From the Inbox: Debunking the "Reclamation " Myth

Dear Fellow Bloggers,

I wanted you to be among the first to know about two new studies from Appalachian Voices and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) that combine to debunk one of Big Coal's biggest lies about mountaintop removal coal mining.

Click this link to view the Reclamation FAIL map:
http://www.ilovemountains.org/Reclamation-Fail

Coal companies like to tout reclamation as a solution to their mining destruction. According to Big Coal, after a mountain has been destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining, the post-mined land is "reclaimed" for "beneficial" industrial, commercial, residential or public use. They also claim that more flat land is needed to encourage economic growth.

But the Reclamation FAIL reports reveal that Big Coal's claims are a big, flat lie.

To date, some 500 peaks - encompassing roughly 1.2 million acres - have been leveled throughout Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee. NRDC's survey focused on 410 of those mine sites (excluding 90 active mines). What did they find? Despite Big Coal's rhetoric, 90% of post-mined sites remain unreclaimed.

We need your help to get the word out on this important report -- and to debunk the myth of mining "wrecklamation." Please, take a moment to read the report, and consider posting about it on your blog.

Click here to read the studies.

Thank you for everything you do to help spread the word.

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org