Describe the process of mountaintop removal and why it is controversial.

At a typical mountaintop removal mining site, a mining company starts by clear-cutting miles of hardwood forest and growth from the top of a mountain, destroying wildlife habitat and nesting sites for native and migratory birds. Next, the company drills hundreds of holes and packs them with powerful explosives to blast through rock and reduce the elevation of the mountain by as much as 800 feet. Toxic dust is carried towards human populations, causing significant negative health effects. Flooding and erosion often follows when heavy rains wash over the exposed ground.

Huge shovels clear the tailings, often dumping it into adjacent valleys where it buries streams, destroys more habitat, and sometimes contaminates community drinking water with heavy metals and toxic chemicals.

Appalachia is renown for its stream salamander diversity, and these amphibians are particularly hard hit by habitat destruction.