From: Mary Anne Hitt, Sierra Club <membership.services@sierraclub.org>
Subject: King Coal Can't Intimidate Us
To: jim_scon@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, October 18, 2009, 12:32 PM

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		Dear Jim, Last Chance to Submit Comments Opposing Streamlined Permits for Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining! Last week the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) held 6 hearings on its proposal to end streamlined mountaintop removal coal mining permits in Appalachia. The clean energy proponents who turned out at the Kentucky and West Virginia hearings were verbally and physically threatened by the pro-coal faction and were removed before the hearing by police for "security reasons."1 We can’t let King Coal silence the opposition to mountaintop removal coal mining--send a comment to the Corps supporting an end to streamlined permits before the October 26th deadline. Coal companies are telling the people of Appalachia that projects polluting their water sources and destroying their mountains are critical to their economy. But the truth is that mountaintop removal coal mining costs state budgets more than it generates, and other types of mining already employ more Appalachian workers.2 It's time to end the lies. The Corps needs to hear the truth from you today. If you listen to the coal companies, then you might believe that mountaintop removal coal mining is critical to keeping energy prices low. The truth is that ending mountaintop removal would have a negligible effect on electricity prices in the eastern United States, where mountaintop removal coal is currently burned.3 Coal companies don’t just want to keep you in the dark about the abundance of cost-effective alternatives to mountaintop removal coal, they want to keep using this destructive practice that actually destroys the mountains and valleys necessary to develop clean energy sources like wind, small-scale hydropower, and solar.4 Turning to clean energy will benefit Appalachia's economy and protect its communities, and the first step is ending the streamlined permits for mountaintop removal coal mining projects that are standing in the way. Thanks for all that you do to protect the environment. Mary Anne Hitt Sierra Club Big Picture Campaign P.S. Please forward this message and help spread the word to your friends and family! [1] Check out Sierra Club Beyond Coal Director Bruce Nilles’ blog on the hearings and the video of clean energy activists being harassed outside of the West Virginia hearing. [2-4] Read more about how studies show mountaintop removal coal mining costs local economies more than it provides. (pdf) If you do not wish to receive future emails like this, click here to be removed from this type of email contact.

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