RESOLUTION 1: Expression of Gratitude

Our sincere appreciation is expressed to all of the officers, committee chairs, and members who have made this program possible and whose efforts maintain the vitality of the SSSP. First, we thank President JoAnn L. Miller for her outstanding leadership in developing the 60th Annual Meeting and its theme: Social Justice Work. We also thank this year’s Program Committee: Chair: Glenn W. Muschert and committee members Henry H. Brownstein, David L. Levinson, and Paul D. Steele; and Local Arrangements Committee Chair: Wendy Simonds. We thank the staff of The Sheraton Atlanta for fine accommodations and we particularly want to recognize the efforts made by Cynthia Hernandez, Convention Services Manager and Esther Hunt, Director of Association Sales.

The Society wishes to express its gratitude to Past President Steven E. Barkan for his years of leadership; Vice-President PJ McGann for managing the resolutions process; Glenn W. Muschert for his service as Secretary; and Susan M. Carlson for her service as Treasurer. The Society also thanks A. Javier Treviño, President-Elect; Carolyn C. Perrucci, Vice-President Elect; Board of Directors: Carol Brooks Gardner, Raymond J. Michalowski, Sarah Jane Brubaker, Barbara Katz Rothman, Wendy Simonds, outgoing members Luis Fernandez and Alison Griffith, Antwan Jones (outgoing) and Louis Edgar Esparza, student representatives of the Board; Stephani Williams, Chair of the Council of Special Problems Divisions; Ted Chiricos, Editor of Social Problems; Anne Mercuri and Stephen Couch, Editors of Social Problems Forum: The SSSP Newsletter; Anna M. Santiago, outgoing Budget, Finance, and Audit Committee Chair and committee members Stephani Williams, David L. Levinson, and Susan M. Carlson; Claire M. Renzetti, Editorial and Publications Committee Chair and committee members James A. Holstein, Lora Bex Lempert, Benigno E. Aguirre, Marjorie L. DeVault, Lara Foley, Ted Chiricos, Anne Mercuri, Stephen Couch, Anna M. Santiago, and Amy S. Wharton; the University of Tennessee and the Department of Sociology for hosting the SSSP Administrative Office; the Vice Provost for Engagement Office at Purdue University for their contribution to program activities and to the University of California Press for their financial contribution to the registration bags.

The Society wishes to thank Executive Officer Héctor L. Delgado, Administrative Officer & Meeting Manager Michele Smith Koontz, Administrative Assistant & Webmaster Sharon Shumaker, and Graduate Research Associate Sarah Hendricks for continuing to make the organization run and do all that it does year in and year out.

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RESOLUTION 2: Discontinue the Atlanta “Braves” Logo and Paraphernalia 

WHEREAS in 2007, the SSSP approved a resolution calling for the discontinuation of the demeaning and racist use of Native American nicknames, logos, and mascots in sport; and

WHEREAS the Atlanta Braves organization, despite decades of requests and protests by Native American groups and organizations, continues to use Native America symbols and images that perpetuate stereotypes and the stigmatization of Native American people and Nations,

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the membership of the SSSP authorizes and directs the Administrative Office of the SSSP to send a copy of the 2007 Resolution and a letter to the Administrative Office of the Atlanta Braves, the Governor of Georgia, and the Mayor of Atlanta, with a copy to local newspapers, calling on the Atlanta Braves organization to discontinue and cease in promoting any and all demeaning and otherwise negative representations of Native Americans, and in particular tomahawk chants, paraphernalia, and logos.

