Yesterday George W. Bush announced his plan to expand the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining. Today you can make your voice heard by writing a letter to the editor opposing expanded mountaintop removal coal mining.

RAN's executive director Michael Brune wrote a letter to the New York Times and today you can write to your local paper. Here's the letter he wrote:

Yesterday the Bush administration announced a plan to loosen regulations on mountaintop removal coal mining. This is a death warrant for Appalachian communities.

Rather than taking coal out of the mountain, this destructive process takes the mountain off the coal. Mountaintop removal has flattened more than 400 mountains, transforming their healthy woodlands into toxic sludge and rubble that has clogged more than 750 miles of streams. Such large-scale decimation forces animal species and American citizens from their homes.

Coal burning is also America's single largest emitter of climate-changing greenhouse gases. The president has acknowledged the critical threat posed by global warming; for him to claim that we need more coal power is dangerous and false. The U.S. can reduce its use of dirty coal and meet its growing energy demand by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

Michael Brune

Now it's your turn!