Tweet Against Mountaintop Removal Mining This Thursday

Help stop the destruction of Appalachia by speaking out against mountaintop removal mining.

Nearly half of America's energy supply comes from burning coal, and at least 5 percent of that coal comes from the incredibly toxic and destructive process of mountaintop removal mining.

Mountaintop mining literally explodes the top off a mountain to get to coal inside. Coal companies using this mining method have wiped out 1.2 million acres of Appalachian forests and habitat and buried more than 2,000 miles of rivers and streams in debris, according to the Rainforest Action Network (RAN).

Many mountaintop mining projects are funded directly or indirectly by JP Morgan Chase, one of the four biggest banks in the United States and the recipient of $25 billion in TARP bailout funds.

RAN wants to turn this around, and publicly shame JP Morgan Chase in the process. As RAN puts it, "Instead of bankrolling this brutal, toxic and irreversibly destructive practice of destroying mountains for climate-killing coal, Chase should put their money on the right side of history. It's time for Chase to stop making millions from destroying Appalachia's mountains."

So what can you do? RAN is asking people to talk about this issue on Thursday, February 18, on Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social networks. The goal, says RAN, is to "hold JP Morgan Chase accountable for financing this despicable practice."

You can find out more about this, and sign up for RAN's Social Media Day of Action, by visiting this site. Then take action on Twitter, Facebook and your blog. Appalachia, and the environment, will thank you.

Photo courtesy of The Sierra Club via Flickr.