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March 29, 2002
"Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition"
An interview with Dianne Bady and Janet Fout of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalitione and a 2001 Leadership for a Changing World Awardees. Read Background.
Questions and answers will begin appearing at 1pm EST on March 29. Leadership for a Changing World
Thank you for joining us today for Leadership Talks. Our guests today are Dianne Bady and Janet Fout of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, and Leadership for a Changing World award recipients.
Dianne and Janet, can you share how you became involved in your work?
Janet Fout
I’m a West Virginia native whose working-class family has lived in West Virginia for seven generations. A person who influenced me greatly in childhood was my independent and determined grandmother, who essentially raised ten children and countless grandchildren by herself. She bought me many books; and I read about people who made a difference—Jane Adams, Clara Barton, Joan of Arc, Helen Keller, Albert Schweitzer, Dr. Tom Dooley, and many others, and dreamed as a child, of making a difference someday.
After graduating from a small, private liberal arts college in Indiana in the early 70’s, I came back to West Virginia to teach English in the public schools. In the late 70’s, I was married and devoted my life to my husband and daughter. Unfortunately, that marriage failed, but the divorce led me indirectly into the world of activism. I sought solace from the pain of divorce by watching birds and working passionately as the President of the local Audubon chapter to save a significant wetlands from potential destruction. After three years of coalition building and battling, the wetlands were spared and plans for the property were significantly improved.
Wanting to become an “informed activist,” I returned to college seeking a Master’s Degree in Biology, taking a break from activism and focusing on science. About the time that I was nearly finished with my degree, Dianne Bady had already been fighting for five years the Ashland Oil Refinery that was raining pollution on a small community nearby. We met one evening at a political fundraiser.
Leadership for a Changing World
How about you Dianne?
Dianne Bady
I grew up on a family farm and as a child I immersed myself in nature. I went through a period of adolescent atheism, but I was shaken out of that by several intense experiences of a sacred Presence in nature. For example, one spring afternoon I felt very depressed. As I watched a field of tall grasses blowing in the wind, the blowing grasses became infused with a shimmering silver light, and then that light flowed thorough me and I felt an indescribable Presence of love and joy. I felt the Light flow through me and all of the surrounding fields and trees, and I KNEW that the natural world and I are part of a much larger spiritual process.
I’ve repeatedly felt God’s Presence in the natural world. Becoming an activist devoted to protecting air, water and nature just came naturally to me. When I learned of serious threats to the natural world that I loved, I literally could not stop myself from taking a strong stand and working to get others involved. Even when I tried to stop, thinking that this was just too hard, I couldn’t stop, because the only way I could sleep at night was if I acted upon my outrage.
Phoenix
According to a Gallup Poll released this week, 91% of Americans now believe global warming is underway or will begin within their lifetimes. Making the connection between this concern and the mining and burning of coal--which accounts for a significant percentage of greenhouse gasses ought to bring more supporters into your fight. Is that connection happening, and is the promotion of alternative energy sources such as solar a part of your strategy?
Gallup poll: http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr020325.asp?Version=p
Dianne Bady
Yes, we definitely do make a conneciton with that. Janet and I share a seat on the steering comittee of the West Virginia Interfaith Global Climate Change Campaign, a project of the West Virginia Council of Churches. And certaintly to us, it seems absolutely insane for both federal and state governments to spend taxpayer dollars to promote and defend mountaintop removal, ash valley fill strip mining, at a time when it is so obvious that this coal leads to terrible problems with global warming.
We do believe that, as an organization, we need to do more to educate the public about the need for more renewables. For example, portions of West Virginia have some of the highest wind index ratings in the United States. So our state has enormous potential for more wind energy.
JANET: Last year, OVEC members participated a one-day voluntary effort for everyone to turn off their lights. There was a voluntary blackout. We used this as a way to promote conservation of energy, because that is another factor.
DIANNE: We hope that more national environmental groups will see that our struggle to curb mountaintop removal is directlty linked to the larger issue of global warming.
Atlanta, GA
What kind of impact did 9/11 have on your environmental work? Have you faced any additional backlash?
Janet Fout
We find our work to be more challenging since the catastrophic events of 9/11. The current Administration is developing a national energy policy that could hasten the devastation of our mountains, forests, and streams and mountain communities of southern West Virginia. President Bush is promoting more mountaintop removal/valley fill strip mining of coal. To bolster public support, the President publicly connects the need for energy development (more coal-fired power plants and the weakening of current environmental laws and regulations) with homeland security. We are working with national environmental groups to help get the word out that West Virginia has already paid too great a price in terms of providing “cheap” energy for our country. We are tired of being the energy sacrifice zone for the nation.
