On Tuesday, Feb. 14, an estimated 1,300 people gathered in Frankfort, Ky., for “I Love Mountains Day,” an annual event sponsored by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth to protest mountaintop removal mining. Glenmary Father John Rausch, director of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia, was among those who attended the rally.
Mountaintop removal is a type of surface mining used in Eastern Kentucky where the tops of mountains are blasted off to reach the coal. The mountaintops fall into the valleys, which protestors say destroys the land and pollutes the water.
Father John has served in the Appalachian area of Eastern Kentucky and Southwest Virginia for over 30 years and has seen the direct effects of this type of mining. He was one of the featured speakers at the 2008 event. Click below to hear his address.
For more information on mountaintop removal, this event or the work done by the Catholic Committee of Appalachia, contact Father John.