Turn Off the Lights!!!

From 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., local time, tonight for Earth Hour, to show solidarity and commitment towards Energy Conservation. I will take it one step further and leave electronics and lights off all evening and light our oil lamps.

Also, on another note, but related to energy, our Stop Mountaintop Removal Blog has moved to its own domain. The new address is EndMTR.com. Denny has done an excellent job setting up the new site and we also have several new co-authors, including Shirley Stewart Burns, author of 'Bringing Down the Mountains'. Check in regularly for updates, related issues, and action steps.

Let's send a message tonight.....

( This is my post in support of Blogging for Appalachia week.... a challenge issued by Outdoor Bloggers Summit , encouraging people to post about Mountaintop Removal Mining this week. Even though I post regularly about this issue, I wanted to participate as a show of support. The following is a Letter to the Editor I submitted in September to local papers.)

Dear Editor,

In the midst of our beautiful West Virginia mountains, there is a wolf in sheep's clothing. This wolf touts what a great thing he is for our state, how we wouldn't be able to survive without him. And he is on the prowl......

This wolf is King Coal. For over a century, Coal Companies have been making billions of dollars by extracting coal from our mountains, while West Virginia's people remain the second poorest in the nation. And now Coal Companies have found an even MORE profitable way to mine coal, that basically takes the coal miner out of the picture. This process is called Mountaintop Removal Mining.

Everyday in our state, three million pounds of explosives are used to literally blow the tops off of mountains to get to the coal seams below. So far, over 470 of our ancient mountains have been destroyed. All of the debris is then dumped into the valleys and streams below, so far burying over 1200 miles of streams. And now, with Governor Manchin's announcement that he wants to expand coal operations to make WV a coal-based economy and build 10 coal-to-liquid plants, Mountaintop Removal practices will continue to expand despite the fact that mountaintop removal accounted for less than 5% of US coal production as of 2001. According to a report from the US Geologic Survey in 2000, the Appalachian coal basin will not continue providing coal for much longer.

This is a very short-sighted energy goal, leaving WV's landscape devastated for short-term energy needs for the rest of the country. What does this mean for the residents of Appalachia's coalfields? So far, it has meant catastrophic flooding from the burying and re-routing of streams, the destruction of the mountains that their ancestors have lived in for generations, and contaminated drinking water from leaking toxic sludge dams. Impoundments are notoriously leaky, contaminating drinking water supplies in many communities, and are also known to fail completely. A sludge dam breach in Martin County, KY, in 2000, sent more than 300 million gallons of toxic coal sludge into tributaries of the Big Sandy, causing what the EPA called, “The biggest environmental disaster ever east of the Mississippi."

So far, Governor Manchin and Senator Byrd have turned a deaf ear to the residents of the coalfields, who have been crying out, "Our children are sick, our water is poisoned, and our mountains are no longer there!" Our politicians are only hearing the voice of Coal and its money. Mountaintop Mining is devastating Appalachia and no one knows or cares. It's time to speak up and help our fellow West Virginians. Call your representative and urge him/her to support the Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 2169). This Act is necessary to protect clean drinking water for many of our nation’s cities and to protect the quality of life for Appalachian coalfield residents. You can go to ilovemountains.org and 700mountains.org to find out more.

"I look to the hills from whence cometh my strength......"

But what if there are no more hills to look up to?

(Sidenote: You can scroll down to Monday's post, to access the ever-growing list of who else is participating)

Oh, the weather outside is frightful..........

The big picture...

And just for sh**s and giggles... (pun intended)

This is what greeted us yesterday morning as we awoke. I ventured outside just long enough to take some pics, but as you can see, I had to watch my step. :) We'll be staying inside and cozying up next to the woodstove this weekend.....

Two things I wanted to pass along, though: First, a friend of mine just started a new blog. She has her first post up, so if you get a chance, click over and welcome her to the blogging world.

Second, The Outdoor Bloggers Summit is declaring next week, 'Blogging for Appalachia' week, and is encouraging people to blog about Mountaintop Removal. I will be participating and encourage any of you who may be up to the task, to also post about it. If you do, let me know and I will link to it. It has the potential to reach thousands if we all do it.
Stay warm, everyone......

You Say you want a revolution...........

I am ready for one! After much apathy this voting season, with no candidate capturing my mind, heart, or interests... none with radical ideas about getting America back on track... I think I have finally found my man. This is by no means a proselytizing post to get you to share my opinions on Ron Paul... I'm just excited to find someone with big ideas!

