During the campaign, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to end mountaintop removal coal mining.

"We're tearing up the Appalachian Mountains because of our dependence on fossil fuels," Obama said in Lexington, Kentucky in August of 2007. "We have to find more environmentally sound ways of mining coal than simply blowing the tops off mountains."

Today, we're launching a major campaign asking President-elect Obama to deliver on his campaign pledge to end mountaintop removal coal mining - and to do so within the first 100 days of his presidency. This campaign will only succeed if you take action today.

Click here to send a message to President-elect Obama asking him to end mountaintop removal coal mining.

We know that President-elect Obama is committed to transforming our nation's energy economy, and building a sustainable energy future for all Americans.

But there is nothing sustainable about allowing Big Coal to continue to blow the tops off of America's oldest mountains.

The good news is that President Obama has the power to stop most current mountaintop removal mining within his first 100 days in office.

And by working with Congress, he can permanently end mountaintop removal coal mining and help Appalachia make a sustainable contribution to our nation's energy needs.

Obama can fulfill his campaign pledge to end mountaintop removal coal mining in four easy steps:

• Reverse the Bush Mine Waste Giveaway: On his first day in office, Obama should reverse the lame-duck Bush administration rules that have allowed Big Coal to dump toxic mine waste into streams and rivers.
• Enforce Existing Laws: For eight years, the Bush administration has refused to enforce the Clean Water Act and other environmental rules, allowing Big Coal to ignore our nation's laws with few if any consequences. Obama should demand that these and other rules be enforced, and hold the EPA, Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement, and the Army Corps of Engineers responsible.
• Prioritize Appalachia in America's Clean Energy Future: The mountaintops of Appalachia provide a valuable wind energy resource - a resource that is severely impacted or destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining. Obama should mandate Environmental Impact Assessments and economic analyses as part of his New Energy for America Plan. With finite declining coal reserves and jobs, Obama needs to ensure Appalachia receives attention and support in the Administration's new energy plan - which includes a $150 billion dollar investment in green, union jobs.
• Tell Congress to Pass the Clean Water Protection Act: The Clean Water Protection Act would prevent future administrations from gutting the Clean Water Act through executive action, and it would permanently protect clean drinking water for many of our nation's cities. Obama should tell Congress to pass the Clean Water Protection Act and deliver it to his desk for his signature within the first 100 days.

With all the issues facing his new administration, it is vitally important that President-elect Obama hears from people like you who love our mountains and who want to see an end to mountaintop removal coal mining. That's why we need you to act today.

Ask President-elect Obama to enact the four-point plan to end mountaintop removal coal mining within the first 100 days of his administration.

After you've contacted our President-elect Obama, please take a moment to help us get the word out by emailing your friends and family, or by adding our 100 days widget to your blog or social networking page.

Right now, we have a unprecedented opportunity to save our mountains for all future generations. Please, take action today.

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org

PS Your contribution to iLoveMountains can help us keep the pressure on to end mountaintop removal coal mining. Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution.

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