ALL, News
New Reuters Video focuses on effects of Mountaintop Removal in Kentucky
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Appalachian Voices traveled to eastern Kentucky to show Reuters the impact of mountaintop removal.Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, a partner organization, helped to coordinate the trip.
The video focuses on the impacts of mountaintop removal in eastern Kentucky and the great strides Google Earth has made in communicating the scale of the devastation it is causing.
“What Google Earth allows you to do is to show this is millions of acres,” said Matt Wasson referring to how important a tool Google Earth is in showing the bird’s eye view of the immense destruction spreading across the Appalachian Mountains.
Rick Handshoe, resident of Floyd County Kentucky and member of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth shares Wasson’s concern.
In the video he vividly describes the pollution that mountaintop removal mining has caused in streams while the camera pans slowly across the creeks gurgling brown down the hillside. The land has been in his family for nearly 200 years.
Dr. Matthew Wasson, an ecologist and the director of programs for Appalachian Voices, also took some still shots of mountaintop removal and valley fills while there.
June 30th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
It is unbelievable that our government allows a stream to become so polluted. Anything over 500ppm is considered unrepairable damage. The iron content of this Floyd County stream is 1900ppm.
Kentucky Coal Ass. Pres.,Bill Bissett’s remarks are just as hard to swallow as the toxic water. Some green foliage growing over a scarred hillside does not mean reclamation is a success. The heads and shoulders of our beloved Mountains are missing!
I am a Kentuckian. To see this obscenity, pushed on my people and their homes, the forest, the wildlife and on these age-old Mountains of Eastern Kentucky, makes me weep. It makes my heart heavy, and I will not be satisfied until these bullies are stopped!