From His Mouth:

"Christ came here for spiritual reasons, not secular war and boundaries and geography. And yet, we are now dedicating so much of our aggressive activity in the name of God, but God, he is the Prince of Peace. That is what I see from my God and through Christ. I vote for peace. "
Values Voter Presidential Debate, September 17, 2007

"We have a lot of goodness in this country. And we should promote it, but never through the barrel of a gun. We should do it by setting good standards, motivating people and have them want to emulate us. But you can't enforce our goodness, like the neocons preach, with an armed force. It doesn't work. "
Republican Presidential Debate, Manchester, New Hampshire, June 5, 2007

"America was founded by men who understood that the threat of domestic tyranny is as great as any threat from abroad. If we want to be worthy of their legacy, we must resist the rush toward ever-increasing state control of our society. Otherwise, our own government will become a greater threat to our freedoms than any foreign terrorist."
Freedom vs. Security: A False Choice, May 31, 2004

"In the free society envisioned by the founders, schools are held accountable to parents, not federal bureaucrats. "
Statement on the Congressional Education Plan, May 23, 2001

"One day I walked into an operating room, to just be an observant, which we would do generally, as a medical resident. They were performing this hysterectomy, which was a caesarean section. And they lifted out a fetus that weighted approximately 2 pounds, and it was breathing and crying. And it was put in a bucket and set in the corner of the room, and everybody in the room just pretended that they didn't hear it. And the baby died. And I walked out of that room a different person... Roe v. Wade is a reflection of the moral climate of the country, because the law was being defied, and then the law was changed, the law sort of caught up with the culture. So even though we work in the legal area, and work politically, ultimately I believe it's an issue of personal morality, and is a reflection of the country, more so than just the lack of laws. Just changing the laws won't be enough, we will ultimately have to have a society that's moral enough, where the fetus deserves legal protection. "
National Right to Life Convention, Kansas City, Missouri, June 15, 2007

In the third Republican debate on June 5, 2007, Paul said about the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy:
"I think the current policy is a decent policy. And the problem that we have with dealing with this subject is we see people as groups, as they belong to certain groups and that they derive their rights as belonging to groups. We don't get our rights because we're gays or women or minorities. We get our rights from our Creator as individuals. So every individual should be treated the same way. So if there is homosexual behavior in the military that is disruptive, it should be dealt with. But if there's heterosexual behavior that is disruptive, it should be dealt with. So it isn't the issue of homosexuality. It's the concept and the understanding of individual rights. If we understood that, we would not be dealing with this very important problem."

On Environmental Issues:"The federal government has proven itself untrustworthy with environmental policy by facilitating polluters, subsidizing logging in the National Forests, and instituting one-size-fits-all approaches that too often discriminate against those they are intended to help.
The key to sound environmental policy is respect for private property rights. The strict enforcement of property rights corrects environmental wrongs while increasing the cost of polluting.
In a free market, no one is allowed to pollute his neighbor's land, air, or water. If your property is being damaged, you have every right to sue the polluter, and government should protect that right. After paying damages, the polluter's production and sale costs rise, making it unprofitable to continue doing business the same way. Currently, preemptive regulations and pay-to-pollute schemes favor those wealthy enough to perform the regulatory tap dance, while those who own the polluted land rarely receive a quick or just resolution to their problems. " ( http://www.ronpaul2008.com/)

More Quotes here.......

Hello all! First, let me just say that I miss everyone and I hope to start posting again soon. I have had several things going on, not the least being caring for a croupy Sir Coughsalot. :) He is better now and back in school this week. Meanwhile, Coal Companies are going full forward and trying to win the propaganda war and make their last billions before any more people find out about Mountaintop Removal. Please read these links and help!!!!

Shop Kroger.....

Here's Why and Here's How (You have to order the card directly from OVEC)!

These stores take Kroger gift cards, too:

Also, Blogging friend Brandy needs help for her friend, whos community is about to be overtaken by a very toxic coal-fired plant. Please go over to THIS link and see how you can help. Everyone's help is needed to stop this ravaging of Appalachia by the coal industry. Letters to the editor are great, no matter where you live.... and calls only take a few minutes of time. I have been busy with similar projects, one going on in our county. I will post again soon... PROMISE!!!!!

Take care everyone!

Miss Dorothy.....

