Your coal footprint visualized
February 25, 2008 by river2sea72
If you haven’t heard of mountiantop removal, you are about to be in for a shock. Many people do not realize that a large portion of our electricity still comes from coal and that the preferred method for mining coal today involves the literal removal of the tops of mountains in the Appalachians. This method is extremely damaging to the forest, rivers, and to communities. I read an excellent book about the process called Lost Mountain by Erik Reece last year, which I highly recommend.
A non-profit group called Appalachian Voices has created a fantastic mapping application that you can use in Google Earth or on their website to view images of the destruction and now to figure out how you are directly connected to this awful process. Robert F. Kennedy has written about the website more eloquently as have several other scientists/activits/authors here.
The more I read about the damage my actions have been causing over the years (from shopping at Walmart, to eating hamburgers, to owning an extra fridge, to throwing away my old VCR’s and commuting long distances to work) the worse it gets. I don’t think I even want to read about how I am contributing to mountain tops being chopped off. I am sure it’s true, I just can’t get myself to read about it.
The good thing is, the more you learn about the impact of your actions, the more you can take actions to reduce your impact. I encourage you to read, and learn, and take positive action.