Mountaintop Removal

If you love mountains, valleys and forests, and the people and animals living there, then you will understand why mountaintop removal mining for coal must be stopped.

The Appalachian Mountains cover a huge, almost unbroken area, over 1500 miles long and often a couple hundred miles wide. The Appalachians are covered in deep, thick, dense forest. Generations of families have lived in the Appalachians. The high biodiversity of these mountains provide habitat to many species of birds and animals.

To get to thin seams of coal, mining companies clear-cut the native forests and blow off the tops of the mountains. The waste rock and dirt are dumped into the valleys, permanently filling in streams. This most destructive form of mining has increased flooding, contaminated drinking water and destroyed habitat. The Sierra Club reports that by the end of this century, more than 2,200 square miles of Appalachian forest and mountains will be gone, and it is estimated that mountaintop removal could harm more than 240 species of animals.

Reducing the need for electricity with efficiency and conservation can save the mountains and the communities, birds and animals living there. Turn off your lights when you aren’t using them, turn up the thermostat this summer, and find other ways to conserve energy. It’s also important to let your national representatives and presidential candidates know that you want a responsible energy policy that eliminates the need for more coal and mountaintop removal mining.