Mountaintop Removal

Mountaintop removal has been on my mind lately. In October, I attended a public hearing on mountaintop removal on suspension and modification of nationwide permit 21. Apparently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a blanket permit to allow the placement of mining wastes (the industry calls it "overburden") into our mountain headwaters.

So basically, what you have is a blanket permit for the wholescale destruction of our mountains and our mountain streams. The mining industry prefers this method because it's the most profitable - compared to deep mining that employs hundreds for years, it takes only a handful of employees and a few months to operate the huge machines that tear down mountains.

But the true cost isn't factored into the market price. Air and water pollution, loss of native plants and animals, loss of unique scenic vistas important for eco-tourism, increased flooding risk, and loss of water supplies are not factored into this profit-seeking equation. While the coal companies take all the profits, the rest of society is holds the bill for the cost of losing the valuable service mountains provide, from simple personal enjoyment to regional availability of clean drinking water.

I feel like if more people knew about mountaintop removal, there would be such public outrage that the practice would be shut down immediately.

I was at Knoxville's "First Friday" event last night enjoying Knoxville's art scene. In addition to some great art, I was pleased to see that the organization Save Our Cumberland Mountains , now known as "Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment," was staffing an information booth about mountaintop removal strip mining.

I picked up a "I Love Mountains" bumper sticker - I'll be sure to put that on my car to spread the word.

I suggest checking out http://www.ilovemountains.org/ for more about Mountaintop removal coal mining. They have videos and much more information that I could speak with any authority about.