The Flying Brick Library will be hosting an event on Sept. 30 at 6 pm with Tricia Shapiro, author and Mountain Justice campaigner.

Here’s some background:

Mountaintop removal (MTR) does exactly what it says: A mountaintop is stripped of trees, blown to bits with explosives, then pushed aside by giant equipment?all to expose a layer of coal to be mined. In recent years, local people fighting against MTR’s destruction of their homes in West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia have invited volunteers from outside Appalachia’s coalfields to help them bring national attention to this shameful practice, and abolish it. Since the Mountain Justice campaign began in 2005, dozens of local coalfield residents, students, Earth Firsters, and others have been arrested in nonviolent protest actions against MTR.

Tricia was there for some of it. Tricia is coming to us at the Flying Brick to offer her perspectives and experiences as an on-the-ground, inside reporter with the Mountain Justice Campaign. Her book, published by AK Press, is being released just as Mountain Justice and other environmental groups plan to converge on Washington DC for Appalachia Rising, the largest convergence against MTR in history. Please join us during open hours at the Flying Brick Library for a casual and educational talk on the struggle against Mountain Top Removal.

Brought to you by The Flying Brick Library, AK Press, and James River Earth First!