Halting the environmentally destructive method of coal mining in Appalachia known as mountaintop removal has long been a goal for environmentalists. But in recent years Christian, Jewish and other denominations have joined the movement. These churches, synagogues and temples are part of an awakening among religious groups to environmental issues. Many have passed resolutions against mountaintop removal and are taking on the issue as a spiritual issue.
Often quoting Scripture, they feel that humans have been made stewards and must protect all that God has made, including the Earth. They feel that as part of that covenant with God they must safeguard what God has created for future generations and not stand by while the mountains are being devastated.
Mountaintop removal is the strip mining practice of blasting off the tops of mountains so that huge machines can mine thin seams of coal. First, the mountaintops are razed of trees and all other plants. Explosive charges are then set and a layer of the mountain is blown apart. Then the coal is separated out. All debris is shoved into nearby valleys and streams burying the waterways forever. The practice of mountaintop removal is prevalent in parts of West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.
Coal companies began experimenting with mountaintop removal mining in the1970’s as they searched for the cheapest and easiest way of extracting coal. Often citing the need for employment in the region, coal companies criticized mountaintop removal opponents for placing the environment over jobs. Yet the use of mountaintop removal has been accompanied by a sharp decrease in the number of coal mining jobs available in the region. Facts show that miners have been replaced with heavy machinery. For example, in 1950 there were 125,000 miners in West Virginia; today there are 15,000. Other issues facing the people of Appalachia include:
- More than 1000 square miles of mountains have been destroyed in the region.
- Hundreds of miles of streams have been polluted with heavy metals and acid mine damage.
- Flooding due to runoff from mountaintop removal sites is causing widespread property damage and loss of life.
- In West Virginia alone, 3 million pounds of explosives are routinely used against the mountains every working day; more than any place in the United States.
- Property values have decreased as much as 90% due to damage from blasting and coal dust.
The destruction caused by mountain top removal mining is permanent. With the support of local residents in the region (many of whom have lived there for generations), religious organizations are fighting the practice of mountaintop removal in the courts, state legislatures and the court of public opinion with lobbying for new laws, lawsuits and issuing statements and resolutions that call for ecological and social justice in the region.
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