Click To Play

Miss Dorothy is just one of hundreds of citizens in Appalachia who have been driven out of their homes because of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. A lot of these properties are ancestral homelands that have been in a family for generations. If you refuse to sell your property to the coal company, they make living conditions unbearable. To help stop this nonsense, go here. Also, call your congressmen and urge them to sponsor The Clean Water Protection Act, which will help end this atrocity.

Who's linking to this post:

1.Two Square Meals

Are You Connected?

Pin this badge on your site.

I want to give a very, VERY sincere thank-you to all of you who have been taking action against the destruction of our mountains here in Appalachia. It has been such an encouragement to me and gives me hope. Here is one more step you can take......Enter your zip code above and find out if your electricity comes from Mountaintop Removal Coal. If it does, please take the time to contact your electricity provider and ask them not to buy coal from companies that practice MTR mining. The link will let you know how. This is a wonderful tool and I believe it will have great impact..... If your electricity does come from MTR coal, the link will also tell you what community the coal is coming from. I'd be interested in hearing back from you once you do find out...... It will be interesting to see how many companies buy such coal. Thanks for joining the fight.... the people in Appalachia need your help!

dirty, pretty things......

"Miss Amy.... I want to f*** you up the ass", a nine-year old student told me, while I was teaching at the Salem School. This is what he thought he should say to let me know he liked me. T-man, as I affectionately referred to him, had been homeless, eating out of dumpsters. I dared not think about what he had seen, heard, or had happen to him, to make him think that's how you show people affection.

*Denise's record came before she did. We sat at the table reviewing her history in anticipation of her arrival to the residential program. I was a Teaching Parent at the time.... my first role at Salem, and she would be in my house. Denise was nine, also, and had never been able to stay in a placement for more than a couple of months because of her out-of-control behaviors. She had set her hair on fire, tried to strangle herself, and attacked her caregivers. The dolled up little girl that walked in, with her black mary janes, pink purse, and bright red lipstick , belied the disturbed little child underneath. She had no 'honeymoon' period, as most children did... where their behaviors didn't emerge for a couple of weeks. Denise launched full-scale warfare almost as soon as she entered the room. I knew I was in for a long summer.....

So what makes a 9 year old girl try to commit suicide, and burn every bridge that someone puts out for her? In Denise's case, she was born to a crack addict, and was left alone, lying in her crib for days at a time, wallowing in her feces, crying at the top of her little infant lungs for food. Her mother would allow men to come in and molest baby Denise in exchange for drugs. As a toddler, she would eat lead paint chips... the only thing she could find. Then when her situation was discovered, she was placed in a foster home, where she was abused again. Then on to home after home after home.... and finally to a mental health institution before coming to Salem.

T-man and Denise are just a few of the thousands, if not millions of children living a daily nightmare. I tend to focus a lot on beauty and peace on my blog... But I am also painfully aware that the world isn't a beautiful place in a lot of ways. It can be a dark, ugly, evil place. Maybe because I've seen the darkness, I can appreciate the light and beauty that much more.

As we approach the holiday season, a lot of us will relish the comforts of home, family, and abundance. That is all well and good.... I will be doing the same. But let us not forget those who don't have the luxury of a home-cooked meal, a mother's hand to hold, gifts to open, or a safe place to rest their head. I believe strongly that we were not put on this earth just to be comfortable, consume resources, and take up space. There is a needy world out there... a dark world. A world that needs people to come and shine some light into its darkness.

Denise was able to stay at Salem for 2 years before being placed back in her county. I not only was her Teaching Parent that summer, but she was placed in the class where I would be a Teaching Assistant in the fall. I was in the trenches with her for 2 years.... fighting alongside the other staff for her life. And I had the privilege of slowly, but surely, seeing LIFE.... a child emerge from the shell. After months of aggression, defiance, and violence on her part, I got to see her first real tear, when she gave her first sincere apology for hurting someone. I saw the film of apathy come off her eyes. I saw her bond for the first time in years.... first with our classroom dog, then with a fellow student, then with us, her teachers.... baby steps. I got to hold her and sing her to sleep at night. But through it all, I didn't feel that I was doing her a favor..... IN fact, I felt like I was the lucky one...to see this miracle, as she was the bravest little girl I had ever met, to open herself up to love after the nightmare of her former existence.

Denise and T-man will probably never be truly functioning members of society. T-man is now living with relatives. Denise is now 18 and in an independent living facility for young adults. She still calls me on the holidays and wants to know what I am going to send her. She tells me she loves me and misses me. And those are precious words in my ear, because I know she means it in the most sincere way she can.

