University students who sent Valentine's Day sentiments to Gov. Tim Kaine yesterday were seeking a response of more than just love from their governor. These concerned students, along with other students and residents across the commonwealth, requested that Kaine stop mountaintop removal mining, a process that has been proposed to develop coal production in Southwest Virginia to supply the Wise County power plant.
"We've got the valentines," Kaine spokesperson Jeff Tiller said. "They're all here."
Members of the University's Students for Environmental Action are working with more than 20 different universities and student groups across the commonwealth regarding the issue of climate change, paying particular attention to the issue of mountaintop mining, said Tom Owens, Virginia campus organizer at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
"They organized with other student groups on this effort in delivering an effort to Gov. Kaine," Owens said, noting that students want to end the use of heavy explosives in mountaintop mining. The heavy artillery is now the only way to reach coal seams, he added.
"Where they used to take coal out of the mountain, now they take the mountain off the coal," Owens said, explaining that the removal process is destructive to Appalachian communities.
"Air pollution is always a major concern; for instance, there are folks who, because of explosives that are used, [have had the] foundations of [their] houses crack," Owens said. "There are people whose water has become completely black because of practices used to extract coal."
According to SEA member Matthew Trumbo-Tual, a third-year College student, destruction and pollution caused by mountaintop removal mining are just a couple of the reasons why students should be concerned with the creation of the new power plant. He also noted that funding for the power plant will come from taxes, directly affecting students who are Virginia residents.
SEA Co-President Lynne Ellison, a third-year College student, added that by sending Valentines yesterday and taking interest in the issue, students were fighting for a better future.
"It's important to have a student voice in this kind of environmental action," Ellison said. "I feel like it's our generation spearheading the movement. It's going to be our problem for the future, so that's why it's our duty to stop it now."
Despite the concerns expressed by students and residents, Tiller maintained that Virginia has stricter standards concerning mountaintop mining than most of the other six states that also use the process. He added that Kaine supports those standards.
According to Owens, however, not everyone is satisfied with the governor's efforts; some believe that although Kaine recently established a commission on climate change to reduce state carbon emissions and reassess energy use in Virginia, he is still not acting to the best of his ability.
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