Go Green Radio

In 2007, coal-fired power plants generated 50% of all the electricity in the U.S.; it’s now down to 37% thanks to cheap natural gas prices. About two-thirds of the coal used in America comes from surface mining, including mountaintop removal (MTR). But because the communities around these operations are small, rural, and less likely to receive media attention, most Americans have no idea about the human health problems caused by this form of mining, all in the name of cheap energy. Teri Blanton has been fighting mountaintop removal (MTR) mining and toxic pollution in her home state of Kentucky for 20 years. Some people call her the Erin Brockovich of the social justice movement within the Appalachian coalfields for her tireless efforts to protect our headwater streams, and to ultimately move eastern Kentucky towards a more sustainable future beyond coal. Tune in to hear her firsthand account of the truth about how MTR affects the people who live nearby.