January to March 2011
In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its decision to protect mountain communities and the health of Appalachian citizens by vetoing the largest sing mountaintop removal coal mining permit in West Virginia history, the Spruce No. 1 Mine.
Wendell Berry and thirteen other individuals brought national attention to mountaintop removal and coal mining in mid-February. Additionally, Congressman John Yarmuth (KY) gave a courageous and powerful statement opposing mountaintop removal in the House of Representatives.
In mid-February, the largest florist in the world, 1-800-Flowers agreed to begin selling Fair Trade flowers and insist on a strong code of conduct for all their suppliers to counteract the deplorable working conditions that thousands of female flower workers face in South America. They’ve promised to offer Fair Trade flowers in time for Mother's Day.
In early March, the world’s largest retail manufacturer of chocolate, Mars Chocolate took its responsibility to cocoa farmers very seriously and announced that all MARS® Bars manufactured in Australia will now select only cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. This move brings us another step closer to our goal of becoming the first global chocolate company to source its entire cocoa supply from sustainably managed sources by 2020.
Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois signed legislation to abolish the death penalty in March.
In Kentucky, SB 6 (an anti-immigrant bill) was not passed. Neither was HB 3 that would have required public employers to use the federal employment verification programs and prohibit hiring undocumented persons.
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