Press Room
For high resolution images from this website, or high quality digital video, please e-mail Matt Wasson at conservation@appvoices.org and/or Mary Anne Hitt at mahitt@appvoices.org
Mountaintop Advocates Open New Front in Fight Against Coal Challenge Billion-Dollar Government Giveaways for Not Considering Cost to the Mountains
September 1st, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 3, 2008
Contact: Joel Finkelstein, (202) 822-5200
BOONE, NC and WASHINGTON, DC – Advocates for the mountains and coalfield residents today opened a new front in the fight against destructive coal mining, filing suit in Washington, D.C. District Court to stop federal investment in new power plants that would enshrine coal for another generation.
The suit, filed by the North Carolina-based Appalachian Voices and Canary Coalition, states that the federal government shouldn’t be in the business of subsidizing coal plants without knowing the true environmental costs – including impacts of ultra-destructive mountaintop removal coal mining. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 included $1.65 billion in tax incentives for new coal plants, $1 billion of which has been allocated to nine projects around the country.
“The fact is that there’s no such thing as clean coal as long as our mountains are getting clear-cut, blown up and bulldozed down,” said Mary Anne Hitt, Executive Director of Appalachian Voices. “Right now, the electricity that powers your home may well come from mountaintop removal coal. We need fewer coal plants, not more.”
Mountaintop removal coal mining is an extremely destructive form of strip mining found throughout Appalachia, with some mines as big as the island of Manhattan. Coalfield residents say that it tears apart communities, poisons water supplies, pollutes the air and destroys our nation’s natural heritage – while only making the climate crisis worse.
“Members of the Canary Coalition and all people who live, work or vacation in western North Carolina are feeling the impact of existing coal-burning power plants on our health and the environment,” said Avram Friedman, Executive Director of the Canary Coalition. “Asthma related to ozone pollution is the largest cause of absenteeism in our public schools. Emphysema plagues the elderly in this region. Heart and lung disease related to fine particulate sulfur dioxide has been documented by the American Lung Association. We are threatened by tropical diseases migrating north due to global warming caused by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. The status quo of air quality in western North Carolina is unacceptable. Building and operating a new coal-burning power plant such as Duke Energy’s planned expansion at Cliffside is unacceptable.”
Of the nine experimental coal facilities that have received tax incentives, none have conducted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) looking at the impact of coal on the environment – as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The nine facilities include a Duke Energy projects in Edwardsport, IN and in Rutherford and Cleveland Counties, NC; a Mississippi Power Company project; an E.ON U.S. & Louisville Gas and Electric project in Bedford, KY; a Carson Hydrogen Power project in Carson, CA; a TX Energy project in Longview, TX; a Tampa Electric project in Polk County, FL (that is currently delayed); and two anonymous coal gasification projects.
The effort to end mountaintop removal has been gaining steam over the past year. As of today, the leading Congressional plan to end the practice has 129 co-sponsors – dozens more than last Congress, and only halfway through this session.
iLoveMountains.org featured in the the Google Earth Outreach project
September 1st, 2007
Google recently launched a new Google Earth Outreach project that featured our National Memorial for the Mountains, the centerpiece of iLoveMountains.org, as one of the nation’s most innovative nonprofit uses of Google Earth. Our mountaintop removal layer was one of 6 featured at the Google Earth Outreach launch in New York, along with layers from the Jane Goodall Institute, the UN Environment Program, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Holocaust Museum’s Darfur layer.
- Case study highlighting how we used Google Earth
- Showcase of the best Google Earth layers
- Google Earth Outreach homepage
Several articles have been published recently about the Google project, in addition to the national AP article that was published in March when our layer first went live on Google:
- Feature article in the Sierra Club’s national Sierra Magazine, “Eyes in the Sky and On Your Desktop”
- USA Today (online), “Environmentalists Warm to Google Earth”
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/cnet/2007-06-08-dogooders-google-earth_N.htm
- TechSoup.org, “Reach out with Google Earth Outreach”
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page7406.cfm
- NTEN (The Nonprofit Technology Network), “Appalachian Voices Fights for the Mountains”
http://www.nten.org/blog/2007/06/25/appalachian-voices-fights-for-the-mountains
“Appalachian Mountaintop Removal” is Featured Content in Google Earth
March 12th, 2007
Very big news - Google has released new featured content in the popular Google Earth program that includes the mountaintop removal coal mining layer at the heart of www.iLoveMountains.org. The new featured content, which can be seen and explored by all 200 million users of Google Earth worldwide, includes the National Memorial for the Mountains, which uses Google Earth satellite imagery to reveal the devastating impacts of mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachian Mountains.
