surface mining

Description

Find action details here: http://appalachiarising.org/may8th/ Dear friends of Appalachia: Will you join us in Washington DC on Wednesday May 8th to tell the EPA that millions of people across the country stand with Appalachia? Please meet us at the EPA Headquarters at 9am, and be ready for action. And please register in advance here: http://bit.ly/AppRisingMay8 If you can’t come, Take action now! Visit the EPA at facebook.com/epa and ask them to: Protect our water and end mountaintop removal coal mining. The May 8th day of action will cap off a "Week in Washington" where dozens of citizens from the Appalachian region & their allies will meet with lawmakers in DC, demanding a swift end to the mountaintop removal that is destroying our communities. Why are we focusing on water & the EPA? Water contamination from surface mining is widespread throughout the Appalachian region and under state regulatory regimes companies continue to destroy water resources. In southern WV alone over 22% of the streams can be classified as impaired under state guidelines due to surface mining. The state governments have lied about the widespread pollution and continually fail to hold the coal companies accountable. What’s more, it’s impacting health: More than twenty peer-reviewed studies have shown devastating health impacts; citizens near mountaintop removal are 50% more likely to die of cancer and 42% more likely to be born with birth defects compared with other people in Appalachia. The EPA needs to do what state governments are failing to do, protect Appalachian communities and restore clean water protections. EPA holds the keys to unlock a brighter, healthier, and more prosperous future for Appalachia. Let's go to DC and demand those keys. ### Music: “Cassette Thing” (by Blank & Kytt) Camera: Will Lawrence, Kate Aronoff Editing: Zein Nakhoda