Rally Calls For Ending Mountaintop Removal

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...During the annual "I Love Mountains Day" rally, more than 1,000 activists, Appalachian residents and environmentalists lined the front steps of the Capitol building Tuesday and later marched to the nearby governor's mansion while calling on Kentucky lawmakers to put an end to mountaintop removal mining. A small group of people walked 140 miles from Prestonsburg to Frankfort to draw attention to their mining concerns. Speakers urged the passage of House Bill 167, which would expand renewable and clean energy alternatives in Kentucky, citing a report that such a mandated move could add 28,000 additional jobs in Kentucky by 2022. Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, said support for any law that would require the use of renewable energy would be misguided and expensive. This was the seventh year that Kentuckians for the Commonwealth has organized an “I Love Mountains Day” event.