Jayne Blog on volunteerism/volunteering, nonprofits, ngos, aid & development, women's empowerment, communications & random thoughts

KY groups use Google maps in mine fight

10:53, 5 November 2006

.. Posted in Development, Relief and Advocacy Efforts

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Kentuckians have found a way to let the rest of the world see what mountaintop coal mining has done to Appalachia: They have started a Web site that uses the Google Earth database to enable people to see aerial reconnaissance photos of the scarred countryside. The site was launched in mid-September with a link to the campaign's "National Memorial of the Mountains," which shows a Google Earth map of Appalachia. The map pinpoints areas of mountaintop removal with graphics of flags at half-staff, and a 3-d tour reveals clear views of sludge ponds, blasting holes and mountains scraped of their peaks. "The point is mountaintop removal has gone on under a cloak of secrecy," said Mary Anne Hitt, executive director of Appalachian Voices, one of a half-dozen environmental groups involved in the Internet campaign. "Unless you have the experience of flying over the region in a small plane, it's hard to understand the scale of mountaintop removal." ilovemountains.org. (Hurrah for my home state for fighting back)
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