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RESOLUTION 3: To Officially Endorse the Clean Water Protection Act [HR 1310]

From: W. Ryan Wishart, Department of Sociology, University of Oregon;
Shannon Elizabeth Bell, Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky;
Sara Malley, Department of Sociology, University of Tennessee

Whereas many communities’ health and wellbeing depend upon the ecological functioning and purity of the water system that has its headwaters in the mountains of Appalachia, and over 1,200 miles of streams have already been impacted by mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) (United States Environmental Protection Agency 2005),

Whereas MTR has impacted more than one million acres of land and more than 500 mountains in the Central Appalachian states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia (Geredien 2009), and the number of permits for new MTR mines continues to rise,

Whereas MTR has many devastating consequences for residents living in communities down-valley from these mining operations, including massive flooding (Flood Advisory Technical Taskforce 2002); coal slurry impoundment breaks and disasters (Erikson 1976, Scott et al. 2005); respiratory problems from coal dust in the air (Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition 2005); and well water contamination consisting of heavy metals (present in coal) and carcinogenic chemicals used in the coal cleaning process (Orem 2006),

Whereas the Appalachian Regional Commission reports that in 2000, more than 75% of Appalachian coal counties were classified as “economically distressed,” despite providing more than one-third of the coal produced in the United States,

Whereas the most comprehensive peer-review study of MTR to date has concluded that Mountaintop Mining and Valley Fill (MTM/ VF) permits “should not be granted” because of the “preponderance of scientific evidence that [MTR/VF] impacts are pervasive and irreversible and that mitigation cannot compensate for losses” (Palmer et al 2010),

Whereas many residents and environmental justice advocates in the Appalachian coalfields have been subjected to violence and threats of violence,

Whereas legislation to better-regulate this destructive practice is currently proposed in Congress and the legality of mining permits under current laws is under review,

Be it therefore resolved that the membership of the SSSP is encouraged to be mindful of the social problems surrounding coal extraction, including the needs of displaced workers, in their professional work and to engage with their elected representatives as advocates to resolve said problems.

Be it further resolved that the SSSP shall officially endorse the Clean Water Protection Act [HR 1310] currently before the House and communicate this endorsement to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate.

Be it further resolved that the SSSP encourages the Senate to pass complementary legislation to address the problems of environmental justice discussed above.

Be it further resolved that the SSSP strongly encourages Congress to pass legislation to ensure that coalfield communities who have provided cheap energy to the nation at the cost of their environment and health receive assistance in dealing with economic hardship from ongoing decline in extractive employment.

Resources:

Bell, Shannon Elizabeth and Richard York. 2010. “Community Economic Identity: The Coal Industry and Ideology Construction in West Virginia.” Rural Sociology. 75(1):111-143.

Bell, Shannon Elizabeth. 2009. “‘There Ain’t No Bond in Town Like there Used to Be’: The Destruction of Social Capital in the West Virginia Coalfields.” Sociological Forum. 24(3): 631-657.

Bell, Shannon Elizabeth. 2009. “‘Coal is all West Virginia’s Got’: The Coal Industry’s Propagation of a False Ideology.” Pp. 109-116 in Shirley Stewart Burns, Mari-Lynn Evans, and Silas House (Eds). Coal Country: Rising Up Against Mountaintop Removal Mining. Sierra Club Books/Counterpoint.

Burns, Shirley Stewart. 2007. Bringing Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press.

Energy Information Administration. 2009. “U.S. Coal Production by Coal-Producing Region and State.” Annual Coal Report 2007.

Flood Advisory Technical Taskforce. 2002. “Runoff Analyses of Seng, Scrabble, and Sycamore Creeks, Part I.” Division of Mining and Reclamation, Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved May 10, 2008 at: http://www.epa.gov/region3/mtntop/pdf/Appendices/Appendix%20H%20Engineering/

Erikson, Kai T. 1976. Everything in its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Fox, Julia. 1999. “Mountaintop Removal in West Virginia: An Environmental Sacrifice Zone” Organization and Environment 12(2): 163-183

Geredien, Ross. 2009. “Assessing the Extent of Mountaintop Removal in Appalachia: an Analysis using Vector Data.” Technical Report for Appalachian Voices, Boone, NC. Retrieved May 20, 2010 at: http://ilovemountains.org/reclamation-fail/mining-extent 2009/Assessing_the_Extent_of_Mountaintop_Removal_in_Appalachia.pdf

