Did you know that on Saturday, February 12, 2011, the Newport Southgate House will hold a benefit concert on all three of its stages to raise funds to fight mountaintop removal in Appalachia? In conjunction with the live concerts, “Music for the Mountains”, a compilation CD of music by artists from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Alabama, will be sold to raise money.
This CD features a combination of songs specially written for this project and other previously unreleased tracks not available on any other album. Doors open at 7:30 pm and show begins around 8:30 pm.
Mountaintop removal is a type of coal mining that uses explosives to blast away the top of mountains so that coal companies can easily access coal veins. Soil and rocks are pushed over the side of the mountain, and bury streams, plants and trees. Mountaintop removal permanently destroys the landscape, and may ruin the drinking water supply for local residents. Mountaintop removal is used in eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and east Tennessee.
No one is suggesting that coal mining be stopped in Appalachia. However, there are many alternative means of mining coal without completely removing the mountains. The other methods may require more workers and more machinery.
