Virginia-based coal producer Massey Energy's chief executive is calling the latest arrests of protesters at one of the company's operations pointless.

Don Blankenship said Wednesday the arrests of actress Daryl Hannah, NASA scientist James Hansen and 29 others a day earlier do nothing to further the debate about coal mining. Blankenship says he'd rather debate Hansen and has accepted an offer from West Virginia Media to air a debate Thursday.

Hansen, however, has offered to participate in a public discussion Wednesday, but not an adversarial debate.

Hansen, Hannah and others were cited for impeding traffic and obstructing an officer after they blocked a road near a Massey processing plant in southern West Virginia. Their complaints centered on mountaintop removal, which involves blasting away ridgetops.