FACT: Due to mountaintop removal and fracking, the water in the Appalachian Mountains is being poisoned. This is a fact and no matter how much the government and the extractive industries deny it, well, facts are pesky little things in that they remain true in the face of denial.
Right now, you may think, "So what, it's just those ignorant, inbred hillbillies that are dying." but may I remind you that—as my daddy used to say—“shit runs downhill” and you are all downhill from these mountains.
If you sit back and let us fight this battle on our own and we lose because we needed the help you refused us, then you lose, too, and you deserve what happens when the water gets to where you live. Sorry but that's the truth and, if I’m still living, I won’t be able to come up with any sympathy for you.
If you don't care because it's *just* hurting us here in the mountains, well… I don't think much of you as a human being but still...Help us fight this for the sake of your children and grandchildren. If you won't even do it for them, then you are not much of a human being at all but consider doing it for your own self.
I hate to sound harsh but this is serious. We're fighting for our lives. This is no exaggeration and certainly no joke. WE NEED YOUR HELP.
Maybe you can't go to DC. Maybe you aren't willing or able to do anything drastic such as get arrested or shave your head. Maybe you can't go to Charleston or Frankfort or Nashville or Richmond. There are many other things that you *can* do.
You can learn the facts and then write your state and federal representatives. You can write our representatives. You can write letters-to-the-editor in your local newspapers. You can stage protests in your areas to publicize the issue and do other things to educate your local friends and neighbors of their impending danger.
You can limit your use of electricity to lower the demand. You can find out the source of your local electricity and demand that your local electricity company not use coal from mountaintop removal. You can consider switching to renewable energy such as solar.
If you can at all afford it, you can donate to any of the various groups such as Keepers of the Mountains who are fighting in the thick of the battle. http://mountainkeeper.blogspot.com/
There is always *something* you can do. If you are doing something, I appreciate it and I'd love to hear about it.
And, to my friends who do live in the mountains, you should already be doing this stuff. I’m talking about your life and the lives of your children, grandchildren, and neighbors.
Go here for further information: http://ilovemountains.org/
