Music Saves Mountains

By Nathan Ferguson on March 10, 2010 From the Arts campaign

Music Saves Mountains is a new site promoting the movement to end mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) in Appalachia.

With big name stars like Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crow, this will give a big push to the movement to end this huge environmental catastrophe.  If you’re in the region, buy a ticket for Music Saves Mountains, a benefit concert featuring Kathy Mattea, Dave Matthews, Cheryl Crow, Big Kenny, Emmylou Harris, Tift Merritt, James Otto, Gloriana, Michelle Branch and Ben Sollee. The show is May 19th at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. It’s co-sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council .

Here is what some of the stars have to say about mountaintop removal:

Dave Matthews:

Appalachia is one of the most vibrant and beautiful areas in the country. We can’t allow the greed of mountaintop removal to destroy it forever.

Sheryl Crow:

This particularly bad form of mining literally uses dynamite to blow the tops off of mountains. They call this mountain top removal and it is destroying some of the most beautiful places in the United States, including here in Tennessee where I live. I think it is a crime against nature.

Big Kenny:

The beauty of the Appalachian Mountains has inspired countless songs in country, bluegrass, gospel and folk music, and we must do everything possible to protect them.


Emmylou Harris:

We must join together with one voice to send the message that we will not sit idly by while our mountains and our inspiration are being blown apart. Together, our music can save mountains.

Check out what Kathy Mattea and Ben Sollee had to say in earlier coverage here at TENTHMIL.


What can you do to help?

For starters, you can call your reps. At the I Love Mountains website they’ve got a tool set up: enter your zip code and it gives you the phone numbers for your representatives. Call them and tell them they need to stop mountaintop removal, and that you support the Appalachian Restoration Act (S. 696) and the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 1310).

You can also act here by telling your senator to Pass the Appalachia Restoration Act. A similar tool helps you write to your representatives.

When you turn on the light switch, are you using dirty power from MTR? Find out here.

Curious how much coal money has flowed into the warchests of your own representativse? You can find that out here.

Have your own blog or website? Put the End Mountaintop Removal widget on your front page and spread the word.

Follow the fight on Twitter.

If you’re in the region, buy a ticket for Music Saves Mountains. More info at : http://www.musicsavesmountains.org/

Share this video the NRDC has on their mountaintop removal page:

 

This was Music Saves Mountains, an entry in our The Arts Campaign from March 10, 2010. It was filed under Music

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