Mountaintop Removal: Could it happen here?

With all the recent news about Dominion Virginia Power's quest to get a coal-fired power plant licensed in Wise County, and their commitment to use local Virginia coal mined using mountaintop removal methods, I thought of what it might be like if we had mountaintop removal done locally. After searching the web for inspirational images I thought the following sequence of three photos might get us all thinking about the problems mountaintop removal brings to wherever it is done. Do you suppose there is some coal in Monticello Mountain? Is this going to become part of the Central Virginia landscape?

Perhaps we all need to let the Virginia Corporation Commission know how we feel about promoting mountaintop removal in Wise County. This can't be good for tourists (or virtually any other living thing). There is a public hearing on this topic scheduled in Richmond at 5:00 pm on Tuesday February 19, 2008. Apparently there will be vanpools to take folks from Charlottesville to comment at the hearing. Stay tuned for details.

Photo Sources:
1. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12816451/ Amy Sancetta, Associated Press
2. http://www.ilovemountains.org/resources/
3. http://www.climatechange.umaine.edu/Research/Contrib/html/22.html