“A month ago, before the nation’s attention was drawn to the tragedies at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia and the oil rig off the Louisiana coast, the EPA issued a blockbuster announcement about a strict new guidance for the permitting of mountaintop removalmines in Appalachia. The announcement left many people — reporters, politicians and the general public alike — confused whether or not the EPA had just put an end to mountaintop removal. The announcement generated headlines ranging from a fairly modest “E.P.A. to Limit Water Pollution From Mining” in theNew York Times to “New regulations will put an end to mountaintop mining?” in the Guardian.
“Certainly at the press conference EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson used some strong language: ”Coal communities should not have to sacrifice their environment or their health or their economic future to mountaintop mining. They deserve the full protection of our clean water laws.”
“Some insiders have also expressed concern that the EPA’s strict new guidance will take the wind out the sails of the campaign to pass a law, but from the perspective of Appalachian groups that have been working to ban mountaintop removal for decades, that concern is misplaced. The citizens of Appalachia have led this fight from the beginning, and have a much more vested interest in making these protections permanent than any group in Washington, D.C.
“There is a window of opportunity right now to pass a strong law that will rein in mountaintop removal permanently. Also, with coal demand down dramatically due to the recession, now is the time to begin replacing mountaintop removal coal with aggressive energy efficiency and renewable energy policies in states like North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia that are most dependent on this source of coal.”
read more: Huffington Post
“There is growing recognition that water is the “key medium through which climate change impacts will be felt.” Climate impacts on water will directly affect agriculture. And, of course, agricultural practices can both impact and mitigate climate change. Yet, all three–climate, agriculture and water–are facing severe crises. It is the dramatic convergence of these crises that compel us to shift away from the dominant industrial agriculture model toward more sustainable and just alternatives.
“Earth Day, the day set aside globally to appreciate our planet and all the bounty and wonder it has to offer, provides an opportunity to consider what we as individuals, or as representatives of organizations, can contribute to the ecological health and vitality of the Blue Planet. While we have done much to protect our resources, events like Earth Day remind all of us of our constant responsibility to establish a new generation of sustainable living and business operations, with respect for the Earth and dedication to improve our environment as a year-round commitment. Today, people, organizations, and governments throughout the world pause to celebrate what has been done and identify what remains to be done to protect the water, air, and land that sustain us and our communities.”
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