Today's Action: Stop Mountaintop Removal

Good Morning, Everyone-
Tomorrow we will be donating to an organization ( Stop Mountaintop Removal) that in a sane world really should not exist. Sadly, it is not often a sane world. The devastation wreaked by this type of mining is so egregious, so horrific, and so visible, that I am continually amazed and saddened that it is still done. From their website:

Mountaintop removal mining is a form of strip mining in which coal companies use explosives to blast as much as 800 to 1000 feet off the tops of mountains order to reach the coal seams that lie underneath. The resulting millions of tons of waste rock, dirt, and vegetation are then dumped into surrounding valleys, burying miles and miles of streams under piles of rubble hundreds of feet deep. Mountaintop removal mining harms not only aquatic ecosystems and water quality, but also destroys hundreds of acres of healthy forests and fish and wildlife habitat, including habitat of threatened and endangered species, when the tops of mountains are blasted away.

This practice also devastates Appalachian communities and cultures that have existed in these mountains for hundreds of years. Residents of the surrounding communities are threatened by rock slides, catastrophic floods, poisoned water supplies, constant blasting, destroyed property, and lost culture. As a result, many have been fighting the practice for years. Mountaintop removal mining takes place in many states in the Appalachian region, including West Virginia, Kentucky, southern Virginia, and eastern Tennessee.

Maybe it's because skinnyskinny was born and raised in Tennessee (before moving to NYC) that this particular issue resonates so strongly, but I doubt it's that simple. It sucks for everyone in any of the surrounding areas. Listen to any of the stories from people who live there, and you'll soon realize that the 'benefits' of this asinine energy source can't possibly be worth the trade-offs.

We have a scheduled donation, but for every new follower that we get on Twitter by 5 pm (EST) today, we'll donate an extra $1 (up to $1000). So, get busy, there's no purchase necessary.