Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Is Exactly What We Have

Because it's not about global warming or pretty forest streams; it's about an unnecessary industrial practice that destroys whole communities. James Carroll at the Courier:

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, and a dozen other House Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday that would impose a moratorium on new or expanded mountaintop mining in Kentucky and other Appalachian states. “The Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act will provide the families in these communities the answers and the protection they deserve,” said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who is the chief sponsor of the bill with Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y. Yarmuth is the only Kentucky lawmaker co-sponsoring the bill. He said mountaintop mining “destroys entire ecosystems, contaminates the water supply in mining communities, and makes people sick.” “In addition, it has cost Kentucky more than half of its mining jobs,” the Louisville congressman said. “If it takes a government health study to finally end this destructive practice, I support it.” The legislation would put a hold on new or expanded mountaintop-removal mining operations until scientific research identifies the potential health risks from such mining.

Find out more about mountaintop removal mining and the efforts in Kentucky to stop it here.