West Virginian speaks on environmental clean up

Latest

Maria Gunnoe stands in her yard in West Virginia, which is 3,500 feet from the mountain in the background that was blasted away by Jupiter Coal Company.

 
Maria Gunnoe speaks to the People’s Tribune about what needs to be done to clean up after the industrial polluters in West Virginia. Maria is a 2009 Goldman Prize winner from Boone County, West Virginia who has organized in opposition to mountain top removal in Appalachia for more than 20 years. She speaks nationally.
“It’s time we employ half the country to clean up after the other half. When industry profits from an area for 150 years, the least they can do is clean up after themselves. We have huge coal preparation plants and underground mines full of copper that could be recycled too. There is employment in cleaning up these messes. Everyone needs to stop pointing fingers at West Virginia’s problems and start fixing what they can, where they can. We all love where we live and this is where our people belong.
Reparations are owed to West Virginia and Mother Jones Community Foundation (MJCF) is bringing it all to the table.”
Editor’s note: MJCF works to improve the quality of life in many of the most impoverished regions of our country and can be found at  facebook.com/MotherJonesCommunityFoundation

PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

1 COMMENT

  1. Maria and company are an inspiration for me. Because of her and Emily Satterwhite, I became a pipeline activist. Amazing warrior women will save the planet, or die trying.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Trump’s Immigration Theater Ignores Whose Land ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Is

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma joined Florida tribes in protesting "Alligator Alcatraz. The tribe says it insults their ancestral homeland and threatens ecosystem.

Nearly 80% of Americans Think Immigration is Good, Gallup Poll Shows

The eight-point increase in support for giving immigrants living in the U.S. illegally the chance to become U.S. citizens reflects increased support from all party groups according to Gallop poll.

Why Did Flash Floods in Texas Bring Such Death & Destruction?

Some lives could have been saved with better local warnings in the recent flood in TX, but federal government cuts to FEMA, National Weather Service and NOAA are leaving communities ill-prepared for disasters.

Farmworker in Critical Condition After Fall During California ICE Raid

A farmworker was critically injured during a California ICE raid after he fell from a greenhouse roof where he was hiding.

Winners and Losers in Trump’s ‘Ugly Bill’

Winners and losers: The greatest upward transfer of wealth in U.S. history cut Medicaid, SNAP, and other necessities to give massive tax breaks to billionaires.

More from the People's Tribune