time to change "friends and family" selections

Verizon sponsors climate-change-denying mountaintop-removal rally? 22

UPDATE, Sept. 2: The folks over at Credo Action are encouraging Verizon customers to communicate their displeasure with the company’s sponsorship—via Twitter, Facebook and Email.

—

Verizon Wireless needs to reconsider its “Friends and Family” feature—or, more pointedly, withdraw its support for Massey Energy’s outrageously bogus “Friends of America” rally on Labor Day weekend.

Do 87 million Verizon Wireless customers, stockholders, and its Public Policy Development and Corporate Responsibility Department know that their company is a cosponsor of next week’s climate change–denying, union-busting, pro–mountaintop removal rally organized by Massey Energy in Logan, W.Va.?  (And what about Greenebaum Doll and McDonald, “a top 200 trademark law firm”—perhaps the rally’s most odd sponsor?)

Does the Environmental Defense Fund, which recognized Verizon’s Green Initiatives—to save energy, support solar and other renewable-energy sources, and lower its greenhouse-gas emissions—know that Verizon Wireless is sponsoring an event at which the featured speaker is Lord Christopher Monckton, a former science adviser to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and one of the most infamous global-warming deniers?

On its Green Press Kit site, Verizon claims, “Environmental stewardship is ingrained in Verizon’s heritage, and the company prides itself on having a positive influence on the environment in which it operates.”  The page links to info on solar-energy and energy-efficiency measures undertaken by various offices.

Does Verizon know that 500 mountains have been destroyed, historic communities devastated, and watersheds polluted by mountaintop removal—and that Massey Energy has worked aggressively to not only wipe out our nation’s carbon sink of deciduous forests in Appalachia, but also any attempts at renewable energy and development in the region?  Read about Massey’s role in strip-mining the last ridge on Coal River Mountain and impeding an incredible wind farm.

Do the Communications Workers of America, who represent Verizon technicians, know that the bogus “Friends of America” rally is a blatant anti-union event aimed at taking down the 70th annual United Mine Workers of America picnic, and that Massey Energy is defiantly anti-union?

So why is Verizon sponsoring this pro–mountaintop removal rally on a strip-mine site?  Does Verizon support Massey Energy’s ruthless mountaintop-removal campaign and its infamous CEO Don Blankenship? Check out this ABC News report on Blankenship’s campaign to bankroll the West Virginia courts:

During their 4th quarter 2008 earnings call last spring, Massey Energy executives crowed that “2008 was a very exciting and successful year for Massey, by many measures, the most successful in our history. As you know, we undertook a very aggressive expansion plan in late 2007, and our members executed that plan almost to perfection in 2008.” And then, in answering a question about how 2010 guidance could lower production 10 percent and impact the high head count, a Massey executive simply responded with the bottom line of profiteers: “I think the answer would be that we will be able to reduce the workforce with attrition fairly markedly,” and “we also will cut back on salaries.”

Bottom line: Massey Energy profits up, jobs down. Find out more about Massey.

And here’s Lord Monckton:

George Monbiot has thoroughly debunked Monckton’s anti–global warming thesis

Verizon should withdraw its sponsorship of this bogus rally immediately—or explain its support of mountaintop removal, climate-change denial, and union-busting to its 87 million customers.

Call or text or email Verizon Wireless corporate leaders and let them know.  CEO Dennis Strigl can be emailed at Dennis.Strigl@verizonwireless.com.  Verizon HQ is here:

1 Verizon Way
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920-1097
(908) 559-7000

Jeff Biggers is the American Book Award-winning author of Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland (The Nation/Basic Books). His website is: www.jeffbiggers.com

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  1. infohd Posted 6:45 am
    01 Sep 2009

    speak with your dollars and switch carriers: http://www.credomobile.com/

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  2. skitters Posted 7:03 am
    01 Sep 2009

    Thanks for bringing this to peoples attention!!! This is a pretty big travsty. I assume though that the PR/philanropist division over at Verison is run by an incompitant boob. Even Pr people can be sucked in by iggnorance and a 'patriotic' name.

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  3. ohfercleanenergy Posted 9:57 am
    01 Sep 2009

    You are kickin' butt and takin' numbers Jeff!  Your reportage/commentary about the mountaintop removal/coal issues in West Virginia is a great asset to the Grist site.A question: Beyond the true believers (and a few trolls) who are repeat Grist readers, are you spreading the word far and wide about these issues via other media routes, conventional and non? A story like this needs as much light on it as possible, and since most reporters even on environmental beats don't seem to cover this stuff very much, you had better take your flame and run with it far and wide.fight the good fight, man!

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    1. Erik Hoffner's avatar

      Erik Hoffner Posted 12:23 pm
      01 Sep 2009

      I sent my letter to Verizon. Hopefully they are just ignorant of the connections and will change course. It's embarrassing, as a Verizon land-line phone customer, as well.Ohfercleanenergy: about Jeff, yes, he's spreading it far and wide beyond Grist: one main example is that he blogs about MTR for Huffington Post, one of the highest traffic sites around:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggersComment on his posts there if you want to help draw more attention to the issue.Erik, Orion Grassroots Network

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      1. ohfercleanenergy Posted 2:07 pm
        01 Sep 2009

        Thanks Erik! I'll catch his work there, too. I'm e-mailing Verizon CEO Dennis Strigl right now.

