Mountaintop Removal Activist Visits Academy During Green Cup Challenge

February 17, 2009

A visit from 'mountain keeper' and environmentalist Larry Gibson during this month's Green Cup Challenge introduced the process of mountaintop removal, and its impact on the earth. For some who attended a forum and viewing of "Black Diamonds," an award-winning documentary on community resistance to the rise of mountaintop removal coal mines in the Appalachian states, this was a new concept. For Gibson, a native of West Virginia, it's "one of the most destructive practices in the U.S. today."

Gibson shares photos of mountaintop removal in West VirginiaMost people look at mountains and see large, majestic structures in the sky. But for entrepreneurs in the coal-mining business, mountains are large sources of profit. Here in New Hampshire, more than a third of all electricity comes from coal, which is almost certainly extracted by mountaintop removal.

Sustainability Coordinator Jennifer Wilhelm agrees. "Mountaintop removal is costing billions of dollars and is forever destroying an ecosystem and culture for short-term energy use," she says. "Massive amounts of poisonous ammonia nitrate dynamite are used to blow off mountaintops. And those mountains are destroyed, never to be the same again."

Gibson explained that exploded mountains no longer have topsoil and the runoff of chemicals contaminate surrounding waters. "More than 470 mountains or 2.5 million acres of the Appalachian region are now ruined," Gibson says. "Dynamiting the mountains turns them upside down, into valleys of rock and dust," he says.

Providing students and community residents with the information about mountaintop removal, Wilhelm believes, will aid them in making smarter lifestyle choices. "Once they realize that 37 percent of their own electricity comes from mountaintop removal, I'm hopeful they will make better decisions like what type of energy source they will use in their homes. I'm hopeful they will continue the fight for sustainability," she says. "One of the best things I can do is to educate them."

For Amy '11, from Taiwan, education for everyone is the key. She explains, "It's not just an animal species becoming endangered; it's an entire mountain range being demolished by companies simply because they own the land. There are alternatives available with the newer technology that makes underground coal mining safer now, so if any mining is done at all it should be to reduce the impact it has on the environment. Coal is something that affects almost everyone in the nation since many power plants are fueled by coal; it's an important environmental issue that many people who profess to be nature-loving don't know about."

Students have been able to get directly involved, working with the NH Sierra Club, phone banking, letter writing, and sharing information with others about this urgent issue.

The Green Cup Challenge started on January 26. This 4-week challenge encourages high schools to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save  energy during the most punishing part of winter. Started in 2003 at PEA as an inter-dorm energy conservation program, it has grown explosively. This year, over 50 boarding schools and almost 100 day schools will participate.

Interested in learning more?

Learn more about mountaintop removal…

Learn more about Larry Gibson and the documentary, "Black Diamonds"…

Learn more about PEA's sustainability programs…

 Hear why it's fun to be an Environmental Proctor at Exeter...

Check out the Green Cup Challenge website...