This season, let us be beacons of light in the dark places in our communities. When we pray and Give Thanks, let us not forget to pray and petition on behalf of those who don't have a voice. Let us not forget those outside our comfortable homes, whether it be the lonely widow or widower, an abused child, a nursing home resident, or even a stray dog. Yes, let us be Thankful, but not forgetful......

(*name changed for privacy)

Grandfather Ed.......

Another Hero fighting for his family and community..... Ed Wiley. After seeing his granddaughter and her classmates getting steadily sicker from attending Marsh Fork Elementary School, sitting below a huge coal processing plant and Mountaintop Removal Site, he committed to walk 455 miles...... from Charleston, WV, to Washington, D.C. to try to get our politicians to take notice and build the children a new school.

A blog chronicling his journey is here . You have to scroll down to the bottom for the first post. For more info about Marsh Fork Elementary, go here.

It's been a year since Ed's march and despite commitments from state politicians, nothing has been done.

Keeper of the Mountain......

Hello my friends..... I am back from the Stream Buffer Zone Hearing with a renewed passion and energy to fight the evil of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. I finally got to meet some of the heroes of the battle.... the people in the midst of the struggle, enduring great hardships because of Coal, but standing up to the giant. I am not quite done processing the whole experience yet.... but after seeing everday folks stand up and testify, bring filthy water in from their wells and creeks, despite the jeering and laughter of big, intimidating men all around the room sent out by the coal companies, I see the need to fight even harder. I, myself, was jeered as I spoke and was able to see the true nature of the industry that we are fighting. They had absolutely no respect for any of the speakers, even a little 71 year old lady who spoke on behalf of her community.... they constantly interrupted her and one even yelled out: "You're senile, Sit Down and Be Quiet!"

So while I am processing it all, I am going to feature some of the heroes fighting for their land, lives, and community. Firstly, Larry Gibson , a.k.a. 'Keeper of the Mountain', whom I was so honored to meet. Here is his story:

Larry Gibson's family has lived on or near Kayford Mountain since the late 1700's. More than 300 relatives are buried in the cemetery on Kayford Mountain. Larry and his family used to live on the lowest lying part of the mountain, and looked "up" to the mountain peaks that surrounded them. Since 1986, the slow motion destruction of Kayford Mountain has been continuous -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Eighteen years after the "mountain top removal" project began, Larry Gibson now occupies the highest point of land around; he is enveloped by a 12,000 acre pancake in what was previously a mountain range.

(As a sidenote.... just recently, part of Larry's family cemetery was bulldozed through, even though the coal company knew it was illegal..... )

HOPE?

Received in my e-mail box last week:

'You are receiving this email in response to your request relating to the proposed rule that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement published on August 24, 2007. Among other things, the rule would place additional restrictions on the construction of excess spoil fills and clarify the stream buffer zone rule.

After reviewing the requests that we received, OSM has decided to extend the deadline for receipt of comments on the proposed rule until November 23, 2007. We also will be holding public hearings to accept testimony on the proposed rule at four locations on October 24, 2007. All hearings are scheduled to begin at 6 pm and end at 9 pm.

The hearings will be held at the following locations:

· Holiday Inn Charleston ( Charleston House), 600 Kanawha Boulevard East, Charleston , West Virginia .

· Hazard Community & Technical College , Hazard Campus, Jolly Center , Room 208, One Community College Drive , Hazard , Kentucky .

· Pellissippi State Technical Community College , Goins Auditorium , 10915 Hardin Valley Road , Knoxville , Tennessee .

· Ramada Inn Washington, 1170 West Chestnut Street , Washington , Pennsylvania . '

It's still not too late to comment. The link is HERE. Hubby's taking off of work next week so we can go to the hearing nearest us to voice our concern on this new Concession to the Coal Industry. If any of these locations are near you, please go and let your voice be heard.... or just show up for support.

P.S. Blog Post of Note:

Here is one blogger's first-hand encounter with Mountain-top Removal... It's worth taking a look and really shows the scope of the devastation....

Do you know where your eggs come from?

In my college Ecology class, back in the mid 90's, I discovered the horrors of factory farms. Before that, I had a picturesque view of where my meat and eggs came from: cows lazing about in fields and chickens roaming around looking for worms, just like on the farm I grew up on. I was so horrified at getting an inside look at factory farms that I switched to vegetarianism.

