Aggressive and harmful tactics by the energy industry the catalyst for a grassroots response

Note: This is part of a series on the people and groups at the grassroots level fighting the fossil fuel industry in Appalachia. It is based on my reporting on the issue from the region during the past seven years. – MB

ALUM BRIDGE, W.Va. – It was here that I met the first reluctant activists finding themselves fighting the fossil fuel giants of Appalachia – EQT, Dominion and Duke.

They’re still fighting from north of here, south into Virginia, not to mention in the Dakotas and elsewhere across the nation and world.

I’ve been writing about fracking for roughly a decade now, but it took activism by our daughter, Lindsay, to spur me to truly devote as much time and energy as possible to covering the impact of fracking and related pipeline development. A native of West Virginia, born near here in the county seat of Weston, she was disturbed by the devastation to the point that she did what artists do – offered social commentary through her work.

The resulting exhibit was titled “Fractured Sanctuary”. Shown in a tiny county in Western North Carolina, the turnout and interest in the topic astounded me. I had already begun writing about fracking as I learned more about it in my work in hospital emergency preparedness. I returned determined to find out more. It was easy. It found me. It was unavoidable. It – and people were noticing it. So, I started to tell the stories of these reluctant activists.

They understand that, to the fossil fuel industry, they and anybody or anything else are considered disposable. These reluctant activists refer to their own communities as “sacrificial zones.” So, while each would prefer to attend to his or her own business, the fossil fuel industry has forced them to act and fight back. Clearly, they’ve come to understand the callous damage wrought upon people and the earth by the energy companies.

There are many stories from the last several years. Their stories are more relevant than when first written, for the struggle continues. Some are individuals, some groups. In either case, they work in solidarity. Every week, I’ll direct you to some of their stories, beginning with these:

The catalysts for this series

Art Exhibit to Explore Impact of Mountain Top Removal and Fracking: ‘Fractured Sanctuary’ considers destruction to the environment

Unanswered Questions: Consol Energy community forum leaves West Virginia residents with more questions than answers about fracking

Reluctant Activist: Soft-spoken introvert finds herself in the middle of the fracking battle

Obituaries/Tributes

A Prophetic Voice Dies Young, but His Words are Everlasting: Michael J. Iafrate was a relentless, blessedly subversive voice of truth

April Pierson-Keating: the Best of West Virginia: We honor her too-brief life by fighting to the end, as she exemplified

Recent Article

The Climate Emergency and Appalachia: Fossil fuels still rule and the poor and vulnerable largely ignored at COP 26, says biologist with Center for Biological Diversity

Our most-read article about a West Virginia Resident Driven Away by Fracking

From ‘Almost Heaven’ to ‘Almost Hell’: Lewis County resident planning on selling historic farm to leave West Virginia and escape fracking

Analysis

Fracking’s Greatest Threat – Fractured Relationships: We all lose when we allow corporations to exploit and divide us

© Michael M. Barrick, 2014-2021. To learn more about the Appalachian Chronicle, visit grassrootsappalachia.org.