Tag Archives: MTR

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Stop Mountaintop Removal Mining …


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The idea of blowing the top off a mountain to get what you want inside is just so outlandish, selfish and downright ridiculous that it almost seems unreal.

But at Alpha Natural Resources, that’s just business as usual. Take a stand against Mountaintop Removal Mining (MTR) »

MTR is a common practice at coal companies, which use equipment the size of buildings to literally change the face of a mountain range and get at coal buried deep within the Appalachians.

But MTR is a dangerous and irresponsible business practice. Not only does it ruin the landscape, but it destroys wildlife habitat and poisons water supplies with chemicals like mercury, lead and arsenic. Worst of all, more MTR means more coal polluting our air and warming our planet.

Tell energy giant Alpha Natural Resources to stop mountaintop removing mining to protect the environment and our health »

Thanks for taking action!Emily V.
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team
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Wake up banks, mountains are at stake …Amanda Starbuck, Rainforest Action Network


With your help over the last year, six of the largest banks in the world have cut their financing of mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR).

http://www.ran.org/mtr

Sadly, a RAN report released today shows that Citi, PNC, Deutsche Bank and UBS are still asleep as mountains across Appalachia are destroyed forever.

So we’re going BIG and we’re getting louder. We’ve partnered with actress Susan Sarandon to issue a major wake up call about the tragedy of mountaintop removal. Watch this incredible video and send it to bank CEOs today.

Our mountains, our forests and the health of Appalachian communities are being sacrificed. It’s time for banks to stop financing MTR completely.

Send this important video to bank CEOs and tell them to stop funding the destruction of America’s mountains.    http://www.ran.org/mtr

As Ms. Sarandon says, “Families across Appalachia need our help. Mountaintop removal is an American tragedy…an unnecessary, outdated practice with no place in our clean energy future.”

Show these banks what’s really at stake when they choose to do business with MTR coal companies.   http://www.ran.org/mtr

Thanks for taking action with us. We couldn’t do it without you.

For the mountains,

Amanda Starbuck

Energy Finance Campaign

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Dear Citi, You screwed up big time


In 2009, you helped push Citi to announce a “robust MTR Environmental Due Diligence Process,” giving hope that the bank would reduce its financial backing for mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining.

We’ve now discovered Citi’s mountaintop removal “due diligence process” is not worth the paper it’s printed on!

Join us in calling on Citi to stop funding mountaintop removal.  212 559 1000

MTR is a crime against America’s environment and people. Every day MTR coal corporations literally blow the tops off Appalachia‘s mountains: clear-cutting forests, wiping out natural habitats and poisoning rivers and drinking water. Not only are these mountains lost forever, but also the heritage and the health of families across the region are being sacrificed.

Last weekend, mountaintop removal mining company Alpha Natural Resources announced that it was purchasing Massey Energy, formerly the largest and most nefarious mountaintop removal company in Appalachia. Together, Massey and Alpha are responsible for more than 26 percent of all mountaintop mining in Central Appalachia. Citi is responsible for funding this toxic merger.

Join us in calling on Citi to stop funding mountaintop mining all together. 212 559 1000

Thanks for all that you do.

For the mountains,

Amanda Starbuck, Annie Sartor and Scott Parkin

Global Finance Campaign Team

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Great News! EPA Finally Vetoes Spruce Mine Permit!


Rainforest Action Network
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Great news came from the coalfields of Appalachia this morning: the EPA vetoed the Spruce No. 1 mountaintop-removal mining permit in West Virginia!

Activists like you from around the country have worked hard to urge the EPA to veto the Spruce Mine permit, and all of your hard work has finally paid off! Thousands of people have emailed comments to the EPA about this issue; many have shared the Spruce Mine story with friends and allies, and still others dumped 1,000 pounds of West Virginian dirt on the front lawn to demand a veto of the Spruce Mine permit. We should all feel proud of this success.

Because the Spruce Mine was the largest proposed mountaintop removal mine site in all of Appalachia, it has been viewed as a bellwether for the MTR industry. While we certainly hope that the EPA’s decision this morning means that the agency is working hard to slow the destruction caused by MTR in Appalachia, it’s important that we don’t forget that there are many more MTR mines in central Appalachia that have devastating impacts on nearby residents.

Thank EPA Administer Lisa Jackson for protecting communities in West Virginia by vetoing the Spruce No.1 Mine Permit and to encourage her to continue to uphold federal laws and regulations for clean water enforcement.

Thank you for helping to stop the Spruce No. 1 mine!

GFC team

For the mountains,
Amanda Starbuck, Annie Sartor and Scott Parkin
Global Finance Campaign Team
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Two more banks move mountains


Rainforest Action Network
Tell PNC and UBS to go all the way and stop financing MTR
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Two of the largest remaining financiers of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining have announced that they are taking a step in the right direction to end the devastating practice of blowing up mountaintops and poisoning drinking water for coal.

Pennsylvania-based PNC and Swiss banking giant UBS have both announced policies that will limit their funding of MTR.

PNC and UBS are following in the footsteps of six other banking giants–Bank of America, Citi, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse—that many of you helped push in the right direction on MTR financing over the last two years.

Though this decision does not mean an immediate end to the financing of mountaintop mining, we are encouraged to see PNC and UBS take this step forward. Now let’s get ’em to go all the way!

Join us in urging PNC and UBS to completely cut all financing of mountaintop mining companies. Once your signatures are in, we’ll deliver your demands to PNC headquarters in Pittsburgh, as well as UBS headquarters in both Connecticut and Zurich. Sign this petition today!

Thanks for moving mountains in the banking world with us so that Appalachia’s mountains can stay right where they belong.

GFC team

For the mountains,
Amanda Starbuck, Annie Sartor and Scott Parkin
Global Finance Campaign Team