Knoxville Public
Library
Brown Bag—
Green Book
October 28th, 2009
Pat Hudson
and
Dawn Coppock
LEAF
Creation
Care
Awareness
in over
2000
Tennessee
Churches
The Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.
Psalm 24:1
•What is Mountain Top Mining?
•What Motivates Activists?
•How Can You Help?
Zeb
Mountain,
Tennessee
Zeb
Mountain,
Tennessee
Water Quality
In twenty years the
lack of potable water
may make Southern
West Virginia
uninhabitable .
Professor of Biology, Ben
Stout, Wheeling Jesuit
University. Expert in the
effects of mining on
Appalachian streams.
Flooding
The runoff from these
mine sites is
sometimes 3 to 5
times higher than in
undisturbed areas
which means that 1
inch of rain has the
same flooding effect
as 3 to 5 inches.
EPA Study
Number of Coal Miners vs Tons of Coal Mined
(1950 - 2002)
140,000
200
180
120,000
160
140
120
80,000
100
60,000
80
60
40,000
40
20,000
20
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
Miners
1990
Coal
2000
2002
Tons of Coal (millions)
Number of Miners
100,000
State
2006 Total
1 Wyoming
2 West Virginia
3 Kentucky
4 Pennsylvania
5 Texas
6 Montana
7 Colorado
8 Indiana
9 Illinois
10 North Dakota
11 Virginia
12 Utah
13 New Mexico
14 Ohio
15 Alabama
16 Arizona
17 Maryland
18 Louisiana
19 Mississippi
Tennessee
446,742
152,374
120,848
66,029
45,548
41,823
36,322
35,119
32,729
30,411
29,740
26,018
25,913
22,722
18,830
8,216
5,054
4,114
3,797
% of Total U.S.
38.4%
13.1%
10.4%
5.7%
3.9%
3.6%
3.1%
3.0%
2.8%
2.6%
2.6%
2.2%
2.2%
2.0%
1.6%
0.7%
0.4%
0.4%
0.3%
0.2%
20
2,804
21 Washington
2,580
0.2%
22 Oklahoma
1,998
0.2%
23 Alaska
1,425
0.1%
24 Kansas
426
*
25 Missouri
394
*
26 Arkansas
2
*
Total U.S.
1,162,750
100.00%
Updated: November 2007
Note: * Denotes less than 0.1 percent of national total. Total includes refuse recovery.
Historical High
Year
446,742
176,157
173,322
277,377
55,755
42,840
39,870
37,555
89,281
30,775
46,917
27,507
29,618
55,351
29,030
13,203
5,533
4,161
3,797
2006
1947
1990
1918
1990
1998
2004
1984
1918
2003
1990
1996
2001
1970
1990
1991
1907
2005
2006
11,260
6,232
6,070
1,745
7,562
6,733
2,670
1,131,498
1972
2003
1978
1988
1918
1984
1907
2005
Claiborne County a Great Place to Visit!
Claiborne County
Tourism Commission
3222 Hwy 25-E Suite #1
Tazewell, TN 37879
(423) 626-4149
800-332-8164
COAL
MOUNTAINS
Balance
WATER
Ridgelines over 2000 feet
should not be altered or disturbed.
House Bill 899 Senate Bill 1406
Also House Bill 455 and Senate Bill 1398
•Surface coal mining operation to alter or disturb any
ridge line that is above two thousand feet (2,000’)
elevation above sea level, such elevation being determined
using the most current edition of the United States forest
service’ publication, Ecological Subregions of the United State.
This subsection does not prohibit any otherwise
allowable surface coal mining above two thousand feet
(2,000’) elevation above sea level that does not alter or
disturb a ridgeline.
Called to Stewardship and
Conservation
Cerulean Warbler
Reconstructed
Streams
God writes the
Gospel, not in the
Bible alone, but also
on trees, and in the
flowers and clouds
and stars.
-Martin Luther
Tree Planting
on an MTR
site
How can you help?
• Stay informed
• Affirm progress
• Request more progress
• Spread the word
• Volunteer
• Donate
• Pray
GO TO—
WWW.tnleaf.org
• Subscribe to LEAF's online action
alert list
• Your Email: ____________________
SUBSCRIBE
Knoxville News Sentinel
March 30, 2009
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 25, 2009; Page A13
The Environmental Protection Agency put hundreds of mountaintop mining
operations on notice that they would be the focus of closer scrutiny
yesterday, saying it needs to review their impact on local streams and
wetlands before they can move forward.
Appalachia Restoration Act
“It is not necessary to destroy our mountaintops in
order to have enough coal,” said Senator
Alexander, “Millions of tourists spend tens of
millions of dollars in Tennessee every year to enjoy
the natural beauty of our mountains -- a beauty
that, for me, and I believe for most Tennesseans,
makes us proud to live here.”
Senate
Committee Officers
Steve Southerland,
Chair
Ken Yager, Vice-Ch.
Eric Stewart,Sec,
Members
Tim Barnes
Charlotte Burks
Mike Faulk
Doug Jackson
Jack Johnson
Jamie Woodson
TALK with your
representatives
& legislative leadership
House
Committee Officers
Joe McCord, Chair
John Tidwell,Vice-Ch.
Richard Floyd, Sec.
Members
Willie Butch Borchert
George Fraley
Brenda Gilmore
David Hawk
Mike Kernell
Ron Lollar
Michael McDonald
Frank Niceley
Mike Bell
Tell
Others
Donate Money
Volunteer
Pray
LEAF is a Christian fellowship of
Tennesseans whose faith leads them to
take action for Tennessee’s environment.
Concern for God’s Creation is not a matter
of being liberal or conservative, a
Republican or a Democrat. We believe
people of faith can look beyond such
distinctions and do the Lord’s work together.
Theodore Roosevelt,
January 20, 1915
It is true that the game belongs to the people;
but this rightly means the people who are to
be born a hundred years hence just as much
as the people who are alive today. In the
same way, persons who own land, and, above
all, persons who merely visit or pass through
land, have no more right wantonly or
carelessly to destroy birds or deface scenery
than they have to pollute waters or burn down
forests or let floods through levees. The
sooner we appreciate these facts, the sooner
we shall become a truly civilized people.
West Virginia
Google Earth
“Layers”
“Global
Awareness”
OR
ILove
Mountains.org