When I got married, I conceded to eating meat again, but I wanted to be assured of where it was coming from. Unless you shop in a Whole Foods/Organic store or buy off of a local farmer, the meat, dairy, and egg products you are consuming most likely come from animals that have lived a miserable life. To find out more about Wegman's Cruelty and urge them to let their hens be free-range, go here. This link also provides information on egg guidelines and making sure you are buying true Cage-free eggs. Another good link is Local Harvest, which can guide you to family farms near where you live.

So next time you are at the grocery store, send a message and buy Cage-Free Eggs!

Black Water.......

"I come from the mountains, Kentucky's my home, Where the wild deer and black bear so lately did roam; By cool rushing waterfalls the wildflowers dream, And through every green valley there runs a clear stream.

Now there's scenes of destruction on every hand... And only black waters run down through my land. Sad scenes of destruction on every hand,

Black waters, black waters, run down through my land..."

- 'Black Waters' by Jean Ritchie

I know I have been single-minded in my posting as of late. But my heart is extremely saddened and angered by Mountain-top mining. It is destroying the beautiful state where I live....and the state that I grew up in. When you see your fellow Appalachian people suffering because of the negligence of a few in power, it is hard not to speak up.

The above picture is of a stream filled with Coal sludge. The water in West Virginia and Kentucky is literally being poisoned. I am very grateful that PBS recently did a special on this issue....they are the first media outlet to do so. You can view it here. It is a longer clip, but it is a worthy endeavor of your time as we all use electricity....much of which is powered by coal mined in my state.

THIS is the price of coal...... Should the Appalachian people continue to suffer, be sick, and in some cases, die, to supply our nation with electricity? President Bush just recently made a statement that our nation needs to make this sacrifice to take us from dependency on foreign oil. I have to say that I strongly disagree.......

This new website has made it easier to let your voice be heard about the new Regulation passed by the Bush Administration to allow Coal Companies to basically have free reign for Mountain-top Removal.... with little to no accountability. It also features a moving preview of an upcoming documentary about the people of Appalachia's suffering and fight to end Mountaintop Mining.

PLEASE, please take the time to view these clips and let your voice be heard.....

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.......

Wordless Wednesday.......

'Playing In the Shadow of Coal'

(photo courtesy of 'Pennies of promise' website)

To find out how Massey Energy and the Coal Industry are endangering the lives of these children go here.

For more info on how Mountaintop Mining is destroying the beautiful Appalachian mountains, go here.

For more Wordless Wednesdays, go here.

Please Help...........

How You Can Help.........

My dear readers, there will not be many times that I bring up 'issues', so to speak, that I urge you all to act on. It's not really the purpose of my blog. But Mountaintop Mining is something that is so wrong and so destructive that I have to get the word out. It is devastating my part of the world. I think until we picture this happening in our own communities and not think of it as someone else's problem, nothing will be done. Because it's happening in some of the poorest and most isolated areas of Appalachia, the local people's voices are not being heard over King Coal's and it is a practice that has been veiled in secrecy. But there is something we can all do right now.

The Clean Water Act was enacted by Congress in 2002 to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters,” and prohibited the dumping of material into waterways for the purpose of waste disposal. In 2002, the Secretary of the Army changed the definition of “fill material” in order to include mining waste. Since debris from mountaintop removal is no longer considered “waste,” coal companies are dumping millions of tons of mine waste into streams, so far burying more than 1000 miles of streams and headwaters...

Representatives Frank Pallone and Christopher Shays introduced a bill that reestablishes the original intent of the Clean Water Act: to protect our waterways, not give industry permission to pollute and bury them. By the end of the 109th congress of 2006, the bill had 77 co-sponsors. If this bill gets passed, it will be a huge blow to the practice of Mountaintop Mining. Please go here to see if your representative is co-sponsoring the bill, and if not, call or write them to urge them to. Sometimes it takes more than one phone call or letter.

Also, our representatives will be home during the month of August. I have set up a meeting with mine while he is home, although he is opposed to the Act. I live in the main battlefield, where Coal Money runs our politics, but I will still continue to bug. If you live in TN, WV, VA, or KY, you'll have to fight extra hard..... and setting up a meeting in person, as a constituent, would be great. You can contact Appalachian Voices, and they can help you in this process.

This is something we all can do as a collective blogging community. Also, if you feel led, please re-post about this to help spread the word. If you do, let me know and I will link to it.

Who's Spreading the word...........

