Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Mobilizes on Mountaintop Removal
Posted May 1, 2009 in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, Solving Global Warming
Calling mountaintop removal mining "the worst ongoing environmental tragedy our country has ever endured," NRDC Senior Attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is helping our push to persuade Congress to enact legislation that will end the destruction of Appalachia.
Kennedy is enlisting concerned citizens to urge swift passage of bi-partisan bills in Congress -- the Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 1310) and the Appalachia Restoration Act (S. 696) -- aimed at ending mountaintop removal.
In an email alert to NRDC's BioGems Defenders, Kennedy wrote:
For too long we have allowed coal companies to get away with using dynamite to literally blow the peaks right off of mountains to get at the coal underneath. The scars of this destructive practice can be seen up and down Appalachia, where hundreds of mountains have already been flattened, communities harmed, and a once beautiful landscape eviscerated.
Coal may be part of our foreseeable energy future, but that doesn't mean we should let mining companies destroy biologically diverse forests and fill our rivers and streams with debris.
We need Congress to act now and end the destruction of
Appalachian homes and heritage.
If you love mountains, then please take action today.
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Comments
Dave Moore — May 4 2009 10:54 PM
Mountaintop removal should be banned as a very partial step to radically decrease the use of coal. Coal is perhaps the dirtiest fuel for its sulfur dioxide, acid rain, and mercury with the highest CO2 emissions as well. A one hundred foot stream buffer for dumping "overburden", ie the topsoil and vegetation, seems a tiny step towards this at best.
Obama supported Clean Coal during the presidential campaign. He has a lot to learn if the US is to join the fight against climate change. We need to speak up more directly to move the agenda to prevent a global meltdown.