In the past week or so I have had people tell me I am starting to make small waves in the battle against mountaintop removal. I thought it was funny on both occasions - and kind of sad. If I’m just making waves, then I need to work harder. I don’t want to make waves. I want to make one big tidal wave and put and end to the issue with one final explosive crash. If I had my way - every single person involved with promoting mountaintop removal would get wet.

I think the battle would be over if people like me could convey the actual extent of the destruction - on every level. You won’t get the truth from the media, it’s sad to say. The best way to understand the level of devastation is to visit a mountaintop removal site yourself or a family affected by it. Obviously those choices are not very practical in most cases. So, we have to try to show you mountaintop removal while at the same time conveying the urgency of the matter.

I cross at least one deadline every single day. The deadline is marked by an explosion in the foothills around Bolt Mountain. For every day that passes and people still aren’t asking questions - we lose more of Appalachia. While people are talking about the economics of coal - we lose more of Appalachia. For every useless conversation ever had about clean coal technology - we lose more of Appalachia. For every day I can’t get you to simply question the impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining - we lose more of Appalachia.

Personally, I’m not asking you to jump on the bandwagon, I don’t want your money, I don’t want recognition - I do, however, want you to question mountaintop removal coal mining. I’m here for one reason and one reason only - mountaintop removal is just wrong. It is destructive beyond belief and it is turning residents otherwise peaceful life into a living hell. In the words of Woody Harrelson “It’s just so deeply wrong.”

Just think - in the time it took me to write this post - we have lost more of Appalachia.