Appalachia

Mountaintop removal and other forms of coal strip mining have destroyed 156,000 acres in Southwest Virginia.2 An EPA report found that 151 miles of streams in Virginia were destroyed—either buried or mined-over—between 1992 and 2002,3 and more than 67 mountains have been destroyed to date.4 While mines can cover thousands of acres, the impacts on humans and wildlife extend far beyond.

Human Impacts: Residents of the coalfields suffer from dramatically elevated occurrences of birth defects, premature death, and health problems such as cancer, heart, lung, and kidney diseases.5 Far from being an economic boon, strip mining is closely associated with economic distress. The Appalachian Regional Commission found that “current and persistent economic distress within the Central Appalachian Region has been associated with employment in the mining industry, particularly coal mining.6” Residents also must endure frequent blasting, contaminated drinking water, severe flooding, and the outright destruction of mountains and creeks that have been integral to the local way of life for generations. Finally, mountaintop removal compromises the region’s future by diminishing its desirability as a place to locate small businesses or less destructive industries.