[Imc-newsroom] radio news story

[christina wulf]

Greetings IMC radio folks -

I just left a message on the phone line in hopes of getting this event 
on the list of potential stories for discussion at IMC radio's meeting 
this afternoon.

A presentation about Mountaintop Removal coal mining (MTR) and its 
devastating impacts on the people & environment of Appalachia will be 
given on Thursday the 14th on the UIUC campus.  The event is hosted by 
Students for Environmental Concerns & co-hosted by the Prarie Group of 
the Sierra Club.

The presentation, dubbed Appalachian Treasures, is on a 20 week tour of 
the country, building a network of concerned people willing to take a 
few minutes at key political moments to help their neighbors in the 
coalfields of Appalachia to stop MTR.

Help from the people of Urbana is key - read on to hear why!

DATE: Thursday, April 14th, 2005
TIME: 7pm
LOCATION: Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
English Building - Rm 160
608 South Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801
(Located on the west side of the Quadrangle)

For more information, please contact Tom Abrams, SEC Energy Committee 
Chair at 847-814-6947, or contact Christina at Appalachian Voices 
(toll-free) 877-277-8642 or apptreasures at appvoices.org.


	There is an announcement of the event, along with a photo of MTR 
mining, at this link.  I have copies of this & other photos scanned at 
higher, print-quality resolution if those might be useful.

http://www.ucimc.org/newswire/display/31609/index.php


*More on MTR & why it's pertinent to Illinois:

Dubbed "strip mining on steroids" by coalfield residents, Mountaintop 
Removal Coal Mining involves clear cutting native hardwood trees, 
blasting away up to 1000 feet of mountaintop, then dumping the debris 
into nearby valleys. It has already turned 400,000 acres of forested 
mountains into barren moonscape and buried 1,200 miles of streams in 
West Virginia alone. Mountaintop removal also occurs in Kentucky, 
Virginia, and Tennessee.

The presentation paints a vivid picture of daily life in the shadow of 
MTR mines, where residents are forced to contend with appalling 
conditions: destruction of water supplies, daily dynamite blasting that 
damages homes & wells, choking dust, and the fear of fatal, catastrophic 
floods with every rainfall.  Meet the people, your neighbors, who are 
fighting to protect their homes, their families, and the mountains 
themselves from the irreversible destruction caused by MTR.

Then learn about how you can play a critical role in stopping this form 
of mining and its devastating impacts. Urbana's Congressional 
Representative, Tim Johnson, sits on a key subcommittee in Congress that 
will hear the bill to protect Appalachia from mountaintop removal 
(called the Clean Water Protection Act). With input from his 
constituents in the 15th district, his support could be the key to save 
our mountains.

This special event features photos of Appalachia and of MTR mining 
sites, voice recordings from coalfield residents, and traditional 
Appalachian music.

Special Thanks to the groups sponsoring this event: Students for 
Environmental Concerns (at UIUC), & Prarie Group of the Sierra Club

~ Appalachian Treasures is a project of Appalachian Voices ~ 
www.appvoices.org


[Note/caption for the picture that accompanies the announcement at this 
link - it shows an MTR mine in West Virginia:

http://www.ucimc.org/newswire/display/31609/index.php

The crane-like machine in the picture is called a "dragline" - it stands 
22 stories tall, has a base the size of a high-school gymnasium & a 
shovel the size of 4-car garage.  For additional perspective on the size 
of this mine, note the large powerline in the foreground (more visible 
when picture is enlarged).  Photo by SouthWings, Inc.]


Please call or email if I can send you anything else!

Thanks so much & thanks for the awesome work your IMC is doing!!
Christina




*
-- 
Christina Wulf
Outreach Coordinator
Appalachian Treasures Project
apptreasures at appvoices.org

Appalachian Voices - Boone, NC
Office number: 828-262-1500
or 877-APP-VOICE (toll-free)

Visit us on the web:
www.appalachianvoices.org