past decade against
the destructive, uniquely Appalachian form of strip mining known as mountaintop removal, though they have yet to mobilize the millions of supporters they want.
The activists have harnessed the power of the Web, social networking and satellite phones. They've chained themselves to heavy equipment, blocked haul roads and climbed trees to stop blasting. They've marched for miles, hung banners and been arrested.
They've even enlisted support from celebrities such as actress Darryl Hannah, country singer Kathy Mattea and attorney Robert Kennedy Jr., who is expected to attend a rally today at the state Department of Environmental Protection in Charleston.
And yet they struggle to overcome the collective indifference of average Americans, plugged in to affordable electricity produced largely by coal-fired power plants.
'Quiet apocalypse'In mountaintop removal mining, forests are clear-cut. Explosives blast apart the rock, and machines scoop out the exposed coal. The earth left behind is dumped into valleys, covering intermittent streams.
Coal operators say it's the most efficient way — in some cases, the only way — to reach some reserves. They also argue that they reclaim the land so it can be redeveloped. Critics say that the land is ruined forever and that people, property and
the environment suffer unnecessarily.
"This is sort of the quiet apocalypse that is happening in the hills and hollows of West Virginia that people in Los Angeles don't know about," said Nell Greenberg of the San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network.
Greenberg said she senses a "bubbling up" of national interest that dovetails with growing demand to replace fossil fuels with clean energy sources. One day last month, she said, more than 65,000 people e-mailed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Industry fights backJust before Thanksgiving, a federal judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers broke the law by failing to give the public enough of a say before issuing permits. The Corps was already considering rules to end a fast-track system for obtaining such permits, and the EPA was already holding up 79 strip mine permits in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee for additional scrutiny.
The industry fights back by equating support for coal with patriotism, and by portraying opposition to mountaintop removal as opposition to gainful employment.
Real Estate Outlook: Just Right HousingFrustrated neighbor can click to track cleanup of eyesore next door
