Take Action Against Big Coal and Mountaintop Removal

As part of this year's festival, we're happy to welcome Maria Gunnoe, a lifelong resident of coal country in West Virginia who fights against the crucial issue of mountaintop removal mining and valley fill operations. She was a recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2009, and she has been featured in numerous documentaries on the topic.

What can you do about mountaintop removal mining? iLoveMountains.org is an excellent resource for staying up to date on the issue of mountaintop removal. Their current action asks for people to call their Representatives and ask them to stop big coal from dumping toxic mining waste into the streams of Appalachia.

From ilovemountains.org:

Please call your Representative today and ask them to become a cosponsor of The Clean Water Protection Act.

This bill will protect our headwater streams where our rivers–such as the Mississippi and the Ohio–are born. Over 2,000 miles of streams have already been buried and polluted. But we can stop this.

With your help, supporters of the Appalachian mountains will make thousands of calls, and make a difference in protecting our mountains forever.

To take action, click here.