Blowing the Tops Off Mountains Mountaintop removal (MTR) coal
mining is one of America’s worst environmental crimes. Every
day, across Appalachia, the coal industry literally blows the
tops off the mountains: clear-cutting forests, wiping out
natural habitats and poisoning rivers and drinking water. Not
only are these mountains lost forever, but the heritage and the
health of families across the region are being sacrificed. For a
mere 7 percent of the nation’s coal, the tradeoff does not add
up. MTR is a mining practice where explosives are used to remove
the tops of mountains and expose the seams of coal that lie
beneath. It is estimated the explosive equivalent of a Hiroshima
bomb is detonated every week in Appalachia for the practice.
Before mining can begin, tracts of deciduous forest are clearcut
(often burned or sometimes illegally dumped into valley fills).
During the last two decades, mountaintop removal mining in
Appalachia has destroyed or severely damaged more than a million
acres of forest; this u