NRDC and other mountain defenders are putting the heat on banks to stop financing mountaintop removal. So far, six banks have adopted policies designed to restrict funding for companies using MTR mining practices. But there's more work to be done. Our new report shows that despite taking some initial steps to curb lending, most banks are continuing to support mountaintop removal in a significant way.
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The Last Mountain
Get ready for the movie the coal industry doesn't want you to see. Across the Appalachians, companies are blowing entire mountaintops to smithereens to get at the thin coal seams below. Big coal benefits while the health and wealth of the region’s citizens are systematically stripped away. But many are fighting back – and The Last Mountain showcases their struggle. The documentary features NRDC attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., joined by courageous Appalachian families and activists who are trying to save their beloved mountains.
In the Sierras, they climb them. In the Rockies, they ski them. In Appalachia, they level them.
Coal isn't clean, and it's definitely not cheap. Across the Appalachians, companies are blowing entire mountaintops to smithereens to get at the thin coal seams below. The communities of the region are paying the cost in their health, their culture and their natural heritage.
Mining companies are clear cutting thousands of acres of some of the world's most biologically diverse forests. They're filling local rivers and streams with blasted debris, polluting drinking water with toxic waste and sacrificing the safety and sanctity of countless communities.
Mountaintop removal mining is not just devastating the region's environment and quality of life. It is also steadily crushing the heart of Appalachia.
Big coal companies should not be allowed to turn our nations' oldest mountains into molehills, and NRDC is working with local allies to halt this damaging practice. Laws must change, environmental regulations must be enforced, corporations must reform their practices, and legal action must be taken to stop the most ecologically and culturally destructive form of strip mining on earth.
You can help today by urging Congress to reverse a Bush administration rule that allows mining companies to legally dump waste into mountain streams.
More on Mountaintop Removal on NRDC's Switchboard Blog
- 40 Days of Prayer Launches Fight for Tennessee's Mountains
- posted by Melissa Waage, 1/10/12
- Will this be the year that Tennessee becomes the first state to ban mountaintop removal mining? Leaders ...
- Water Quality Study Strikes Another Blow at Myth of Mountaintop Removal "Reclamation"
- posted by Melissa Waage, 12/13/11
- The Charleston Gazette highlights a new study confirming the long-term water quality impacts of ...
- New music video: A cry from the heart to end mountaintop removal
- posted by Melissa Waage, 12/1/11
- Earlier this year Music Saves Mountains member band 2/3 Goat started their grassroots fundraising campaign ...
- Public Health dean backs up mountaintop removal research at WVU
- posted by Melissa Waage, 11/22/11
- The dean of West Virginia University's new School of Public Health is standing up for faculty ...
Ashley Judd speaks about Mountaintop Removal Mining
On June 9, 2010 artist and activist Ashley Judd spoke at the National Press Club. Her speech on mountaintop removal mining, and her ties to Kentucky, are moving and inspirational.
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Plundering Appalachia
Mountains decapitated. Forest obliterated. Water Polluted. People Sickened. Watch this movie, read the book, and take action to end Mountaintop Removal Mining now.
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