Recently, OVEC and others organized a protest at the offices of a non-union coal mining company—one of the most flagrant violators of strip mining laws here. We saw this as an opportunity let people know that OVEC has always been on the front-lines of “homeland defense” in the most basic sense— helping people to defend their homes, communities, way of life, and the mountains that have nurtured them.
Bronx, NY
Great work. Have you all ever tried raising your issues against the banks which finance the strip-miners, mountaintop-removers and other polluters there? If so, what results? In any event, keep it up!
Dianne Bady
No, that is not an avenue we have taken, but it may be one that we might want to look at for the future.
JANET: While we haven't approached banks, we have been outside of stockholder meetings for coal companies with fact sheets and protesters, to let them know that they are not a good corporate neighbor.
Brooklyn, NY
How did stakeholders within the community who considered themselves in partnership or dependent on the coal industry respond to your advocacy?
Janet Fout
Sometimes they are very militant in their opposition to us and confrontational. We see them, though, as also being victims, and victimized by coal companies, who have held them hostage economically. They are also victims of our state government, which has not provided economic diversity for the southern coalfields of West Virginia.
We believe, if they were given a choice whether or not to destroy our mountains and streams, or to extract coal in a way that would employ many more people, they would choose the latter.
Unfortunately, the miners are not the ones who make those decisions.
DIANNE: We have had threats on our office phones. But the people who are most affected by intimidation are our members who live in the coalfield areas. Some folks have had death threats. Two men have been hung in effigy. And one of our members had a half-page advertisement, negatively portraying him, appear in his local newspaper. This was funded by a coal-related company.
All of this makes our work much more difficult.
Lexington KY
Are the recent floods in your area a result of mountaintop removal strip mining?
Dianne Bady
Many, many people believe the answer to that is yes. Many people have noticed that where the flooding was the worst, there was valley fills with sludge impoundments directly upstream.
Janet and I happened to be in the second flood in July. And we saw the road we were traveling on become flooded. And we saw that the creek on the right side of the road was nowhere near overflowing its banks. However, on our left side, torrents of water were pouring from a valley fill.
It's only common sense that these non-porous valley fills and clearcut former mountains cause dramatically increased rainfall runoff.
There actually are several government studies that conclude that mountaintop removal does result in much higher runoff.
We are not arguing that every single flooded home was caused by mountaintop removal. What we are saying is that many of the flooded areas were directly impacted by mountaintop removal.
Tucson, AZ
Political reforms seem necessary if any real progress can be made to protect the environment. Are you working for structural changes in the region? Clearly, most voters want the madness of mountaintop removal to end, don't they? How can they overcome special interests?
Janet Fout
We are working directly on the whole issue of campaign finance reform in West Virginia. We see many, many of our environemtanl problems are caused as a direct result of massive campaign contributions by big special interest groups that flow freely into our elected officials' campaigns.
We have documented, since 1996, special interest contributions to our state legislators and governors races. What we have found, specific to the coal industry, was that our legislative leadership favors legislation which promotes more mountaintop removal in West Virginia and provides many tax breaks for the coal industry. That is just one example.
So we are not willing to just stop with documenting contributions. We have organized a coalition that is broad-based and diverse to push for fundamentgal campaign finance reform which will allow as an option public financing of elections in West Virginia.
Fayetteville
How much support do you have from local citizen groups and other grassroots activist groups? What kinds of support do they give?
Janet Fout
One of the organizations we work with in Huntington is a student organization that we helped form at Marshall University, called Students Active for a Vital Earth, (SAVE).
Recently, with them, we organized a public event around the 30th anniversary of the Buffalo Creek coal slurry dam disaster, where 125 West Virginians lost their lives.
We showed two films that documented this disaster. Over 100 students and people in the community came to this event.
DIANNE: We also work closely with a number of other organizations in West Virginia, especially Coal River Mountain Watch, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and West Virginia Citizen Action Group. This is not an exhaustive list.
Waterville, Maine
How do you welcome the diversity of the community to a meeting and have the president of the college, the janitor of the high school, the blue color worker and the housewife all walk away saying, "Damn fine meeting"? What tools do you use in your meetings to make that possible?
Janet Fout
People from different communities become engaged in OVEC’s work based on a shared outrage at injustice and a deep desire to effect positive social and environmental change. When we hold strategy meetings on mountaintop removal/valley fill strip mining, we believe the real experts are people who are negatively impacted. We invite their input. Everyone is given an opportunity to talk. Traditionally, people in power do not listen to regular citizens in Appalachia. Not only do we listen, but also we frequently demand meetings with state and federal regulators or politicians so that impacted citizens can raise the issues themselves. We provide support to carry out the plans we’ve all made together, but expect others to do their part, as well.
Our work is all about developing trust and nurturing and expanding relationships and networks. OVEC’s organizer and other staff maintain close contacts with people and other organizations that work with us. Though much of our work is very serious, we also engage OVEC volunteers, members, and others in activities that are energizing and fun, and provide opportunities for people to meet with those who share our values and vision, such as the “Treehuggers’ Ball.” This kind of activity helps prevent burn-out.
Milwaukee, WI
How do you keep youth consistently engaged in projects and programs which involve community organizing? What types of incentives are used if any that will keep youth actively involve ongoing?
Dianne Bady
As I just mentioned, one example is we just had a fundraiser, which we called the Treehuggers Ball. Many, many students came to that. We had a great time.
Our board co-chair is a young college student.
We have tried to respond to student interests. For example, when the Marshall University SAVE group wanted to join OVEC in our legal appeal over a dangerous expansion of a huge coal sludge impoundment, we provided training sessions for them on how to legally appeal projects which the state has already approved.
Burlington, VT
Do you use the Internet as an organizing tool? Is it a particularly useful tool given that you are in a rural environment?
Janet Fout
We use the Internet very much these days. We have a person who daily updates our Web site, so that our members and other activists learn about activities and can also be informed about any action that needs to be taken right away.
In addition, on our Web site we maintain some of our reports and important news items regarding the issues we work on.
We also send out action alerts to our extensive e-mail list about twice a week.
Our Web site: www.ohvec.org
Portland, OR
How would you describe your leadership style?
Dianne Bady
All of my activism has been motivated by a radical sense of trust. I know that the forces of greed and oppression that we fight every day are much more powerful, in a worldly sense, than we are. But I strongly believe, and sometimes even directly experience, that if we act with integrity and open ourselves to the power of the Spirit, amazing things can happen.
I believe that one of the ways God works in our world is through people. We often face situations where what we’re trying to do seems hopeless. Coal is not called King in West Virginia for nothing! Our basic style of leadership is to provide the spaces for concerned people to get together, share their anger, and work through the darkness to come up with plans. Often this means dealing with chaos. Everybody may have a different idea. Six people may talk at once. Some may disagree with others. But if we keep talking through the chaos, treating each other with care and respect, sooner or later a plan emerges.
And when a plan emerges, people rise to take responsibility for carrying out specific parts of the plan. Those who rise up to take leadership roles are not necessarily the people we’d normally think of as leaders.
NYC
Would you describe how you work as a team: For example, how "intentional" are you as a team. Do you set time aside weekly/daily to plan together or is it more informal? Do you each have different responsibilities? Do you also seek ways in which your responsibilities overlap or alternate? What would you describe as the most significant benefits and the challenges of working as a team?
Dianne Bady
Janet and I share responsibilities for making sure our organization runs effectively. In terms of developing workplans on specific issues such as curbing mountaintop removal / valley fill strip mining, we *bring people together* to make plans. For example, over the past few years, we’ve organized three weekend-long strategy meetings. The plans that emerged from these meetings were not necessarily things that we would have predicted. And at times our planned agenda broke down completely. Although this style of operating can seem confusing and chaotic, our experience is that by the end of a long meeting things somehow pull together.
Sometimes magical things happen. We see shy, unlikely people speaking with an eloquence that makes our skin tingle, or successfully taking on a leadership role that seems beyond their past experiences. And often, we somehow attract just the right people and resources, just when we need them.
Many grassroots groups fail or disband because of interpersonal conflicts, and we are very conscious of the need to address conflicts in an adaptive manner – promoting the idea that we are all strong-minded people and that some disagreement is inevitable. Our aim is to openly address interpersonal or strategy-oriented conflicts as they arise, rather than letting differences fester and cause harm. We find that working through disagreements can ultimately strengthen our relationships with each other, with volunteers, and with other groups. We make a point of appreciating volunteers for their strengths, while trying to be patient with volunteers’ shortcomings, knowing that we have shortcomings of our own.
Lincoln, NE
What have you found to be the benefits and drawbacks of sharing leadership responsibilities?
Dianne Bady
The benefits of sharing leadership are that no one has to be operating at peak performance all the time, we know that when one or more of us has to step back for awhile, that others will be there to keep the fight going. Many heads can come up with more creative plans than one or two alone. When many people are involved in making plans, they feel more commitment to see those plans through. Close relationships develop, which provide the support to keep going when all seems hopeless.
