welcome August 26, 2002 Issue

Finding the elegant solution

Dave Hohle

"Mountaintop Removal" is surface mining by which seams of coal are extracted as entire mountaintops are blasted and bulldozed away. Surrounding valleys fill with debris sometimes 900 feet deep. Streams are buried, and the flow of rainwater is radically changed.

It's a high-impact operation. Dust and debris settle everywhere. Huge trucks rumble over roads not built for their size and weight. Water supplies are affected. The ecosystem and contour of the land are changed indelibly.

Does "progress" like this have to be so invasive? Could there possibly be a more elegant solution to the demand for energy?

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August 26, 2002
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