To learn more, read the press release below, and check out the post on the official Google Blog by Mary Anne Hitt, executive director of Appalachian Voices. In the post, Hitt writes,
The first time I flew over southern West Virginia and saw mountaintop removal coal mining from the air, I knew that if everyone could see what I had seen - mountain after mountain blown up and then dumped into streams in the neighboring valleys - they would think twice about where their electricity came from the next time they flipped a light switch.
Now it’s your turn to fly over the region.
To view the mountaintop removal layer in the new featured content for Google Earth (available for free download), go to the “Layers” sidebar in Google Earth, on the left-hand side of the screen. In the “Featured Content” folder, look for “Appalachian Mountaintop Removal” in the “Global Awareness” folder. More detailed instructions are available on the iLoveMountains Tutorial page where you can also download the full-featured version of the Memorial.
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Press Release - For Immediate Release
Mountaintop Removal Featured in Latest Google Earth Release
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Contact: Appalachian Voices
Mary Anne Hitt, Executive Director | 828-262-1500 (w) | 540-239-0073 (c) |
Matthew Wasson, PhD, Conservation Director | 828-262-1500 (w) | 828-773-0788 (c) |
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March 12, 2007
Boone, NC - Todayís release of featured content in the popular Google Earth program will include a new mountaintop removal coal mining layer created by nonprofit organizations in Appalachia. This month’s imagery and data release for Google Earth will include the National Memorial for the Mountains as one of the new Global Awareness layers in Google Earth, which will be available to all 200 million users of the application worldwide.
The National Memorial for the Mountains uses Google Earth to show the locations and tell the stories of mountains in Appalachia impacted by mountaintop removal, a form of coal mining that involves clear-cutting forests, blasting off the tops of mountains with explosives, and dumping the former mountaintop into valleys below, burying streams.
The new mountaintop removal layer in Google Earth features a high resolution tour of a large mountaintop removal site, 22 memorials that tell first-hand stories of families and communities impacted by mountaintop removal, and the locations of over 470 Appalachian mountaintops destroyed by mountaintop removal. Additional features include before-and-after views of mountaintop removal sites, a Google SketchUp model of the massive equipment used in mountaintop removal operations, and overlays of a large mine site over 36 U.S. cities.
To see the mountaintop removal layer in the Google Earth program (available for free download at http://earth.google.com), look for “Appalachian Mountaintop Removal” under the “Global Awareness” folder of the “Layers” sidebar.
The National Memorial for the Mountains is the centerpiece of www.iLoveMountains.org, a project of 7 grassroots organizations in Appalachia working together to end the devastation of the regionís mountains, homes and communities by mountaintop removal coal mining: Appalachian Voices, Coal River Mountain Watch, Keeper of the Mountains Foundation, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Save Our Cumberland Mountains, and Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards.
iLoveMountains.org and the National Memorial for the Mountains were produced by Appalachian Voices, an organization that brings people together to solve the environmental problems having the greatest impact on the central and southern Appalachian Mountains.
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ILoveMountains.org Recognized Nationwide for Innovation and Impact
November 3rd, 2007
iLoveMountains is being recognized nationwide as one of the most innovative advocacy sites on the web.
· CNET pointed to the National Memorial for the Mountains as an example of the tremendous power of Google Earth to change the real world.
· A blogger on NetSquared included iLoveMountains in his 2006 list of Best Internet Marketing for a Cause.
· In December, the iLoveMountains.org website was discussed on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show, and she posted a link for her listeners.
· Worldwatch Institute has helped spread the word by covering mountaintop removal and iLoveMountains.org.
In their article “Hi-Tech Advocacy in Action,�? the editors of FundraisingSuccess magazine featured iLoveMountains as one of the best examples of using the web to involve and connect with thousands of new supporters. According to the article:
Thanks to cutting-edge technology, online advocacy campaigns are not only possible, but they can bring an issue located hundreds or thousands of miles away right to constituents’ backyard in ways that direct mail can’t.
The “I Love Mountains�? campaign is a perfect example of this. A collaboration by local, state and regional organizations across Appalachia working together to end mountaintop removal, a type of coal mining where the tops of mountains are removed and mined for coal, I Love Mountains is operated through iLoveMountains.org, a site produced by Boone, N.C.-based environmental organization Appalachian Voices. It uses cutting-edge technology to inform and involve visitors in their efforts to save the mountains.
