GREAT news! Not quite a ban, but the EPA has decided to drastically curtail mountaintop removal coal mining, effective immediately! This is a huge step forward in terms of environmental justice, as this particular form of coal mining is highly destructive to the mountains and the health of the people living in the area.
The mountaintops are blasted off and pile the rubble in nearby valleys. Toxins normally buried in the mountain are released when rain falls on the rubble and poison the streams and water, resulting in health problems for the people living there. Nearly 2,000 miles of streams and 500 mountains have been destroyed thus far. According to the Washington Post, “new mining guidelines bar operations that would exceed pollution limits of salt and specified toxins. Experts say few of the regions existing valley fills could have met the new standards.”
Check out the articles below, if you’re interested in reading more. The list was complied by Dave Cooper of The Mountaintop Removal Road Show. This is worth celebrating!
- Rowan Van Ness, Program Associate for Environmental Justice, UU Ministry for Earth
Coal Tattoo Blog: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2010/04/01/breaking-news-not-an-ap...
Charleston Gazette: http://wvgazette.com/News/201004010814
The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230396060457515803299663850...
Reuters: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN0113390020100401
The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/science/earth/02coal.html
The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/apr/01/obama-administrat...
The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/01/AR201004...
The National Journal: http://energytopic.nationaljournal.com/2010/04/epa-puts-controls-on-moun...
W.Va. Public Broadcasting: http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=14218
The Charleston Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.com/News/201004010554
Lexington Herald Leader: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/04/01/1206686/new-guidelines-could-reduce-s...