Hansen, Evan, Alan Collins, Michael Hendryx, Fritz Boettner, and Anne Hereford. 2008. The Long Term Economic Benefits of Wind Versus Mountaintop Removal Coal on Coal River Mountain, West Virginia. Downstream Strategies. Morgantown, WV

Hendryx, Michael and Melissa A. Ahern. 2009. "Mortality in Appalachian Coal Mining Regions: The Value of Statistical Life Lost" Public Health Reports 124: 541- 550
Kennedy, Robert Jr. 2007, November 29. “Coal’s True Cost” The Huffington Post

McQuaid, John. 2009. “Mining the Mountains” Smithsonian Magazine. January Issue
Montrie, Chad. 2003. To Save the Land and People: A History of Opposition to Surface Coal Mining in Appalachia. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. 2003. “Coalfield Residents Speak.” Retrieved October 27, 2008 http://www.ohvec.org/issues/mountaintop_removal/articles/2003_12_07_EIS_speakanon.pdf

Orem, William H. 2006. “Coal Slurry: Geochemistry and Impacts on Human Health and Environmental Quality.” U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Energy Resources Team. PowerPoint Presentation to the Coal Slurry Legislative Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, West Virginia Legislature, November 15, 2006.

Palmer M. A., E. S. Bernhardt, W. H. Schlesinger, K. N. Eshleman, E. Foufoula-Georgiou, M. S. Hendryx, A. D. Lemly, G. E. Likens, O. L. Loucks, M. E. Power, P. S. White, and P. R. Wilcock. 2010. “Mountaintop Mining Consequences.” Science 327: 148-149.

Saylor, Kristi L. 2008. “Contemporary Land Cover Change in the Central Appalachians Ecoregion.” The Status and Trends of Eastern United States Land Cover. United States Geological Survey. < http://edc2.usgs.gov/LT/regions/eco69.php> Accessed on July 18, 2008.

Scott, Shaunna.L., Stephanie McSpirit, Sharon Hardesty, and Robert Welch. “Post Disaster Interviews with Martin County Citizens: ‘Gray Clouds’ of Blame and Distrust.” Journal of Appalachian Studies. 11(1&2):7-28.

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2003. Mountaintop Mining/ Valley Fills in Appalachia Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. US Department of the Interior. Retrieved April 9 2007 (www.epa.gov/region3/mtntop/eis.htm

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2005. Mountaintop Mining/Valley Fills in Appalachia Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. Retrieved September 28, 2007 at: http://www.epa.gov/region03/mtntop/

Ward, Ken Jr. 2007, July 22. “30 Years Later, Mine Law’s Success Debated.” The Charleston Gazette

Ward, Ken Jr. 2008. September 17. “Mountaintop removal a presidential issue - Neither McCain, Obama support mining practice.” The Charleston Gazette

The SSSP should forward this resolution to:

Shannon Elizabeth Bell - shannon.eliz.bell@gmail.com
Sara Elizabeth Malley - smalley2@utk.edu
Vivian Stockman (OVEC) - vivian@ohvec.org
Janet Keating (OVEC) - janet.ovec@gmail.com
Vernon Haltom (Coal River Mtn. Watch) - vernoncrmw@gmail.com
Matt Noerpel (Coal River Mtn. Watch) - mnoerpel@gmail.com
Nancy Reinhart (Kentuckians for the Commonwealth) - nancy@kftc.org

Governor Joe Manchin III (Governor of WV) - 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, E., Charleston, WV 25305; Governor@WVGov.org

Sen. Lamar Alexander (Appalachian Restoration Act author/sponsor)
Office of Senator Alexander
SD-455
Washington, DC 20510
Voice: (202) 224-4944
Fax: (202) 228-3398
email form: http://alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (Appalachian Restoration Act author/sponsor)
Call our Washington, DC office at 202-224-4524, or
Sen. Ben Cardin
509 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Visit our email form here: http://cardin.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (main author of Clean Water Protection Act)
237 Cannon Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3006
Phone: (202) 225-4671
Fax: (202) 225-9665

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