skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Kentuckians Take Mountaintop Mining Debate to Capitol Hill

play audio
Play

Wednesday, March 18, 2009   

Harlan, KY - The fight against mountaintop removal coal mining goes to Capitol Hill this week, as dozens of citizens from Appalachia voice their support of the Clean Water Protection Act by traveling to Washington, D.C.

Among them is Carl Shoupe, a former coal miner, and now the Harlan County representative of the group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. They're hopeful the measure will pass. It would prohibit the dumping of coal mining waste into nearby streams, which Shoupe says is polluting water sources and destroying Kentucky's Appalachian Mountains.

"This would help to keep the waste products from the strip mining operations out of the streams and clean our waterways back up, in Kentucky."

Shoupe and others believe the practice benefits a small number of corporations at the expense of communities and the environment. Supporters of the mountaintop removal method contend it creates jobs and increases the amount of flat land available for eventual development, in areas where it is scarce.

The mining process, which has long been controversial, has already claimed more than a million acres in Appalachia. In Shoupe's view, coal is a finite resource that does not warrant the environmental consequences of mountaintop removal.

"Coal is going to be gone - and so, leave us something. Don't take our mountains and the coal. Just take the coal from underneath and leave our mountains - that's what we're trying to stress."

Shoupe adds the U.S. needs to work harder to develop a future beyond coal, by investing in sustainable economic alternatives, for Appalachia and elsewhere.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021