Climate Ground Zero

Climate Ground Zero (CGZ), founded in February 2009, is a non-violent civil disobedience campaign against mountaintop removal mining based in the southern coalfields of West Virginia. According to their website, Climate Ground Zero believes “that the irrevocable destruction of the mountains of Appalachia and its accompanying toll on the air, water, and lives of Appalachians necessitates continued and direct action". The organization seeks to end mountaintop removal mining by drawing attention to the issue through protests involving trespass on the property of mining companies. By locking down to machinery on mine sites, occupying trees in the blast zone, or blockading haul roads to mine sites, protesters associated with Climate Ground Zero directly interfere with mining practices. Other protests draw attention to the alleged negligence of regulatory agencies such as the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) or the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by occupying the offices of these governmental organizations. Climate Ground Zero has been referenced in the New York Times,Los Angeles Times, Washington Post,Democracy Now, and the Associated Press.

Climate Ground Zero began in February 2009 as a local extension of the regional network Mountain Justice, a coalition of anti-MTR groups across Appalachia that formed in the summer of 2005.Mike Roselle, co-founder of Earth First!, the Rainforest Action Network, and the Ruckus Society, moved to the coalfields of West Virginia upon the request of local activists when the last mountain to remain untouched by MTR mining, Coal River Mountain, was clear-cut in preparation for mining. On January 3, 2009, in what became the first protest of the campaign, Mike Roselle, James McGuinness, Glen Collins, Rory McIlmoil and Matthew Noerpel were arrested for chaining themselves to a bulldozer on Coal River Mountain. Later that day, eight local residents of the Coal River Valley and supporters from across Appalachia were arrested at Massey Energy subsidiary, Marfork Coal’s office, carrying a letter demanding that all strip mining on Coal River Mountain cease immediately. Since then over 100 arrests have taken place as a part of various protests associated with Climate Ground Zero.

...
Wikipedia