Urgent: Save Coal River Mountain

You never thought that mountains could become an "endangered species," did you?

After mountain-top-removal mining happens, the mountain is no longer a mountain. Furthermore, the surrounding lakes, streams, rivers and woods become buried in what used to be the mountain: The land is destroyed. Fish and animals die. Water becomes unsafe, all because a corporation wants to hoard and sell what they think is inside that mountain. How many mountains would you guess have no valuable minerals inside them?

With mountain-top-removal mining, who needs Al-Queda?

Coal River Mountain is one of the few undamaged mountains left in the Coal River Valley of West Virginia. Massey Coal Company wants to perform "mountain-top-removal" mining on Coal River Mountain. In fact, Massey Coal wants this so badly that they ignored laws and scheduled blasting to begin on September 10th, and the only reason that blasting did not commence was 1) Massey did not receive a permit in time, and 2) Governor Manchin of West Virginia sent his own inspectors to the site to ensure that no blasting would take place.

Governor Manchin had received many e-mails from across the country, urging him to save Coal River Mountain for the site of a future wind-farm that would generate energy and revenue and jobs for the people of West Virginia --in perpetuity! Mountains make excellent wind-farms. My own state has a wind-farm project about to begin.

When West Virginia builds their wind-farm, they will become the 29th state (plus DC) to have a thriving renewable-energy program. Moreover, they will be creating jobs for the West Virginians who will build and maintain the wind-farm, and their utility bills will decrease. Without Coal River Mountain, there can be no wind-farm.

West Virginians want their wind-farm, and they want to save Coal River Mountain:

From CoalRiverWind.org:

Coal River Mountain is one of the last mountains left intact in the beautiful Coal River Valley of West Virginia. However, Massey Energy has plans to mine 6,000+ acres of the mountain - or almost 10 square miles.

Fortunately, there is an alternative to mountaintop removal mining on Coal River Mountain – wind power. This is a unique opportunity to move our nation and the state of West Virginia toward the production of clean energy, and to preserve our nation’s mountains for generations to come.

But first, we need your help! Citizens from the Coal River Valley and across the United States are working together to create healthy jobs for Southern West Virginia, and clean, affordable energy for Appalachia. Let West Virginia officials know that we have a healthier choice for a diversified economy and safer communities in the Coal River Valley.

This wind farm would:

· Create Jobs 200 local employment opportunities during construction, and 50 permanent jobs during the life of the wind farm. It takes only 27 years for a wind farm to provide a greater number of one-year jobs than the four surface mines combined.

· Create Energy – Provide 440MW of electricity - or enough energy for 150,000 homes – indefinitely, as well as a sustained tax income that could be used for the construction of new schools for the county.

· Create Economic Potential – Allow for concurrent uses of the mountain including harvesting of wild ginseng and valuable forest plants, sustainable forestry, and mountain tourism, as Coal River Mountain is one of West Virginia’s finest mountains.

. Preserve Heritage – Coal River Mountain has provided for the people of the Coal River Valley for generations. A mountaintop removal mine would block residents from the mountain and destroy the lands ancestors once lived on, as well as the family cemeteries they rest in.

· Protect the Land and Community – More than 500,000 acres in West Virginia alone have been destroyed by surface mining. Mountaintop Removal mining buries and poisons drinking water, increases flooding, damages homes and personal property, and devastates wildlife habitat.