HEY EPA! Can you hear us yet?

Yesterday, activists across the country came together for a day of action to end mountaintop removal. There were actions at banks for funding mountaintop removal, as well as at every regional EPA office.

Here in the lovely District of Columbia, RAN’s DC chapter had a two-part action at the EPA’s headquarters. Just before noon, a group of 13 activists, along with two coalfield residents, entered the EPA’s lobby to deliver a letter to Lisa Jackson, the head of the EPA. When they were unable to speak with Ms. Jackson about mountaintop removal, the 13 activists linked arms, sat down, and said they weren’t going to leave until the EPA addressed this grave issue.

While the activists inside were risking arrest to save the mountains, 50 people gathered outside the EPA to show their support. The lawn was turned into a graveyard-type scene with crosses and gravestones showing the names of mountains and communities destroyed by mountaintop removal written upon them.

Once the sit-in had been going on for about two hours, I decided it was a good time for me to give Lisa Jackson a call to tell her how I felt about mountaintop removal. The representative who answered the phone from her office had clearly been feeling the heat from the day and quickly tried to get me off the phone while assuring me that they were “looking into the issue.”

The sit-in ended peacefully (with no one getting arrested!) in the afternoon when it was evident that the EPA had heard our message. You can watch a great video from the day of action here.

Earlier this week, blasting began for coal extraction on Coal River Mountain. Numerous studies have been conducted on the wind potential of Coal River Mountain in attempts to save the beautiful ridge while providing more electricity and jobs for Appalachia. If a wind farm was built on Coal River Mountain — rather than blowing it apart — 1.2% of West Virginia’s total energy needs could be met and 300 new jobs would be created for the area. That’s 300 jobs that wouldn’t disappear in a few years — unlike what will happen once the mountains are blown up and coal has been extracted. Despite this, the short-term thinkers have decided to move forward with more of this awful practice.

So, did the EPA hear us yesterday? I’d say so. Do they need to hear from even more of us now? Absolutely.

If you haven’t already, please, please call Lisa Jackson at the EPA and President Obama to urge them to stop mountaintop removal and save Coal River Mountain. Lisa Jackson’s number is 202-564-4700; President Obama is 202-456-1414.