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What if you turned on the faucet and the water was coffee-colored? It sounds bizarre, but I met people at the Alliance for Appalachia’s Week in Washington who testified to contaminated water running through their faucets. March 6-10 a band of 200 people from California to Virginia gathered to end Mountain Top Removal (MTR) by telling their legislators about its devastating effects. Coal companies extract a portion of coal from the beautiful Appalachian Mountains by blowing off hundreds of feet to reach a few inches of coal. As the explosives demolish the mountain tops, hazardous sediments are released into the air with literally tons of dust. The dust alone is deadly and is linked with a significant increase in respiratory illnesses and cancers in the surrounding communities. As the dust settles, coal companies often dump the mountain tops on streams where, naturally, hazardous sediments find their way to families’ water. I could not imagine bathing or brushing my teeth with water that is brown or even black (like the real samples of water shown above).
Coal companies are NOT the enemy, yet we must protect families. MTR destroys not only the rich heritage of Appalachia, but the health and drinking water of real families in Appalachia. As a student at Milligan College in Northeast Tennessee, I live nestled in the beauty of Appalachia. As a disciple of Christ, I am moved by this injustice. I hope you are moved as well. I encourage you to pray, to get educated about this, and to tell others (including your governmental representatives) about these stories. If you’d like to become better educated about this, explore sites such as ilovemountains.org or Google Mountaintop Removal. - Marsha Allen, |