kincaid said. "Marie Antoinette said, in a piqué of cluelessness, 'Let them eat cake.' This week, we have seen both converge in a blisteringly hot West Virginia."
With more than 137,000 West Virginians still without power after last Friday's epic storm, according to news reports, Kincaid said the antiquated coal-fired grid defended by Gov. Tomblin had exposed the devastating stranglehold by Big Coal-bankrolled politicians who have kept the state from diversifying its energy sources and updating its out of date grid. An estimated 90 Appalachian Power distribution substations were toppled last week. Since then, residents have attempted to fend off brutal summer temperatures without electricity, along with shortages of food, water and gas.
"I was in Germany last month," Kincaid said, who addressed European bankers on coal, mountaintop removal and financing. "Solar panels dotted the houses. Wind turbines soared. The power companies were begging people to use electricity. Back in West Virginia, we've been fed the great lie that solar and wind "don't work now," but this latest disaster should be the wake up call for dramatic change from the coal-fired grid."
Calling on his generator-powered cell phone, relying on his mountaineer instincts for survival, Kincaid brought me up on the latest in the West Virginia crisis.
Jeff Biggers: What was the initial response after the storm last week?
Bob Kincaid: The first thing many of us heard after the huge storm blew through a week ago was that Mountaintop Removal magnate Jim Justice had vowed that his beloved Greenbrier Classic golf tourney would go on.
Toward that end, with most of West Virginia's antiquated coal-fired power grid out of commission, resources were directed to make sure the Greenbrier was up and running to welcome a host of pro golfers, as well as concert stars Toby Keith, Rod Stewart and Bon Jovi. The show has, indeed, been going on.
It has gone on, however, at considerable cost. Many West Virginians, my family included, still don't have electricity a week later. The Greenbrier does. An octogenarian lady only a couple of miles from Mr. justice's concert venue in Lewisburg sweltered in nigh-unbearable heat while Toby Keith presumably sang "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue." One sign in Lewisburg read "Jim Justice Has Power, But Not Us Poor Bastards." Power he has, indeed, in more ways than one.
In an attempt to stem the tide of growing disaffection, the Professional Golfers Association sent out its "Wives Team" to help hand out water and ice for a little bit at Lowe's in Lewisburg. One jug of water and two bags of ice per person, in killing heat. Then they were off and gone back to the Greenbrier.
Jeff Biggers: What are living conditions like?
Bob Kincaid: Tomorrow, temperatures in West Virginia are expected to climb near the 100 mark. People without power who have water wells (likely toxic to one degree or another in the first place) can't pump water. Disaster relief services have been glacial. Organizations like Southern Appalachian Labor School in Oak Hill, WV have found themselves trying to meet needs they cannot meet, rather like Pharaoh's command that the Children of Israel make bricks without straw.
Jeff Biggers: You have worked for years in the clean energy and climate justice movement. Are other environmental organizations providing any solidarity support?
Bob Kincaid: Tomorrow, in Washington, D.C., 350.org, plans to gather on Capitol Hill to watch an ice sculpture melt that they're trying to raise $5,000 to purchase. They'll watch it melt while West Virginians, victims of the reality of climate change, struggle to find even a bag of the stuff.
As has been so often the case in West Virginia's hard luck history, it appears we have no friends at all. One group of elite snobs will cry "Fore!" on the Old White at the Greenbrier, while another group of elites kicks us while we're down by wasting precious water and ice in what can only be termed an ill-considered publicity stunt.
No wonder it's so hard to get folks to understand the realities of climate change. When it's effects ARE apparent, we're beset by people who mock us as we suffer through it.
Saturday night, the multi-millionaires of Bon Jovi will take to Mr. Justice's stage and there's little doubt that at some point, probably as an encore, they'll play their hit "Livin' On A Prayer." While they play it, we'll be living it.
Tiger Woods' West Virginia debut ain't so beautiful
Huge swaths of US swelter amid prolonged outages, new storms
Truck in some water, Mr Governor. Surely, it's not complicated.
(Note: I am not paid by any fossil fuel company as I have been accused of in the past, in fact, I have $130 to my name right now - not including my savings which is a jar of coins)
My parents were good friends with Jim Justice's parents and I have met Jim Justice and know many people that know him. He is one of the most down to earth guys you could meet, not the so called "Coal Baron" this guy describes. He risked a great deal of his money when he purchased the Greenbrier. He loves WV and wanted to see the Greenbrier succeed and bring jobs and people back to the county. He has done wonderful things for that area. Without Jim Justice there may not be a Greenbrier Resort. It is a large provider of jobs for that county and surrounding counties. Sorry to be so long winded on this but it sort of touched a nerve so to speak. I can't stand it when people write about things that are so misleading and paint such a negative picture of something that is not negative and so untrue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPjgYX3Ka9s
Dear Friends,
I think I screwed up.
Yesterday 350.org sent out an email, telling people that we were going to melt a big hunk of ice in the form of the word "Hoax?" in front of Capitol Hill. We asked for money for it, and also for relief efforts for victims of the heat wave. The idea was simple enough: if this epic heatwave gripping the nation has one small silver lining, it's that its reminding people that global warming is very very real. And the response was strong -- we raised the $5000 it would have taken to pull off the event, and far more than that for relief efforts.
But we also heard from old friends, especially in nearby West Virginia, who asked us not to do it. The sight of ice melting while they sweltered would be too hard to take; their region, they pointed out, is as hard hit as any in the country by the heat wave, and it would make people feel like their plight wasn't being taken seriously. Bob Kincaid, at Coal River Mountain Watch, said: "Our work in Appalachia is hard enough as it is, since we must ever contend with the well-funded coal industry PR machine." They'd use, he said, the sight of that melting ice to make people feel disrespected.
That makes sense to me.
(cut)
Thanks,
Bill McKibben
Was it global warming that caused the heatwave back in 1936, when thousands of people died?