Cranky Cindy wrote about mountaintop coal mining, and the environmental disaster is causes.
Universalist fun fact: the much-reported town deluged by coal ash, Harriman, Tennessee, was the site of the church extension project of the Young People’s Christian Union, a predecessor to Unitarian Universalist young adult ministries.
Not-so-fun fact: coal is not clean. It pollutes the air, and in mining districts it pollutes the water and soil.
And if you use grid electricity in the United States, you’re probably a part of the system that allows this to happen. That includes the power that runs my computer. So I try to use less, and learn more about mountaintop mining. Next comes the advocacy.
Last week, I attended the Nonprofit Technology Conference in San Francisco for work. One of the sessions I attended was about online mapping tools. One of the presenters was from iLoveMountains.org, which uses maps and video to make the connections between mountaintop mining and your electricity.
Learn those connections. Use less electricity. Advocate for cleaner technologies and mining communities.