Sunday, September 09, 2007

Your Comments Needed..........

Before this happens to any more mountains:


The Bush Administration just issued a regulation to allow for the expansion of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining practices. The new rule would allow the practice to continue and expand. Mountaintop Mining has already destroyed more than 450 mountains and ravished the communities that surround them through the burying of streams and headwaters, flooding, and toxic waste and debris being dumped into the valleys below.

This new regulation is open for a 60 day comment period. Fred First has set up a site with instructions on how to comment here

"Mountaintop Removal is occurring right at the heart of one of the nation’s main hotspots of biological diversity. According to the Nature Conservancy, the mountain region including southwest Virginia, southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and northeastern Tennessee contains some of the highest levels of biological diversity in the nation. This region is also at the headwaters of the drinking water supplies of many US cities"........ This is something that affects us all.

This is not an issue of coal vs. no-coal. It is not a political issue. It is a matter of doing what is right and not what is most profitable. The production of coal is up but mining jobs are down..... Coal Companies are making more profit than ever because of this practice, but the regions where they are mining are still some of the most impoverished in the nation. Communities are being left with nothing but polluted water, flooding, and a ravished landscape.

Please let your voice be heard on this issue. And a big thanks to L.L. Barkat,
June, Colleen, Brandy, and Fred for helping spread the word. If you post about this topic, please let me know and I will link to it.......

10 comments:

photowannabe said...

This is more than scary. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I will check our the link you refer to.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the information. I have e-mailed my Congressman.

Anonymous said...

This is just getting to the worst...Just continue with your fight and my support will always be their on your side!

bluemountainmama said...

glad to know you e-mailed your congressman, brandy! thank you!

i know i have been very single-minded in my posting of late, but MTR has been getting more and more attention lately and there are several key laws and regulations at the forefront that will either make this practice more prevalent or hinder it greatly. and i feel it is necessary to let as many people know about what is going on as possible, so this destruction can stop.

Anonymous said...

We need a Julia Butterfly to tie herself to the mountain. What about people setting up camp and refusing to move where the mountain is slated for this rape.

ASHE said...

Bluemountainmama, I am an Appalachian girl myself and it tears at my heart to see photos like that one. It is a shame that so few people even know such destruction exists.

bluemountainmama said...

colleen.... we may need to use these drastic measures....although most of these sites are gated off and have security around them. this tells you that something is really wrong......

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

Blue, keep up the fight..blogging gives you yet another channel to voice your opinions and concern and if it can help to make a change , nothing like it .......hugs for you, dear girl.

And hope Sir Laughsalot is enjoying his school :)

Anil P said...

Open mines are open curses.

Michelle said...

This is crazy... I really can't understand why people think we can just tear up the earth and then expect it to magically rejuvinate itself so we can destroy it all over again.

I signed the petition in one of your previous posts and I think it sent an email to my congressman as well.