Statement by Kentucky Authors
The following is the statement issued April 21 by a group
of 16 Kentucky authors after their tour of mountaintop removal
strip-mining sites in Leslie and Perry counties, in conjunction
with the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth:
"Yesterday we witnessed appalling destruction to the
land. The practice of mountaintop removal to extract coal
is ravaging Eastern Kentucky, and its effects are headed your
way. Mountaintop removal represents economic and cultural
violence which eventually reaches the whole state. What we
have seen has convinced us that mountaintop removal is a blight
on the entire state that is robbing our people of a better
future by destroying our most abundant resources and the very
ones we will need for building a viable future economy. Streams
and groundwater, scenic beauty, diverse forests and native
plants are all being ruined forever by mountaintop removal.
"During our two-day tour of mountaintop removal sites
in Eastern Kentucky, we saw buried and polluted streams, great
hickories and oaks tossed into useless piles, life-giving
mountains turned into barren moonscapes, wasted topsoil and
sunken homes, the lowering of a people's quality of life,
the increased severity and frequency of flooding, the lost
jobs and lost hopes of an entire place. These are not isolated
or occasional incidents. Instead, they are an assault on the
people, culture and land of Appalachia.
"We have met these people and heard their testimony.
We learned of a one-mile section of road where four mothers
grieve for their dead children, victims of speeding, overloaded
coal trucks. Erica Urias spoke eloquently of bathing her baby
in poisoned water. Clinton Henshoe, surrounded by strip mining's
noise and air pollution, referred
to himself as 'a prisoner in his own house.'
"We realize that coal is an important part of our economy.
However, coal can be mined in a more responsible way that
respects the spirit of the land and its people. Out of greed,
we have forsaken moral, aesthetic and spiritual values. We
have traded the futures of our children and grandchildren
for cheap coal. The impact of these practices is sweeping
across the entire state faster and faster, through the spread
of air and especially water pollution.
"We are horrified that this practice is legal. We are
angry that representatives in our own government are allowing
this to happen. Mountaintop removal is not right; it is not
acceptable, and it is an act we will fight. We call for the
abolition of mountaintop removal and urge our fellow citizens
to pressure elected officials in every way to stop this criminal
desecration of our common wealth."
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