Why Christians Should Care About... Mountain Top Removal
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Why Christians Should Care About... Mountain Top Removal
By Thommy Thompson, Campus Organizer
Have you ever thought about where electricity comes from? Tracing your steps from the light switch to the power plant and beyond can be a daunting task, especially if you start asking the question, “Where does the coal come from that generates power to turn on the light in my home?”
Mountaintop Removal is a destructive form of coal mining that entails the blasting off of mountaintops, denuding whole areas in efforts to exploit coal seams within. In most cases, the top 1,000 feet of the mountain is dynamited with the resulting rubble dumped in nearby valleys and streams. The consequences have been devastating in Appalachia, the region where most mountain top mining occurs. Since Mountain Top Removal was started in the late 1970’s, West Virginia alone has lost over a million acres. Estimates of land losses due to Mountain Top Removal in other Appalachian states of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee are well over an additional million acres.
The destruction wrought by Mountain Top Removal affects much more than just changing the landscape of the serene Appalachian region. Mountain Top Removal causes the loss of biodiversity, threatening the Appalachian ecosystem, one of the most diverse systems in North America. The process buries streams, destroys forests, and decimates wildlife habitat, all resulting in dropping numbers of plant and animal species.
Changes in natural hydrology, the loss of topsoil, and vegetation have increased flooding often in rural communities situated in valleys. Communities now experience “100 year” floods with regularity. There also remains the danger of toxic flooding with impoundment dams, used for coal washing, breaching. Areas that have been “reclaimed” typically are planted with fast growing invasive species of grasses because the ground is too compacted for native vegetation to take root.
People living where mountain top mining takes place bear the brunt of the cost. Dust from blasting can cause a variety of health problems. Asthma is on the rise in towns near blasting zones. Contaminated water, along with structural dangers to homes, have caused property values to plummet and have forced many that lived on family plots of land for generations to leave. The EPA estimates that nearly 70% of the wells nearby Mountain Top Removal sites on the Appalachian Plateau test high for iron and manganese water concentrations.
One of the most common arguments the coal industry uses to support Mountain Top Removal is that it creates jobs. This claim, however, is only partially true. It’s true that Mountain Top Removal does provide jobs to the few associated with the process, but compared to below-surface mining the numbers employed are far lower. In fact, coal producing counties in Appalachia suffer from higher unemployment, higher poverty, and lower education rates than their counterparts in the same state.
We need only look at ourselves to realize we are part of the problem. Our demands for economically cheap and bountiful energy cause Mountain Top Removal. Currently half of the electricity used in the United States is derived from coal. This makes the coal lobby very powerful.
Most of the communities affected by Mountain Top Removal are poor. Given the political clout that the mining companies historically have in the states, coupled with high demand nationally, these communities are in peril. The general public knows little about how the process of Mountain Top Removal works to the coal companies’ advantage.
The ecosystems and the people of Appalachia are the most harmed through the practice of Mountain Top Removal. The practice does little to create jobs and lays waste the beauty and natural wonder of Appalachia. For those residing outside the immediate blasting zones, Mountain Top Removal still poses a serious health risk since much of the coal is destined to fuel polluting coal fired power plants.
Although the issues of Mountain Top Removal are varied and great, Christians should feel compelled to help put an end to the violence against the earth and people. Several verses in the Bible resonate with the message of creation, creation entrusted to us that we are destroying.
One important example is the oft-quoted John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” God so loved the world (cosmos – the creation), not just human kind. There are clear implications of how we should approach Mountain Top Removal using the passage as a guide.
Another applicable verse is use of body imagery found in I Corinthians 12:25-26. “[so] that there may be no division in the body, but that members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” We should be inexorably concerned with the plight of those living in the areas being mined. We should take up their cause; our brothers and sisters are in great need with some worrying of even how to get access to clean drinking water!
You may be asking yourself now, “How do I help?” The answer is quite simple; there are two ways of putting an end to Mountain Top Removal. Perhaps the easiest way to make a difference is to simply turn off lights and conserve energy. Our high demand for electricity is partially why Mountain Top Removal continues to be practiced. Most people don’t envision a mountain blowing up, or asthma attacks or permanent scars left across the landscape as a result of them leaving a light on in a vacant room. But they are directly connected.
Another way is to call or write your representative or senator to support HR 2719, or The Clean Water Protection Act. Although currently in the House of Representatives, it would be best to build broad-based support for the bill. The Clean Water Protection Act aims at enforcing the Clean Water Act passed in the 1970’s, which set standards for watershed systems in the United States.
President Bush has allowed for a loophole to be granted to coal companies engaged in Mountain Top Removal, letting them dump the debris from the blasts in nearby valleys and streams. This deeply affects the watersheds, not just for those most nearby, but even for those living outside of Appalachian coal country.
Above all, please ground your action in prayer. All too often, prayer is ignored as part of influencing policy. Prayer offers a time of reflection and gathering of thought. We know that God hears the voices of his people, so why not couple action with thought?
Have you ever thought about where electricity comes from? Tracing your steps from the light switch to the power plant and beyond can be a daunting task, especially if you start asking the question, “Where does the coal come from that generates power to turn on the light in my home?”
Mountaintop Removal is a destructive form of coal mining that entails the blasting off of mountaintops, denuding whole areas in efforts to exploit coal seams within. In most cases, the top 1,000 feet of the mountain is dynamited with the resulting rubble dumped in nearby valleys and streams. The consequences have been devastating in Appalachia, the region where most mountain top mining occurs. Since Mountain Top Removal was started in the late 1970’s, West Virginia alone has lost over a million acres. Estimates of land losses due to Mountain Top Removal in other Appalachian states of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee are well over an additional million acres.
The destruction wrought by Mountain Top Removal affects much more than just changing the landscape of the serene Appalachian region. Mountain Top Removal causes the loss of biodiversity, threatening the Appalachian ecosystem, one of the most diverse systems in North America. The process buries streams, destroys forests, and decimates wildlife habitat, all resulting in dropping numbers of plant and animal species.
Changes in natural hydrology, the loss of topsoil, and vegetation have increased flooding often in rural communities situated in valleys. Communities now experience “100 year” floods with regularity. There also remains the danger of toxic flooding with impoundment dams, used for coal washing, breaching. Areas that have been “reclaimed” typically are planted with fast growing invasive species of grasses because the ground is too compacted for native vegetation to take root.
People living where mountain top mining takes place bear the brunt of the cost. Dust from blasting can cause a variety of health problems. Asthma is on the rise in towns near blasting zones. Contaminated water, along with structural dangers to homes, have caused property values to plummet and have forced many that lived on family plots of land for generations to leave. The EPA estimates that nearly 70% of the wells nearby Mountain Top Removal sites on the Appalachian Plateau test high for iron and manganese water concentrations.
One of the most common arguments the coal industry uses to support Mountain Top Removal is that it creates jobs. This claim, however, is only partially true. It’s true that Mountain Top Removal does provide jobs to the few associated with the process, but compared to below-surface mining the numbers employed are far lower. In fact, coal producing counties in Appalachia suffer from higher unemployment, higher poverty, and lower education rates than their counterparts in the same state.
We need only look at ourselves to realize we are part of the problem. Our demands for economically cheap and bountiful energy cause Mountain Top Removal. Currently half of the electricity used in the United States is derived from coal. This makes the coal lobby very powerful.
Most of the communities affected by Mountain Top Removal are poor. Given the political clout that the mining companies historically have in the states, coupled with high demand nationally, these communities are in peril. The general public knows little about how the process of Mountain Top Removal works to the coal companies’ advantage.
The ecosystems and the people of Appalachia are the most harmed through the practice of Mountain Top Removal. The practice does little to create jobs and lays waste the beauty and natural wonder of Appalachia. For those residing outside the immediate blasting zones, Mountain Top Removal still poses a serious health risk since much of the coal is destined to fuel polluting coal fired power plants.
Although the issues of Mountain Top Removal are varied and great, Christians should feel compelled to help put an end to the violence against the earth and people. Several verses in the Bible resonate with the message of creation, creation entrusted to us that we are destroying.
One important example is the oft-quoted John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” God so loved the world (cosmos – the creation), not just human kind. There are clear implications of how we should approach Mountain Top Removal using the passage as a guide.
Another applicable verse is use of body imagery found in I Corinthians 12:25-26. “[so] that there may be no division in the body, but that members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” We should be inexorably concerned with the plight of those living in the areas being mined. We should take up their cause; our brothers and sisters are in great need with some worrying of even how to get access to clean drinking water!
You may be asking yourself now, “How do I help?” The answer is quite simple; there are two ways of putting an end to Mountain Top Removal. Perhaps the easiest way to make a difference is to simply turn off lights and conserve energy. Our high demand for electricity is partially why Mountain Top Removal continues to be practiced. Most people don’t envision a mountain blowing up, or asthma attacks or permanent scars left across the landscape as a result of them leaving a light on in a vacant room. But they are directly connected.
Another way is to call or write your representative or senator to support HR 2719, or The Clean Water Protection Act. Although currently in the House of Representatives, it would be best to build broad-based support for the bill. The Clean Water Protection Act aims at enforcing the Clean Water Act passed in the 1970’s, which set standards for watershed systems in the United States.
President Bush has allowed for a loophole to be granted to coal companies engaged in Mountain Top Removal, letting them dump the debris from the blasts in nearby valleys and streams. This deeply affects the watersheds, not just for those most nearby, but even for those living outside of Appalachian coal country.
Above all, please ground your action in prayer. All too often, prayer is ignored as part of influencing policy. Prayer offers a time of reflection and gathering of thought. We know that God hears the voices of his people, so why not couple action with thought?