wfn.org | People of faith rally against mountaintop removal

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

>People of faith speak out
>against mountaintop removal

Washington, August 3, 2009 - On the thirtieth anniversary of a historic  piece of environmental legislation, the National Council of Churches  will host a candlelight vigil to remember the destruction caused by  mountaintop removal (MTR) mining. The rally is slated for 7 p.m. today  in Lafayette Park, directly across from the White House.
   
"The purpose of the rally is to remember the nearly 500 mountains  already destroyed by mountaintop removal mining and to have people of  faith call upon the federal government to end this destructive  practice," said Jordan Blevins, Assistant Director of Public Lands and  Wilderness and Coordinator of Poverty Initiatives for the National  Council of Churches.

The vigil will remember the impact of the Surface Mining Control and  Reclamation Act (SMCRA). On August 3, 1979, President Jimmy Carter  signed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA).   Designed to curtail the devastation done to the Appalachian mountains  during various forms of strip-mining, it left significant loopholes open  to allow MTR to occur. 

Designed as an alternative to traditional mining, mountaintop removal  mining is an inexpensive and quick form of coal mining practiced in the  Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West  Virginia.  In mountaintop removal mining the tops of mountains are  removed, exposing the coal located deep within the mountain, allowing it  to be extracted more easily. 

"Impacts of mountaintop removal have been devastating for the  communities and environments of Appalachia," said Blevins. "More than  seven percent of Appalachian hardwood forests, nearly 1.2 million acres,  have been clear-cut and burned, and more than 1,200 miles of Appalachian  headwater streams, which are connected to all major waters in the  Southern U.S., have been buried or polluted with toxic mining waste  between 1985 and 2001, while sludge dams represent the greatest threat  to nearby communities, contaminating many drinking water supplies."

"The candlelight vigil will remember the impacts of this practice to  both God's people and God's Creation," said Blevins. "Joining national  faith leaders with local faith voices directly impacted, praying for the  end of mountaintop removal mining.

The National Council of Churches is the ecumenical voice of America's  Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, historic African American and  traditional peace churches, and has focused on creation care for more  than 30 years. Among the highlights of the Council's eco-justice work  are education and worship resources on land stewardship, available at  www.nccecojustice.org.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office),  646-853-4212 (cell) , pjenks@ncccusa.org