Press Release

June 16, 2005

For Immediate Release June 16, 2005 Contact: Janet Fout --304-522-0246 or 304-360-4201

OVEC Director Keynote Speaker at Midwest Renewable Energy Fair

HUNTINGTON, W.VA.—Dianne Bady, co-director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC) will deliver a keynote speech at the 16th annual Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair at the Renew the Earth Institute in Custer, Wisconsin on Sunday June 19 at 1 p.m.

Thousands of people from around the world are expected to attend the fair--one of the largest alternative energy fairs in the nation--presented by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. The fair features hundreds of workshops and booths on renewable energy and sustainable lifestyles. See www.the-mrea.org/energy_fair.php.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity to connect the dots between the need for an energy policy that goes all out for renewable energy, our nation’s ravenous electricity consumption and the annihilation of huge swaths of southern West Virginia,” Bady said, noting that just over half of the country’s electricity is currently generated by coal-fired power plants.

“More and more people understand that when they flip the light switch, they could be helping to blow the top off a lushly forested mountain, bury a vital headwater stream or drive away a generations-old community,” Bady added. “Armed with this knowledge, people are demanding an energy policy that pays more than lip service to truly cleaner renewable energies. I hope people who hear my speech will be further motivated to lead the movement demanding the changes we need to keep our country safe and strong.”

OVEC’s project coordinator Vivian Stockman will attend the fair with Bady.

“Coal is so obviously never going to be ‘clean,’ nor is it the only form of energy that keeps the lights on anymore,” Stockman said. “I am so excited to be attending this event so I can learn more about the numerous ways we can create alternative energy-related jobs, protect our kids’ health and have a clean environment. I believe there is zero justification for a mining form as extreme as mountaintop removal, and I expect those who hear Dianne speak will feel the same way.”

OVEC’s organizer Abraham Mwaura converted his diesel car to run on used vegetable oil, which he collects from restaurants near OVEC’s Huntington office. He plans to convert his parents’ home oil-heat system to vegetable oil, too.

“We don’t have to wait on politicians to lead us into the new energy future,” Mwaura said. “There is so much each of us can do to conserve energy and promote a safe, sound energy policy.”

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