Friday, March 13, 2009

Help end mountaintop removal coal mining!

A message from the Sierra Club:

"A recent court decision just opened the floodgates on a new wave of mountaintop removal coal mines, releasing close to 100 new permits to bury streams with coal mining waste, which is a detrimental component in the mountaintop removal process.

Contact your member of Congress today and ask them to cosponsor the Clean Water Protection Act, H.R. 1310, which can help protect our streams and communities from the devastating effects of mountaintop removal coal mining.

I am sad to report that yesterday the first of these permits received the green light to begin their mining operations, with others soon to follow. Should the remaining 90+ permits go forward, over 200 miles of streams will be buried with mining waste, and the health and safety of communities in Central Appalachia will be even further jeopardized.

The Clean Water Protection Act would close a dangerous loophole created by the Bush administration, and would prevent mining companies from burying waterways with their waste. To date, close to 2,000 streams have been destroyed and now 200 more miles hang in the balance.

Next week, over 150 volunteers will be traveling to Washington, DC, to talk to Members of Congress about mountaintop removal. By sending an email today, you can help make sure their message is heard in our nation’s capitol. Use this link to contact your member of Congress today:

http://action.sierraclub.org/cleanwater

Thanks for all that you do to protect the environment.

Mary Anne Hitt
Deputy Director, Move Beyond Coal Campaign
Sierra Club "

No comments: