On May 27, 2008 in North Carolina, State Representative Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) and Appalachian Voices announced the introduction of the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act-- a bill that would make North Carolina the first state in the nation to ban the use of coal obtained from mountaintop removal mining.
This is big news for our movement -- and bad news for Big Coal.
Nationwide, North Carolina is second only to Georgia in its use of mountaintop removal coal. And the effort of consumers and state representatives to ban the use of mountaintop removal coal represents a new front in the fight to save the mountains we all love.
Imagine if elected officials across the nation started introducing bills to ban the use of mountaintiop removal coal. If we continue to grow the iLoveMountains network, we can make that happen. Invite your friends and family to join us at iLoveMountains.org today:
http://www.ilovemountains.org/take_action/
Because of the people's efforts to spread the word through iLoveMountains.org, thousands of North Carolinians and representatives like Pricey Harrison have seen the true cost of mountaintop removal coal mining. And now they're standing up to say that the price is too high - too high in the number of devastated communities and poisoned water supplies, and too high in the destruction of our nation's natural heritage.
That's why Big Coal is spending millions of dollars in a national advertising campaign -- because your efforts to spread the truth about the cost of coal has them worried.
Big Coal is on the defensive, not just in Washington, DC and in state capitols like Raleigh, but in the media and the realm of public opinion.
In just the last few weeks:
- The Financial Times published an article detailing the violence and intimidation that some residents of Appalachia face when they stand up against mountaintop removal coal mining.
- CNN ran a major piece on the controversy surrounding mountaintop removal coal mining, educating millions of Americans for the first time about this destructive practice.
- The Independent in the UK helped spread the word across Europe and around the web about the true price Americans are paying for coal.
Next week, we're launching a major new initiative to shine a light on Big Coal's current plans to destroy some of the most beautiful mountains and communities in Appalachia.
As we saw yesterday in North Carolina, your efforts are making a tremendous difference, so do everything you can to continue spreading the word about the true cost of mountaintop removal coal mining.
