AP Photo/Ed Reinke
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People from around the country who want to see an end to the destructive effects of mountaintop removal will gather on Saturday for the annual Week in Washington, an event organized by the Alliance for Appalachia for the defense of mountains, clean water, and social justice.
Why mountaintop removal needs to end
- The reforestation that's promised often never happens
- It fills streams with debris and disrupts, if not stops completely, natural water flow
- It contaminates water with toxic chemicals and increases disease rates, including cancer, in surrounding communities
- Coal mining does not actually provide that many jobs in Appalachia, and mountaintop removal does not provide that much of the nation's coal
- It destroys wildlife habitat
- And, well.. mountains aren't mountains when they don't have their peaks
The damage is documented by the federal government, yet it continues. The group will spend Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday meeting with members of Congress and lobbying to end mountaintop removal. I can't wait to hear about the turnout.
More on mountaintop removal:
EPA Approves One New Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine, Finds 'Path Forward' for Second
Mountaintop Removal Has Filled 700 Miles of US Streams with Debris
This Land is Coal's Land: Mountaintop Removal Displaces, Destroys, and Scars (Slideshow)
