Coal Mining Kills Water Supply: Actress Daryl Hannah Arrested

USA Jul 1 – A renowned climate scientist, an actress, a former lawmaker, and local residents in West Virginia were arrested last week while protesting the coal mining method of mountaintop removal, which environmental experts and citizens say destroys mountain ranges and contaminates water.

What’s the Story?

The protest came on the heels of a pledge by the Obama administration to reform regulations on mountaintop coal mining in the United States, which activists and environmental experts say will not alleviate the practice’s harmful impact on local wildlife and communities.

“Without a significant change in policy, mining companies will continue to destroy historic mountain ranges and bury communities’ drinking water in toxic waste,” wrote the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) in a statement about the activists’ arrests.

Days before a Congressional hearing on mountaintop removal mining’s effect on water quality in Appalachia, Michael Brune, RAN executive director and a principal protest organizer, said: “This is not a practice that needs to be reformed. It is a practice that needs to be abolished. By sacrificing the Appalachian Mountains for the country’s coal addiction, we undermine future investments in 21st century clean energy solutions that will protect our planet, produce more jobs, and preserve our natural resources.” Read the entire article…