Strip mining is not as fun as it sounds.

In the Harper’s article “Death of a Mountain,” in the April issue, Erik Reece chronicles the devastation strip mining has wrought in Appalachia. Modern strip mining skips the miners, and involves blasting off the top of a mountain. The coal is taken, the rest is dumped into nearby streams. The practice turns mountains into plateaus, and wreaks havoc on drinking water, not to mention the stream’s ecosystem. Mountains used to be protected under Carter’s Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. All that changed when President Bush, who receives millions in campaign contributions from the coal industry, appointed an industry lobbyist to a regulatory post. It doesn’t take a genius to see the conflict of interest. In Kentucky there is so much mercury in the streams it is dangerous for pregnant women to drink the water. This is not just an environmental issue, it is a health issue, and industry should not trump humanity.