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Winds of Change Newsletter, September 2007 See sidebar for table of contents
Let Us Be Very Clear: Mountaintop Removal Mining is NOT
About Creating Jobs, Its About $$$$$
by Denise Giardina, WV novelist,
excerpted from a May 22, 2007, op-ed story, Charleston Gazette
The column by Steve Roberts and Kenny Perdue on May 16
is reprehensible on a number of levels
(I)t attacks the decent citizens of West Virginia who
are trying to protect their beloved state and mountains. It uses
inflammatory language that could invite others to level attacks, even
violent ones. If that happens, Roberts and Perdue and their ilk will be
responsible.
Such a blatant attack upon basic human decency calls for
an equally blunt response
Mountaintop removal is evil, and those who support it
are supporting evil. The mountains of West Virginia are Gods greatest
gift to West Virginia. To destroy the mountains is to spit in the face
of God Almighty. Our state motto and state song are about the mountains.
Our state universitys football team is named after the mountains.
Blowing apart these beautiful mountains is an attack upon this state and
this people.
Let us be clear. Mountaintop removal is not about
creating jobs, it is about enriching coal companies. Mountaintop removal
destroys deep mining jobs, and ensures that other companies will never,
ever locate here. It assures that the only future for southern West
Virginia will be as a garbage dump.
The full op-ed is
online here.
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