Dealing with disagreements can be difficult and challenging. In one sense, it’s easier to sweep conflict under the rug and try to work around it; that’s the way most of us have learned to deal with conflict. In trying to address conflicts head on, we’re often going against long-standing personal tendencies.
Again, my way of dealing with these challenges is through a sense of radical trust. I trust that the chaos will eventually turn into some workable plans. I trust that sometimes we’ll get help in totally unexpected ways. I trust that when we screw something up, we’ll learn from it. When I fall, I trust there will be others there to help pick me up. And I even trust that if we fail completely at getting a specific win or gain that the very act of our cooperative resistance sends positive ripples though our corner of the cosmos.
Pittsburgh, PA
Are there any gender issues that come up in the community as a woman-led team? If so, how do you deal with them?
Dianne Bady
We just hired a male organizer to fill the job that our beloved Laura Forman did so well. We lost Laura in December.
JANET: One of the things we have noticed when we work with other organizations is there is sometimes a difference in the way women develop an issue strategy. We tend to focus a lot on process. And sometimes it seems men are more task oriented.
At any rate, when we meet with other groups, we try to develop strategies together and resolve any conflicts when they arise.
Spencer, WV
How has the loss of your co-worker Laura Forman affected your work?
Dianne Bady
The three of us were an incredible team for close to 10 years. We miss Laura more than words can say.
When she died so suddenly, it really demonstrated to me the strength and cohesiveness of our organization. Laura's family needed a lot of help, and numerous people just stepped right in and did what was needed. There was no overall planning, but folks in our organization pulled together in a remarkable way.
We feel that Laura's spirit is still with us.
Miami, FL
Because most people think of leadership as an individual pursuit, they also think 'it's lonely at the top'. You share leadership among a group, how does that help sustain your morale and enthusiam in good times and bad?
Dianne Bady
I think it means that neither of us has to be operating at peak capacity at all times, and we are able to share the work load in ways that mesh with our personal lives. We are also able to provide a great deal of emotional support to each other. In this very difficult work, I couldn't imagine being a traditional hierarchical leader. It would just be too hard.
JANET: It means a lot to be able to share leadership with someone who also you call your friend. Dianne and I are also spiritual companions, and often spend time together discussing how our work and our spiritual lives are meshed.
One thing we both know for sure is that in this particular kind of work personal growth is not optional. You either keep growing or you stop.
San Francisco, CA
Fighting an industry like the coal industry seems very stressful. How do you take care of yourselves and prevent burnout?
Janet Fout
As leaders in OVEC we have an obligation not only to our families and selves, but also to the organization to sustain ourselves. Otherwise, how can we promote building a sustainable world? We believe that it is vital to be self-aware and self-examining and to pay attention to what our body may be telling us. We do this by starting our day with yoga, meditation, spiritual readings, and prayer. We take care of our bodies—regular check ups. We have learned to say NO and try to stay focused on our issue.
Balancing the needs of self, family, and activism is a tremendous challenge. This is where having some spiritual practice is of value. It allows us to keep our work in context while living full, rich lives. Activism provides a context for us to develop and grow spiritually as well professionally and intellectually—but it is not our whole life. We are able to do this work over the long haul by supporting one another and talking with others about the challenges we are facing. We call attention to signs of work-related stress we see in one another. We take time off when we feel ourselves teetering on the brink of burnout. OVEC provides staff with sabbatical time and wellness days. We are also support for one another in times of family or personal crisis. On occasion we go somewhere else for a few days and intentionally don’t think about work.
Phoenix, AZ
What constitutes victory in your work or your careers?
Janet Fout
I personally believe that when we have individuals who have never challenged public officials or never spoken in public at a rally, who become energized and informed on an issue and begin to raise their voice, that is one of the greatest victories that we can have.
In West Virginia, it has been a long tradition of people not rocking the boat. We have changed that, because many, many more people are standing up for what is right.
DIANNE: Also, we have had many concrete victories. One example is a huge oil refinery in our region used to be in constant violation of air pollution laws and regulations. We worked with refinery neighbors for years, and the refinery was forced, finally, to add pollution control equipment and end their chronic violations.
Another victory was we stopped "done deal" siting of what would have been the continent's largest pulp mill. The company refused to use the cleanest technologies, and OVEC led a broad coaliton effort to keep this company out.
Leadership for a Changing World
That's all the time we have for today. Thank you for joining us. For more information, you may contact OVEC at:
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
P.O. Box 6753
Huntington, WV 25773
Phone: (304) 522-0246
Fax: (304) 525-6984
Web: www.ohvec.org
Email: ohvec@ohvec.org
Stay tuned for future Leadership Talks.
Dianne Bady
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