Long exploited as a resource-extraction colony within the US, the Appalachian Mountains are home to a fight for survival whose outcome will determine in part the industrial power of this country. Without coal, there would be no 'cheap' electricity. Today’s energy corporations and government bodies are continuing to show the extent of their violence and greed as they push their extractive agendas in the “New Coal Rush.”

Our insatiable demand for cheap power has lead to the most extreme, devastating form of coal mining yet, Mountaintop Removal (MTR). The TRUE COST OF COAL graphic uses MTR in Appalachia as a lens through which to understand the historical and contemporary story of ENERGY, RESOURCE EXTRACTION and of AMERICAN EMPIRE accelerating throughout the world. We will expose the DECEPTIONS of CLEAN COAL technologies and bring to light the ensuing CLIMATE CHAOS facing the world today.

With a gigantic portable mural teeming with intricate images of plants and animals from the most bio-diverse temperate forest on the planet, the Bees will share (and seek) stories of how coal mining and Mountaintop Removal affect communities and ecosystems throughout Appalachia and beyond.

This graphic also looks to the future, raising questions about resistance, regeneration, and remediation while celebrating stories of struggle from mountain communities. The TRUE COST OF COAL will challenge all of us who casually flip on a light switch to examine our own connections to MTR- and to think about what we can do to stop it from within our own communities.

Learn more about this graphics campaign as it unfolds at: beehivecollective.blogspot.com and get your own copy of the Coal poster at our WEBSTORE

(Esta presentación está disponible EN ESPAÑOL)

Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the resulting Zapatista uprising in 1994, the Western Hemisphere has been a battle ground between worldviews. As our world is being transformed by globalization, what the future holds will be determined by the struggles of traditional land-based communities throughout the Global South against neo-colonial models of capitalist development. We are living in the moment when we decide if the rich and powerful hold the keys to our lives and planet or if we, the people of the grassroots, hold our own right to self-determination.

Featuring the Beehive’s first two works in our trilogy about globalization in the Americas- THE FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS and PLAN COLOMBIA graphic campaigns- the DISMANTELING MONOCULTURE picture-lecture weaves together images and stories from the past 10 years of our work. With two giant illustrated portable murals, a six foot tall fabric storybook, and an engaging narrative, the Bees take audiences on an interactive VISUAL tour of the connections between COLONIZATION, MILITARIZATION, and RESOURCE EXTRACTION disguised as “industrial development.”

The result is a compelling and inspirational tale of struggle and resistance in this era immense change. DISMANTELING MONOCULTURE grows and evolves with each telling, as we all carry these histories within our own lived experience. The Bees hope to share and seek stories about how these themes manifest in our daily lives and what people do to resist and regenerate.

The 2011 version will also include previews and updates from MESOAMERICA RESISTE, the final epic chapter in the trilogy, our most ambitious and elaborate illustration to date...7 YEARS in the making and nearly hatched!

For more information about the Hive’s work on globalization in the Americas, visit FTAA and PLAN COLOMBIA in our Graphics Campaign section of the website.

This graphic, currently under construction, is the third and final in the Beehive’s trilogy on globalization in the Americas. This intricate map of images is focused on Mexico and Central America as a means of telling a larger story about, COLONIZATION, GLOBAL ECONOMY and MEGA-INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT projects.

Like its global counterparts, Project Mesoamerica (formerly "Plan Puebla Panama") aims to colonize and transform the land from Mexico to Colombia in the interest of building infrastructure to facilitate resource extraction and "efficient" global trade routes…just as early European monarchies set out to do 500 years ago.

The title ‘Mesoamerica Resiste’ reflects our efforts to document, illustrate, and share stories of grassroots movements working to oppose top-down development through horizontal community based organizing, as well as to honor the incredible Mesoamerican biodiversity threatened by this plan. Featuring over 300 distinct species of plants and animals, Mesoamerica Resiste! is by far and away our most ambitious and elaborate illustration to date.

With the final stages of inking and printing yet-to-be completed, the Mesoamerica Resiste! graphic is currently available using bite-size pieces of the immensely detailed graphic narrative in a slideshow format. The 2011 version will include beautiful new images and updates on Project Mesoamerica as the graphic nears completion!

GRAPHICS FOR THE COMMONS:
Collaborative Graphic Design for Movement Building

A hands-on collaborative image making workshop- coming soon for FALL 2010!