Randy Travis

Are all of the country music singers going to get together to support the 80,000+ people that will be without a job by stopping mountaintop removal? Stop supporting things that you know nothing about. As someone from Kentucky now living in West Virginia I understand that coal is an important part of our energy resources. Without coal families cannot be supported and energy demands cannot be met. COAL KEEPS THE LIGHTS ON!

Here is a little more on this topic from the Tennessean newspaper for anyone interested.

http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2009/11/10/stars-gather-to-talk-music....

All things music from the Tennessean.com entertainment staff.
Stars gather to talk Music Saves Mountains
Published by
Peter Cooper
on
November 10, 2009
in
News
The Monday-night event came with a strong lineup:
Emmylou Harris, Randy Travis, Ben Sollee, Big Kenny Alphin, Delbert McClinton, Dierks Bentley, Gloriana, James Otto
,J.D. Souther, Matraca Berg, Jeff Hanna,
Michelle Branch, Kid Rock and Patty Griffin
.
But despite falling on CMA Awards week, the gathering focused on mountains rather than trophies. The recording artists
met Monday evening at manager Ken Levitan’s house to discuss the
Music Saves Mountains
campaign, an artists’ initiative intended to help protect the Appalachian mountains from a form of strip mining called “mountaintop removal.”
“The mountains of Appalachia are responsible for countless folk, country and bluegrass songs. Now, the home of that rich tradition is being destroyed,” said Harris, whose
catalog includes a version of Utah Phillips’ “Green Rolling Hills.” The song about the mountains of West Virginia was later covered by
Kathy Mattea, who is also involved with Music Saves Mountains.
The Monday event, which was sponsored by the
National Resources Defense Council
(NRDC) and the Gibson Foundation, allowed artists to hear from NRDC senior attorney
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and from NRDC senior scientist Allen Hershkowitz.
“We have to change the cultural assumption that it’s okay to blow up Appalachian mountains, and okay to blow up 502 ridgelines and peaks and get away with it,” Hershkowitz said. “There’s no voice more influential in the southeast than the country music
industry. This would not be allowed to happen in the Adirondacks, or the Rockies or the Sierra Nevadas. It shouldn’t be allowed to happen in the Appalachians.”
In June, the Obama administration announced plans to regulate, but not to disallow, mountaintop removal. The Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior are reevaluating the water quality impact of mountaintop
removal, and Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander has introduced the
Appalachian Restoration Act, designed in part to end mountaintop removal.
At Levitan’s home, artists were asked to be emphatic in their call to action.
“Emmylou is one of the godmothers of country music, and she is taking this stand
and asking people to join with her against this practice,” Hershkowitz said. “We
need the voice of country music speaking on behalf of our righteous cause.”
The
www.musicsavesmountains.org
website contains more information, as well as video and photo footage of Mattea
and Big Kenny Alphin surveying damaged mountains.

Always and Forever...An RT Fan
Linda and Guide, Greg

I thought this was interesting. there are several articles out there on this topic.

Always and Forever...An RT Fan
Lina and Guide, Greg