Last edited Fri Apr 27, 2018, 06:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Wishing her all the best during this difficult time.



*GoFundMe* emergency funds for Maria Gunnoe,
https://www.gofundme.com/emergency-funds-for-maria-gunnoe

For over 20 years, Maria Gunnoe has fought for social and environmental justice in Appalachian communities.
She has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about and hold coal companies responsible for the devastating public health, environmental, social and economic impacts of mountaintop removal. Maria has also worked to build an international coalition of activists fighting for the rights of people living in close proximity to energy extraction.

As rollbacks of environmental regulations and the continued expansion of mountaintop removal, fracking and pipelines continue to threaten the wellbeing of Appalachian communities, Maria needs your help to keep fighting.

Earlier this year, Maria was diagnosed with a very serious health condition that has left her in financial dire straits. As Maria seeks treatment and recuperates, she needs emergency funds for gas money to travel to the doctor and for basic living expenses.

All donations are greatly appreciated. Let’s help Maria to keep fighting the good fight!
*More at the GoFundMe Link above. Thanks!

Thank you for providing more background information on Maria's activism in the coalfields and her present emergency financial needs.

- Maria Gunnoe & Bill McKibben, 350.org

Earth Justice, *Maria Gunnoe: My Mountain Story*

In 2000, the mountain ridge above Maria Gunnoe’s home became a mountaintop removal coal mining site. She and her family withstood ground-shaking explosions, clouds of harmful dust, severe floods, and poisonous contamination of the drinking water in their home, which was eventually destroyed by a flood, a common effect of mountaintop removal mining. The coal company told her it was an "act of God."

Her experiences transformed Maria from an everyday person into a courageous, outspoken organizer for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, board member of the nonprofit flight tour organization SouthWings (which has made possible all of the aerial views and photos of mountaintop removal), and leader of the movement to stop mountaintop removal. Over the years, her bold work has opened countless eyes to the truth about coal and its path of destruction. Her life has been threatened numerous times for her criticism of the coal industry, and she’s been assaulted and harassed, but she has refused to be silenced.

In 2009, she was awarded the prestigious Goldman Prize, or "Green Nobel," for her courageous activism against destructive mountaintop removal mining. In October 2012, Maria Gunnoe will be the 22nd recipient of the University of Michigan's Wallenberg Medal, a high honor for recognizing the world's preeminent humanitarian leaders. Other recipients of the Wallenberg Medal include Aung San Suu Kyi, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. Maria will be the first person to receive the medal for work on environmental justice. This recognition attests to the serious humanitarian consequences of mountaintop removal mining...
Read more:https://earthjustice.org/mountain-heroes/maria-gunnoe

*The Last Mountain* (2011) the fight to save Coal River Mountain, WV & Appalachia from Mountaintop Removal mining
http://thelastmountainmovie.com/film/

. . .although more exposure might be prompting hundreds of the curious to open the link(s), exposure doesn't appear (thus far!) to be enough, sad to say, when it comes to hoping more people will open their hearts and wallets. Nonetheless, I won't stop hoping . . .

. . . it's good---very good to see how much the emergency fund has grown in the past couple days. The goal might yet be reached!