Stop mountaintop removal

Dear Editor:

I am writing to ask folk in this area to stand in solidarity with community members in the Coalfields of Appalachia and say stop destroying our mountains, our water, our communities and our health.

Mountaintop Removal is one of the greatest environmental and human rights violations in this country.

It has already destroyed over 500 mountains and buried over 2,000 miles of headwater streams.

Please join us in D.C. for Appalachia Rising on September 25-27. This is the largest national movement ever to demand the abolition of mountaintop removal and all destructive strip mining and bring sustainable economies to these regions.

There are two parts to Appalachia Rising. Voices from the Mountains conference is a weekend filled with workshops, speakers, music, art and cultural events. And the rally on Monday, September 27, which will march to the White House to demand justice for all Appalachians.

Please join thousands of Appalachians and national leaders, policy makers, coalfield residents and miners, concerned citizens, activities, mountain groups, environmental organizations and Americans from coast to coast for this momentous summit, gathering and call to action.

Many Morgan County residents and local groups, such as Friends of Cacapon and Sleepy Creek Watershed Association, support this event and we need your help to bring attention to this destruction.

We are fortunate in this region not to have coal under our ground. We owe it to our fellow mountaineers to help them fight the greedy corporations that are destroying the state and our precious water resources.

Contact me at 304-258-0179 for information and help with transportation and organizing in this area.

The outcome is the action as well as inaction of us all.

Laura Steepleton
Hedgesville