How does it do this? One of the coolest involvement features of the site is the pledge sign-up. When visitors fill in their name and contact information pledging to help stop mountaintop removal, they’re taken to a “personal impact page�? that displays each person who has pledged as a dot on a map of the United States. A pledger can pass the word on to friends and invite them to pledge, and then their page will chart the number of friends that have been invited to support the campaign, and the number of friends their friends have invited. The personal impact page also shows the top 10 most active participants and the number of friends they’ve passed the word on to. These names link to each pledger’s personal impact page and, from there, connect to the personal impact pages of any of the friends they’ve invited.
“You can actually see the network of your influence spreading throughout the country,�? Mary Anne Hitt, executive director of Appalachian Voices, says.
National Memorial for the Mountains Earns Nationwide Coverage
An Associated Press Story on the National Memorial for the Mountains printed on November 4th has been picked up by newspapers and television station websites across the country. The story was written by Kentucky-based AP Writer Samira Jafari and puts the devastation caused by mountaintop removal in a human context. The story leads from the perspective of Benny Campbell, a resident of the Kentucky coalfields:
Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets his porch and car if a few days go by without rain. His electricity goes out repeatedly when the coal miners accidentally knock down power lines.
But the worst thing of all, he says, is that the mountain peaks that once loomed over his lifelong eastern Kentucky home have been flattened by dynamite and bulldozers.
“When I was young, it was a really pretty place,” said Campbel, 53, who lives in a hollow called Bull Creek near Vicco. “Now it’s just a rock pile. You can’t do nothing with it.”
The story goes on to tell how iLoveMountains.org uses new technologies - particularly Google Earth - to lift the cloak of secrecy that has allowed mountaintop removal to continue.
Now environmentalists have found a way to let the rest of the world see what mountaintop coal mining has done to Appalachia: They have started a Web site that uses the Google Earth database to enable people to see aerial reconnaissance photos of the scarred countryside.
“The point is mountaintop removal has gone on under a cloak of secrecy,” said Mary Anne Hitt, executive director of Appalachian Voices, one of a half-dozen environmental groups involved in the Internet campaign. “Unless you have the experience of flying over the region in a small plane, it’s hard to understand the scale of mountaintop removal.”
Below is a list of media outlet websites currently running the story:
| NEW VIEW: Google maps show impact of mining Winston-Salem Journal (subscription), NC - Nov 4, 2006 AP. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets his porch … |
| Groups use Google program to show effects of mountaintop mining WTVF, TN - Nov 4, 2006 VICCO, Ky. Environmentalists in eastern Kentucky are using a computer program to boost their case against mountaintop mining. They … |
| Environmental Groups Use Online Satellite Maps To Show Destruction All Headline News - Nov 4, 2006 Vicco, KY (AHN) - Mountain top mining in rural Kentucky, which uses dynamites and bulldozers to level land in order to find mineral deposits, has irked … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight USA Today - Nov 5, 2006 By Samira Jafari, AP. VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Online Maps Aid Eco Mine Fight Wired News - Nov 5, 2006 AP 10:40 AM Nov, 05, 2006. VICCO, Kentucky — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight San Jose Mercury News, USA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight CBS News, New York - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI AP Writer. (AP) Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Salon - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI AP Writer. November 04,2006 | VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining San Francisco Chronicle, USA - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps In Mine Fight Guardian Unlimited, UK - Nov 4, 2006 From AP. AP Photo KYSJ601. By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. (AP) - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight FOX News - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Washington Post, United States - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP. VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight San Francisco Chronicle, USA - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Los Angeles Times, CA - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining San Jose Mercury News, USA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Forbes, NY - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI 11.04.06, 2:07 PM ET. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Houston Chronicle, United States - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI AP Writer. © 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Ky. man laments mountaintop mining, others sing its praises Wilmington Morning Star, NC - 5 hours ago By Samira Jafari,. AP. By Samira Jafari,. AP. Vicco, Ky. | Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed rattles … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Ottawa Recorder, Canada - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Jackson News-Tribune, WY - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Prescott Herald, AZ - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight The Kindred Times, Utah - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight The Benton Crier, Iowa - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Dunton Springs Evening Post, Colorado - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Brocktown News, USA - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Pierceland Herald, Canada - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Hinesberg Journal, Canada - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Jordan Falls News, Iowa - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Sky Valley Journal, USA - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Akron Farm Report, NE - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight White Rock Reviewer, SD - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight New Hope Courier, Oklahoma - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight The Westfall Weekly News, Canada - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Ely Times, USA - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Olberlin, KS - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Meadow Free Press, ID - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Today’s THV, AR - Nov 6, 2006 Vicco, KY — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Environmental groups use Google Earth to illustrate effects of … PlanetSave.com, ME - Nov 6, 2006 VICCO, Ky. (AP) _ Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Wyoming News, WY - Nov 6, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI Monday, November 06, 2006. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Herald News Daily, ND - Nov 5, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Leading The Charge, Australia - Nov 5, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP Writer Sat Nov 4, 10:43 PM ET. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight MyFox Washington DC, DC - Nov 5, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| News briefs from around Kentucky at 5:58 am EST Kentucky.com, KY - Nov 5, 2006 AP. BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Hundreds of friends, family and fellow law enforcement officers paid tribute Saturday to a south-central … |
| Groups use Web to show aerial effects of mining Bradenton Herald, United States - Nov 5, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Mountaintop-removal opponents state their case with Google images Kentucky.com, KY - Nov 5, 2006 By Samira Jafari. AP. VICCO - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray … |
| Critics Say Mining Makes Molehills Of Mountains Tampa Tribune, FL - Nov 5, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI AP. VICCO, KY. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Anti-mining group pins hopes online Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC - Nov 5, 2006 By Samira Jafari. AP. VICCO - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed rattles up to several times a day from blasting. … |
| Google Program Used To Show Effects Of Mountaintop Mining WCPO, OH - Nov 4, 2006 Reported by: AP. VICCO, Ky. (AP) — Environmentalists in eastern Kentucky are using a computer program to boost their case against mountaintop mining. … |
| Group fights mining of Ky. mountaintops Knoxville News Sentinel (subscription), TN - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI, AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed rattles up to several times a day from blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight The State, SC - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Centre Daily Times, PA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Environmental groups use Google Earth to illustrate effects of … San Diego Union Tribune, United States - Nov 4, 2006 By Samira Jafari. AP. VICCO, Ky. – Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining North County Times, CA - Nov 4, 2006 By: SAMIRA JAFARI - AP. VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Contra Costa Times, CA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight The Ledger, FL - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight The Times and Democrat, SC - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining San Diego Union Tribune, United States - Nov 4, 2006 By Samira Jafari. AP. VICCO, Ky. – Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Groups Use Google Program To Show Effects Of Mountaintop Mining WAVE, KY - Nov 4, 2006 (VICCO, Ky.) — Environmentalists in eastern Kentucky are using a computer program to boost their case against mountaintop mining. … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Sun-Sentinel.com, FL - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps In Mine Fight WRAL.com, NC - Nov 4, 2006 VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Kansas.com, KS - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight The Casper Star Tribune, WY - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI Saturday, November 04, 2006. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Baltimore Sun, United States - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. // Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Activists Survey Mountain Mines With Google Earth CBS 5, CA - Nov 4, 2006 (AP) MOUNTAIN VIEW Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Carlisle Sentinel, PA - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Wyoming News, WY - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI Saturday, November 04, 2006. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining Monterey County Herald, CA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining Fresno Bee (subscription), CA - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI,. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Belleville News-Democrat, IL - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Worcester Telegram, MA - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. VICCO, Ky.— Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Monterey County Herald, CA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Town Hall, DC - Nov 4, 2006 Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets his porch and … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, PA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining Press-Enterprise (subscription), CA - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight MLive.com, MI - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP. VICCO, Ky. (AP) — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining Times Daily (subscription), AL - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Newsday, NY - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight OregonLive.com, OR - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP. VICCO, Ky. (AP) — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Charlotte Observer, NC - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Times Picayune, LA - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP. VICCO, Ky. (AP) — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Biloxi Sun Herald, USA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Miami Herald, FL - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Bradenton Herald, United States - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Kansas City Star, MO - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Tuscaloosa News (subscription), AL - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Penn Live, PA - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP. VICCO, Ky. (AP) — Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Pioneer Press, MN - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Contra Costa Times, CA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Environmentalists use Google Earth to fight mountaintop mining Contra Costa Times, CA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Times Daily (subscription), AL - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Centre Daily Times, PA - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight Wilmington Morning Star, NC - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. | Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Kentucky.com, KY - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Eco Groups Use Online Maps in Mine Fight KSL-TV, UT - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. (AP) - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. … |
| Eco groups use online maps in mine fight Fort Wayne News Sentinel, IN - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed is rattled by the blasting. Gray dust blankets … |
| Groups use Google program to show effects of mountaintop mining Florida Times-Union, FL - Nov 4, 2006 By SAMIRA JAFARI. AP Writer. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed rattles up to several times a day from blasting. … |
| Groups use Google program to show effects of mountaintop mining Kentucky.com, KY - Nov 4, 2006 AP. VICCO, Ky. - Benny Campbell experiences mountaintop mining day and night. His bed rattles up to several times a day from blasting. … |
Blogs linking to iLoveMountains.org
WEST VIRGINIA GRANDFATHER COMPLETES 455-MILE WALK TO WASHINGTON TODAY
SEEKING HELP FOR SCHOOL THREATENED BY MINING
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Ed Wiley: 860-248-9512 or 304-928-0208
Heather Lascher Todd (Rep. Pallone): 202-225-4671
Coal River Mountain Watch: 304-928-0208
Mary Anne Hitt (Appalachian Voices): 540-239-0073
bWEST VIRGINIA GRANDFATHER COMPLETES 455-MILE WALK TO WASHINGTON TODAY SEEKING HELP FOR SCHOOL THREATENED BY MINING
Ed Wiley joined by thousands across America in calling for new school for kids of Marsh Fork Elementary, protection for all coalfield children
WASHINGTON, DC – West Virginia grandfather and former coal miner Ed Wiley today completed his 455-mile walk from Charleston, WV to Washington, DC, seeking help for a southern West Virginia school threatened by mountaintop removal coal mining. Supporters from across the nation joined Wiley for the last mile of his walk, from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol.
Wiley walked to Washington to bring attention to the plight of children at Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial, WV, which is on the front lines of the controversial practice known as mountaintop removal coal mining. A 1,849-acre mountaintop removal coal mine surrounds the school area with more mining permitted. Marsh Fork Elementary sits just 225 feet from a coal loading silo that releases coal dust, with independent tests confirming the presence of coal dust in the school. A leaking earthen dam holding back 2.8 billion gallons of toxic coal-sludge is located just 400 yards above the school. The Pennies of Promise campaign was created to build a new school for the children of Marsh Fork Elementary. Wiley has walked to Washington to seek help from West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd.
“Senator Byrd is an honorable man and a true Appalachian who cares about the people of West Virginia,” Wiley said. “I hope he will stand with us to help the children at Marsh Fork Elementary School, because our children have been sacrificed long enough.”
Wiley’s arrival in Washington coincides with Mountaintop Removal Week, during which supporters from across America who have traveled to the nation’s capitol. These citizens have come to alert Congress to the dangers posed by the radical form of strip mining that involves blowing up the tops of mountains and dumping the rock into valleys below, burying streams. Mountaintop removal is spreading rapidly across Appalachia, particularly in the area around the Marsh Fork School.
Wiley was joined today by joined by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ); Lois Gibbs, the housewife from Love Canal who alerted the nation to the dangers of toxic communities and who is known as the mother of Superfund; Teri Blanton of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth; and Mary Anne Hitt of Appalachian Voices.
They are calling on Congress to pass the Clean Water Protection Act, H.R. 2719, a bill sponsored by Rep. Pallone that would prevent the dumping of mine waste into streams and would curtail mountaintop removal.
In addition to the event, a major new online campaign was launched today at www.iLoveMountains.org. The site features the National Memorial for the Mountains, an interactive, online memorial that uses Google Earth technology to show the locations and tell the stories of the over 450 mountains that have been destroyed to date. Visitors can watch a video featuring an interview with actor Woody Harrelson and download a new acoustic version of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin in the Wind,” performed by music legend Willie Nelson. Harrelson and fellow actor Edward Norton are among the many supporters of Wiley’s walk to Washington.
“The Memorial is the first comprehensive source for penetrating the secrecy of these city-sized operations,” said Mary Anne Hitt, executive director of Appalachian Voices, the nonprofit organization that developed the site. “It features overlays that bring home the enormous scope of these mining operations: just one, for example, is comparable to the size of the entire Washington metro area.”
