Verizon's Coal Rally Sponsorship: What It Means

Over at ItsGettingHotInHere.org, Scott Parkin points out:

• Verizon Wireless sees nothing wrong with participating in overtly anti-environmentalist event. Don Blankenship has said the purpose of the rally is to show "how environmental extremists and corporate America are both trying to destroy your jobs."
• Verizon Wireless sees nothing wrong with doing business with Massey Energy, the worst mountaintop removal coal mining company in the country.
• Verizon Wireless sees nothing wrong with supporting an event featuring Ted Nugent, who famously remarked: "Obama, he’s a piece of shit. I told him to suck on my machine gun … Hey Hillary [Clinton] you might want to ride one of these [machine guns] into the sunset, you worthless bitch."
• Verizon Wireless sees nothing wrong with doing business with Massey’s CEO Don Blankenship, who said that his critics are "crazy" "greeniacs" who are his "enemies" comparable to Osama bin Laden.

Verizon to Conservationists: Drop Dead

Via West Virginia Blue, CREDO Action has gotten a response from Verizon on its sponsorship of a pro-polluter rally:

Before we launched our campaign, CREDO Action reached out to Verizon Wireless to confirm its sponsorship of the pro-coal "Friends of America" rally. Becky Bond, our Political Director, then sent a cordial follow-up to give Verizon Wireless a heads-up that our campaign had launched. Verizon replied as follows:

"This is how our response is going over with the activists. Becky once lived in a tree for a while. At least now I know where the emails are coming from."
- James Gerace, VP of Corporate Communications at Verizon Wireless

You got that?

If you don't think that Verizon Wireless should support global warming deniers and practitioners of mountaintop removal mining, then Verizon Wireless thinks it's okay to dismiss your concerns because you must have "lived in a tree for a while."

Really stunning that Verizon has taken such a brazen stance against its conservationist customers. Until now, I hadn't given much thought to CREDO Mobile, a cell phone provider that gives a portion of its proceeds to progressive causes (CREDO was formerly known as Working Assets). But Verizon is making an awfully good case to get me to switch. And I've heard from plenty of friends in the last couple of days who are thinking the same thing.

Why is Verizon Sponsoring a Pro-Polluter Rally?

A group of businesses in West Virginia is sponsoring an event on Monday called the Friends of America Rally. It's not exactly clear why this group of mostly West Virginia-based businesses is sponsoring the rally, but with a little detective work, we can quickly figure out what it's all about.

With Sean Hannity and Ted Nugent headlining the event, you can tell who'll be blamed for any and all of America's problems: Them. Immigrants. Liberals. Gays. Really, anyone who might deflect the role polluters have played in our interconnected economic, energy and climate crises. I can practically hear the screams of dey took er jobs!

Right now, there's only one clear policy ask on the event's website: "If you would like to sign a petition against the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, click here." The event's location reinforces the message. "The Rally is going to be held on a previous surface mine, just south of Logan, West Virginia."

"Surface mine" of course being coal industry jargon for "mountaintop removal." Thanks to Google Maps, you can see how badly the landscape has been scarred in that area:


View Larger Map

I'm not surprised West Virginia businesses would be trying to buy their way into the hearts of the local citizens. After all, these are tough times for polluters. People in places like West Virginia are starting to wake up to the reality that polluters have been stealing their natural resources, destroying their communities, and hurting their health for generations. And for what? A map of poverty in Appalachia matches almost exactly with mountaintop removal sites.

But there's one major outlier on the current list of sponsors: Verizon Wireless. I don't see any other national companies on sponsor list. Why is Verizon, with over 13,000 employees here in Virginia, sponsoring a pro-polluter, global warming denial rally? I'm currently a Verizon Wireless subscriber, but Verizon's sponsorship of this event makes me question whether I want to give another penny to them.

Please take a moment right now to ask Verizon to pull its sponsorship. There's still time for Verizon to do the right thing.

Now That's an Excessive Package: Cell Phone Accessories

Product: Cell phone case and earpiece for Verizon cell phone
Purchased from: Amazon.com
Approximate weight of packaging: 1 pound
Percent of packaging suitable for recycling: Less than 10
Does The Green Miles regret switching to Verizon considering it took three weeks to figure out how to get this picture from his phone to his computer: Yes