Zeb Mountain Destruction Halted by Escalating Anti Mountain Top Mining Campaign

As dawn approached this morning (15 August, 2005), activists stood on an ancient Appalachian mountain in a dramatic protest against mountain top mining.

This is the first time a mountain has been taken over in the struggle to protect the Appalachian Mountains from the devastating practices of mountain top mining.

<##IMAGE##>Dedicated citizens are blockading National Coal"s strip mine in scenic Campbell County, Tennessee, United States to halt the destruction of Zeb Mountain. Activists affiliated with MountainJusticeSummer.org and Katuah Earth First! are using creative non violent tactics to bring attention to the modern atrocity of mountain top mining.

In an unprecedentated non-violent intervention, individuals are blockading the entrance to the mine by locking themselves to a car on the haul road and sitting in a tripod to prevent access to the mine. Other activists have locked themselves to drilling equipment.Citizens are using their bodies to create a giant “no blast” zone across the mountain.

These drastic tactics are being used because strip mining companies are not allowed to use explosives when unauthorized people are nearby. “Coal companies bend and break laws in order to blow apart Tennessee"s mountain headwaters. Since regulatory agencies refuse to protect our mountains, non violent citizen intervention has become necessary.

We stand for the preservation of the mountains, water, forests, and communities of Appalachia” said Maria Johnson of Kingsport, TN.