|
The mountains and hollers of Appalachia are home to a strong and vibrant culture, breathtaking scenery, and a long and storied history. But mountaintop removal mining threatens all that and more. On this page, you can read the stories of the people who've been most affected by this destructive mining method and about the people who are fighting to save this important part of America.
Read Their Stories
 |
Jim Foster: "The Ruination of Our State" |
 "I don’t care what he says or anybody else says, it’s completely wrong. They can mine this coal a better way, and give a lot more men work. There’d be lots more men employed mining coal, deep mine it, than it would to be destroying the environment like they’re doin’. And they will eventually, on down the road somewhere, see and realize what they’ve done and be ashamed of what they’ve allowed to happen to our state." Click here to read Jim's story. |
|
Maria Gunnoe: "My Life is on the Line" |
 "I’m settin’ there on my porch, which is my favorite place in the whole world. As it stands right now, with the new permits I saw last week, they’re gonna blast off the mountain I look at when I look off my front porch. And I get to set and watch that happen, and I’m not supposed to react. Don’t react, just set there and take it. They’re gonna blast away my horizon, and I’m expected to say, "It’s OK. It’s for the good of all." Click here to read Maria's story. |
|
Larry Gibson: "The Land Will Never Be for Sale" |
 "They’re gonna keep takin’ and takin’ and takin’. Folks have to get in their head that the people that’s doin’ it to ‘em don’t’ care about ‘em. They have to care about theirself. They have to take control of their own destiny. Whether it’s a coal company or a chemical company or what, they’re not gonna do it for the people. The people have to do it for theirself."
Click here to read Larry's story. |
|
 |
 Tell Congress you won’t stand for polluted water! Please sign our petition supporting the passage of the Clean Water Protection Act.
| 
A World of Difference A federal court granted a temporary restraining order that limits expansive mining at several mountaintop removal mines currently being challenged by environmental groups in Appalachia. Read about it.
In Their Own Words
"Mountaintop removal mining may more appropriately be called mountain and stream annihilation. The tops of mountains hundreds of feet deep are blown apart to get at coal seams. Coal companies then dump the waste rock and debris in adjacent stream valleys, smothering the stream and any associated life. Mountaintop removal converts a biologically rich mountain ecosystem to a biological moonscape." Janet Keating, Co-Director, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
West Virginia |
|
|
