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Which candidate will save Appalachia?
Posted By katie allison granju
Over at TennViews, the discussion is on how the two Democratic candidates distinguish themselves on issues related to Southern Appalachia’s environmental crises, particularly mountaintop removal coal mining:
Presidential candidates, Democratic and Republican, should not be equivocating or playing politics with the Appalachian Mountains or headwater streams.
We are talking about one of the worst environmental and human rights tragedies going on in America today – mountaintop removal coal-mining.
Big Coal has dived deep into the soul of Appalachia, in a way that is hard to understand for those outside the region. Every week, big coal is detonating the explosive equivalent of one Hiroshima bomb in the heart of America’s oldest mountains.
Our candidates lack of outright opposition to mountaintop removal has lit a wildfire in the blogosphere and mainstream media, reviving debate over coal and carbon, energy and emissions, and extraction and our environment.
We are seeing candidates take two distinct approaches. Within Senator Obama’s plan, we are seeing the seeds of an ambitious approach to tackle the issue of mountaintop removal. But we still have a long way to go with both candidates to encourage them to do the right thing…
Appalachian coal has peaked.
Prices are through the roof.
Jobs are few.
Poverty is widespread.
Our water is being poisoned.But, above all else…
They’re blowing up our damn mountains.We need a candidate who will allow Appalachia to create America’s electricity through clean energy. We need a candidate who will help us celebrate our culture and our mountain heritage by leaving our mountains in tact. We need a candidate who will bring sustainable green jobs into Appalachia. We need a candidate who will demand passage of the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 2169) and reverse the Bush Administration’s policy of letting coal companies dump their toxic waste into our headwater streams.
Who will that candidate be?
Apr 1st, 2008
