Here at ItsYourNature we're no strangers to blogging about coal and growing up in West Virginia, it was impossible for me to ignore the impact that coal mining had on the state. This past week citizens of Appalachia as well as from the rest of the country got the chance to let Congress know how they felt about a relatively new but destructive form of coal mining known as Mountaintop Removal.

While much of the media's attention was focused on the War in Iraq, over a hundred volunteers were in Washington to raise attention about another war being waged just a short distance from the nation's capitol. In Southwestern Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, mountaintop removal is having a devastating effect on the local environment and economy. By leveling mountains to quickly and cheaply access coal, companies using mountaintop removal are leaving a crushing legacy for a once pristine area and setting a precedent that cheap electricity is more important than human life and livelihood.

The lack of attention to this unbelievable injustice that has been taking place for the past thirty years is enough to incite anger in most people, but rather than waste time on frustration it is more important to take action. Help support those lobbying Congress by signing our petition to support the Clean Water Protection Act. This is the first legislation that takes any steps towards reigning in mountaintop removal and it already has 132 Co-Sponsors. So sign our petition, or call your representative to ask them to be a co-sponsor. I did, and it wasn't even remotely scary. It was almost like I was participating in a real democracy where politicians really do have to listen to their constituents.

Need more reasons to support this legislation? Check out ilovemountains.org or try Googling Kayford Mountain, Buffalo Creek, Marsh Fork Elementary, Massey Energy, or Don Blankenship and see what common themes keep cropping up. The consistent and inhumane destruction of Appalachian communities.