Must see VIDEO: They're mining graves

By GottaLaff

This video comes to us by way of my pal Micheal Stinson, aka Symbolman, who co-authored that snarky coloring book of snarky coloring books, Going Rouge. But this time around, he's not snarking.

35-60 graves "don't mean nothin' to them":

In 2006 Takebackthemedia interviewed Larry Gibson, the last holdout in an area in West Virginia being decimated by mountaintop removal techniques. He gave us a full tour and we filmed for 8 hours a variety of areas in the process of destruction, most chilling is this footage of a coal company MINING the Family CEMETERY in full sight of Larry's home. Judge this outrage for yourself. Hours of incredible footage available along with film makers for interviews. Contact symbolman@gmail.com

Talk about "unclean" coal. This gives "death panel" a whole new meaning.

Isn't it the "pro-life" party that supports mining like this? So once a loved one has passed away, they become meaningless and can be bulldozed into oblivion. Got it.

Please note: Micheal would love to finish the film, but he needs funding. If you are able to give him any assistance or advice in that regard, please contact him at the address above.

UPDATE: Micheal has more at DKos here. Please take a look.

Pressure builds against mountaintop coal mining

By GottaLaff

(Via. Click on image to enlarge)

I hope the pressure is so pressurey that it pressures the administration into stopping this practice once and for all:

Mountaintop coal mining, which involves blowing up mountain peaks to get access to coal seams below, should be halted immediately because of growing evidence of its environmental and health threats, scientists urged Thursday in the journal Science.

Oh, what do scientists know, anyway? They clearly missed that whole "humans and dinosaurs co-existed" meme that's floating around the Conservaverse.

The paper, by a group of hydrologists, ecologists and engineers, presents a new and difficult challenge to the Obama administration, which has upset environmentalists by continuing to approve such permits even as it has promised to rely on scientific expertise in deciding whether to grant permits for the controversial practice.

So what's so wrong about blowing mountaintops off? It's not like they have feelings or anything.

Environmentalists say it degrades the landscape, destroys habitat and pollutes streams that get filled with debris from explosions.

Pfft. Big deal. It's much more important to make money sandwiches for the coal mining industry.

The issue is politically touchy for President Obama, who won his election with the support of environmentalists but also needs support from voters in coal states, such as Ohio, where he won by a narrow margin.

Everything is politically touchy for Obama. Drop in the bucket.

How about pollutertop mining? Now there's a real moneymaker.

Environmentalists feel betrayed; EPA decides not to block new mountaintop mining

By GottaLaff

I've posted about this here and here. My hopes were up, but now, I am not happy at all:

With the election of President Obama, environmentalists had expected to see the end of the "Appalachian apocalypse," their name for exposing coal deposits by blowing the tops off whole mountains.

But in recent weeks, the administration has quietly made a decision to open the way for at least two dozen more mountaintop removals.

In a letter this month to a coal ally, Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-W.Va.), the Environmental Protection Agency said it would not block dozens of "surface mining" projects. The list included some controversial mountaintop mines.

The industry says the practice of using explosives to blast away a peak is safer and more efficient than traditional shaft mining. But critics say the process scars the landscape and dumps tons of waste -- some of it toxic -- into streams and valleys.

The administration's decision is not the final word on the projects or the future of mountaintop removal. But the letter, coupled with the light it sheds on relations between the mining industry and the Obama White House, has disappointed environmentalists. Some say they feel betrayed by a president they thought would end or sharply limit the practice.

I understand the politics behind this, but when things like this and this happen, I don't feel like being as understanding any more.

More details here

Eradicating an ugly Bush stain: EPA blocks mountaintop removal.

By GottaLaff

A clean, healthy America is fashionable again! Sing it with me! Mr. Clean gets rid of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute, Mr. Clean will clean your whole house, and everything that's in it. Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean...

In a major reversal of Bush policy, “mountaintop coal-mining permits are being put on hold until the projects’ impacts on streams and wetlands can be reviewed,” the Environmental Protection Agency announced today:

Citing its regulatory role under the Clean Water Act, the EPA said the letters stated that the projects “would likely cause water quality problems in streams below the mines, would cause significant degradation to streams buried by mining activities, and that proposed steps to offset these impacts are inadequate.”

Another ugly midnight regulation Bush stain bites the dust.