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  4. tfreid Posted 11:47 am
    01 Sep 2009

    Thanks for the great reporting.  I am a Verizon customer and had no idea this was going on.  I did think it was pretty hilarious that a Verizon ad came up on the Grist site right underneath your article.

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  5. Sue Sturgis's avatar

    Sue Sturgis Posted 11:51 am
    01 Sep 2009

    The Center for Biological Diversity has issued a boycott threat against Verizon.

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  6. ohiopapa's avatar

    ohiopapa Posted 12:02 pm
    01 Sep 2009

    I just sent an email to Verizon, to be delivered to their CEO or top official, telling them of this story, and warning that failure to pull the sponsorship will result in a boycott by Americans concerned about our future.

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  7. sarahjayne Posted 6:24 pm
    01 Sep 2009

    Great article, thanks for the information! I am sending Dennis and email presently and will cancel my Verizon phone if they don't change their minds. Keep up the great work!

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  8. sarahjayne Posted 6:24 pm
    01 Sep 2009

    Great article, thanks for the information! I am sending Dennis and email presently and will cancel my Verizon phone if they don't change their minds. Keep up the great work!

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  9. Beth Trask Posted 9:13 am
    02 Sep 2009

    Thank you, Jeff, for your reporting on this topic.  However, as a staff member of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), I need to clarify your reference to EDF in this article.  EDF has never issued an endorsement of Verizon's "Green Initiatives."  What we did was highlight two positive actions that the company has taken to reduce the energy consumption of its computer equipment:  1) Deploy power management software to more than 60,000 computers; 2) Replace PCs with thin clients in 17 call centers, reducing the energy required by up to 60%.  These are win-win actions that EDF encourages all companies to take because they can lower carbon dioxide emissions, while saving money.  The actual reference can be found on EDF's Innovation Exchange website at http://innovation.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=39995.

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  10. Erik Hoffner's avatar

    Erik Hoffner Posted 9:25 am
    02 Sep 2009

    Just heard from an activist contact in WV who wrote of the event: "it is actually a rally for Friends of America - entire churches are being urged to go because it also is supposed to be an anti Obama rally (one church member said)
    We've also heard its an anti health care reform rally.
    Anything to get people out to pretend that America needs more MTR as fast as possible."Erik, Orion Grassroots Network

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  11. celamb07 Posted 10:56 am
    02 Sep 2009

    Peeps -Lowell McAdams is CEO of Verizon Wireless, and has been since 2007, I believe. Can't find an email address though.C

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  12. BT Posted 11:28 am
    02 Sep 2009

    I see my comments made this a.m. were not put up here because it did not agree with your perspective. Oh well I will not bother reading and telling others about your site. I will move on to other things. Your lack of open minded chat is shocking and sad. BT

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  13. Erik Hoffner's avatar

    Erik Hoffner Posted 12:18 pm
    02 Sep 2009

    BT: I never saw any comment from you this morning and received no email alert that you had posted one, so my guess is that it failed to publish. Every Grist comment is posted automatically, so I'm sure I would have received notice of that. Anyhow, that's not the policy of this site. Unless you use 4 letter words or something else outlined in the 'posting rules' then your comment should always be visible. It probably just failed to publish for some reason. Don't give up on poor 'ol Grist.

    Erik, Orion Grassroots Network

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  14. BT Posted 3:16 pm
    02 Sep 2009

    Sorry my note did not come your way. I guess the internet ate it. I have not got the time to redo the note as it took a half hour to get right. Anyway-- thanks for your note. BT

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  15. lbsubstylee Posted 7:58 pm
    02 Sep 2009

    You should all think about joining a network that cares about people and the environment: Credo Mobile

    http://www.credomobile.com/plan/default.aspx I just joined and I'm extremely satisfied with the network (uses sprints coverage) and its customer service.  Not to mention a percentage of every single user's bill goes towards a charity/cause of the individual's choice.  Think about it Regard

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  16. juliejohns's avatar

    juliejohns Posted 9:02 am
    03 Sep 2009

    Oh dear, it doesn't seem Verizon knows what to oppose - Obama, climate change, or health care reform. If in doubt, I guess pick the hottest topics of the moment.

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  17. juliejohns's avatar

    juliejohns Posted 9:04 am
    03 Sep 2009

    Oh dear, it doesn't seem Verizon knows what to oppose - Obama, climate change, or health care reform. If in doubt, I guess pick the hottest topics of the moment.

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  18. juliejohns's avatar

    juliejohns Posted 9:06 am
    03 Sep 2009

    Oh dear, it doesn't seem Verizon knows what to oppose - Obama, climate change, or health care reform. If in doubt, I guess pick the hottest topics of the moment.

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  19. Seth Kaplan Posted 1:24 pm
    04 Sep 2009

    We have an interesting response from Verizon Wireless up on the Conservation Law Foundation blog- http://www.clf.org/blog/?p=218   

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  20. Margotrt Posted 3:53 pm
    04 Sep 2009

    In total discust with Verizon Wireless, I have dumped them as my cell phone provider and switched over to CREDO. Since Verizon can't respect my values they certainly don't deserve to get my money. Money talks, and my money is now talking to CREDO. Margot Treybig

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