Last week Lorelei Scarbro, a community leader in Rock Creek, West Virginia, took global leaders in Copenhagen on a virtual tour of Coal River Mountain, where the onslaught of mountaintop coal mine blasting has recently begun. Through video and mapping technology, Ms. Scarbro connected the local struggle of Appalachian communities to the [...]

I thought some of you might be interested in this conference I’m attending this Saturday, December 5th. Organizing 2.0   is a grassroots led conference of social justice organizers primarily from labor and the community organizing world. Participants range from those new to online organizing as well as experienced professionals. Organizing 2.0  • NYC: Training and Strategy Conference for Labor and [...]

“470 mountains destroyed for coal. Are you connected?” asks iLoveMountains.org. Enter your zip code and you will see a Google Earth map tracing the connection between Appalachian mountaintop removal coal mines and your local electrical grid. What is mountaintop removal? It’s the process of blasting off the tops of mountains to more easily mine coal. In [...]

“The election results are announced. I started counting the Facebook posts in terms of minutes… It started as whispers, then people become more critical, the posts build momentum and speed. Two hours later I get a Twitter message, We are in the streets protesting. The police are using tear gas! ” described Dr. Ali Mostashari, a US-based [...]