'Censored' Story Threatens Ecosystem, Economy

A list of top 25 stories ignored by the mainstream media includes one about a new coal mining technique being used in the U.S. that involves dynamiting entire mountaintops.

1 minute read

February 6, 2006, 6:00 AM PST

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

"Project Censored specializes in covering the top news stories which were either ignored or downplayed by the mainstream media each year. Project Censored is a research team composed of nearly 200 university faculty, students, and community experts...Project Censored compiles an annual list of 25 news stories of social significance that have been overlooked, under-reported or self-censored by the country's major national news media."

"Mountaintop removal is a new form of coal mining in which companies dynamite the tops of mountains to collect the coal underneath. Multiple peaks are blown off and dumped onto highland watersheds, destroying entire mountain ranges. More than 1,000 miles of streams have been destroyed by this practice in West Virginia alone. Mountain top removal endangers and destroys entire communities with massive sediment dams and non-stop explosions...

The coal industry has coined many less menacing names for mountaintop removal, such as cross range mining, surface mining and others. But regardless of the euphemism, MTR remains among the most pernicious forms of mining ever conceived. Blasting mountain tops with dynamite is cheaper than hiring miners who belong to a union."

FULL STORY: Mountaintop Removal Threatens Ecosystem and Economy

Friday, January 27, 2006 in Project Censored

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