Hi John,
I'm Amy and I was born and raised in southwest Virginia. I first got involved with 350.org and the climate movement when construction began on the Mountain Valley Pipeline eight miles away from my home.
But first, I want to share why this fight is so personal:
I come from a long family history of coal miners. Coal caused black lung in my grandfather, my grandmother died from lung disease, my father passed from addiction and my school friend perished in a mine explosion. All from government denial of issues within the mining culture and underground mining safety.
When mining started to collapse, communities collapsed too. The government funded a fossil fuel industry that stripped the land and ecosystems, and stripped communities like mine of their dignity and hope.
But I am still fighting. I am working day in and day out with 350.org to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We are mobilizing communities all across Appalachia to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and block construction of this pipeline.
This won't be an easy fight. But our climate movement has stopped pipelines like this one before, and I believe we can stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline too. So I am asking for your help, John:
Every time I go down the road, I see a big swath that's been cut through the land, more pipeline that has been laid, and more land that has been destroyed.
It breaks my heart. But each time our movement is able to stop the construction, even for a short period of time, it makes a big difference. When the construction is stopped for any length of time, the line has to be reinspected and sometimes parts replaced.
I know that if we continue to organize communities across Appalachia and around the country, we can stop it once and for all. But we cannot do it alone, John.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story and chip in what you can. I know that it is easy to lose hope from time to time. Trust me, I feel hopeless sometimes too. But when I feel that way, I just remember all the pipelines 350.org has stopped around the world — and that gives me hope to continue forward, John.
I am not giving up. And I hope you won't either.
In solidarity and hope,
Amy Howell for 350.org
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PO Box 843004, Boston, MA 02284-3004
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350.org is a global movement that fights for a just and equitable world by stopping the fossil fuel industry from continuing to destroy our climate.