1. Nameless Creek

2. Fragments From Floyd

3. Green Inventions Central

4. Spatter

5. Simply Brandy

(Mountaintop Removal is an atrocity that is taking place here in my beloved Appalachian mountains. It's a cheaper way to remove coal that basically eliminates the coal miner. But in the process, it is destroying the landscape and lives of people in rural Appalachia. Flying over some parts of West Virginia and Kentucky, you would think you were flying over a war zone. Please help me spread the word. Here is an e-mail I received and ways that you can help.)

Before Mountaintop Mining........After.........

Today, I want to tell you about a place that is ground zero in the fight to stop mountaintop removal coal mining..... a place called Coal River Mountain.

Located in westernmost Raleigh County, West Virginia, Coal River Mountain is under threat from Massey Energy. Massey has applied for two mountaintop removal permits, and is considering a third, that would destroy nearly 6,000 acres of Coal River Mountain, effectively decapitating it. They would fill 18 Appalachian valleys with toxic coal mining waste and destroy the tallest peaks ever to be mined in West Virginia.

But a coalition of grassroots organizations, led by Coal River Mountain Watch, have joined together to protect Coal River Mountain - and bring the attention of the nation to the ongoing tragedy that is mountaintop removal coal mining.

Effort to stop the Coal River Mountain project is gaining momentum at the local level. Just last week, more than 100 local citizens filled the bleachers at a public hearing held by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection at the Clear Fork Elementary School to speak their minds about the massive proposal.There has never been such a turnout to a public hearing on a mine permit in West Virginia... but even more incredibly, every single citizen who spoke, spoke in opposition to the mine.There are many reasons that local citizens oppose the mine: it will pollute their drinking water, heighten the risk of local flooding, and destroy the mountains and the beautiful landscape that have been their family home for as many as nine generations.The mine, too, would destroy the long-term economic future of Coal River Mountain. As many citizens said at the hearing, for just a few years worth of jobs and a few years worth of coal, the mine would wipe out the opportunity to build a wind power facility that could provide long-term jobs and enough power to meet the needs of more than 90,000 homes forever.

Yet despite the united - and, at the hearing, unanimous - opposition to the plan to destroy Coal River Mountain, local citizens hold little hope that their testimony alone will stop the mine - because the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has never denied a permit application for a mountaintop removal mine. Never.

Even though most Americans would never support the destruction of this beautiful mountain and irreplaceable landscape, the people living near Coal River Mountain believe that their mountain will be destroyed because most Americans simply don't know what's happening in the hills and hollows of Appalachia.

There really is no such thing as clean coal...... to learn more about Mountaintop Removal and how you can help, go to Ilovemountains.org.

July 18

Father, set the lonely in families. Specifically I pray for Brock, Cody and Devon, that a family would adopt them and give them a loving atmosphere in which to thrive.

To find out more about these boys and adoption, go here.

Real Beauty?




Some Sad Statistics....

-70% of girls ages 15-17 aren’t even bothering to participate in
normal every day activities due to a lack of self-worth

-Today’s “beauty ideals” create “appearance anxiety” for 86.9% of all
teenaged girls

-92% of the young women in the USA want to change some aspect of their
physical appearance

-By age 15, clinically depressed girls outnumber boys with depression
2 to 1

-At age 9, at least half of all girls report having been on a diet.
Eighty percent of eighth grade girls say they are on diets."

-7 million girls and women have eating disorders, compared with 1 million
boys and men.Ten percent report onset at 10 years or younger; 33
percent ages 11 to 15.

-Research also shows that messages girls receive from the media can
damage their feelings of self-worth and negatively affect their
behavior. More than one in four girls surveyed feel the media pressure
them to have a perfect body.

I admire Dove for their Campaign For Real Beauty. Someone needs to expose the fashion and beauty industry for what it is. How did we get to a point in society where over half of 9 year old girls are already on diets? I've read elsewhere that even by the age of 5 or 6, girls are already worried about their looks. My weight and appearance were the last thing on my mind during my elementary school years.

Girls with low self-esteem are far more likely to suffer depression, have eating disorders, abuse drugs and alcohol, and get pregnant in their teen years. I'm glad the discussion has started so that we can come up with a plan to reverse this trend.....

In the meantime, hug your girls and other women in your life and let them know how beautiful they are! :)

Wordless Wednesday.....
for more Wordless Wednesdays go here.

Ben Harper

How you can help:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

http://www.one.org

http://www.compassion.com