Kennedy, protesters finish march, call for end to mountaintop removal mining at W.Va. rally

Source: The Associated Press

BLAIR, W.Va. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., country singer Kathy Mattea and more than 1,000 environmental activists, labor union members and Appalachian coalfield residents capped a 50-mile march to the foot of historic Blair Mountain with a rally Saturday against large-scale surface coal mining.

Marchers who had set out Monday to walk from Charleston to the mountain fear it could be destroyed by surface mines. They cherish the steep, tree-covered slopes for their role in U.S. labor history. Kennedy and many in the crowd want to protect the mountain from mining to extract the rich coal that it holds.

The path taken by the marchers is rich with history: Some 10,000 unionizing coal miners marched the same route in 1921 to battle authorities and coal company officials. The fight ended when federal troops were summoned to put down the largest armed uprising in America since the Civil War.

Kennedy is also pushing a documentary film that presents an unflattering view of mountaintop removal mining, a technique that involves clear-cutting trees and blasting away rock to expose multiple coal seams. Excess material is deposited in nearby valleys, typically burying streams. Kennedy calls the technique illegal, though it is allowed under federal mining and water quality laws.

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for the work he has done on behalf of the American people.

K&R

RFK Jr. for president.