Mountaintop Removal Mining, which is a common practice of irresponsible coal companies in the Appalachian mountains of southern West Virginia, southwest Virginia and eastern Kentucky, involves blasting the top off of a mountain - and dumping the "spoil" in the adjacent valleys and streams - in order to access coal seams quickly and cheaply. MTR mining poisons water supplies and destroys not only the beauty of God's mountains but our mining communities as well. It also employs far fewer miners than does traditional underground coal mining. Simply put, MTR mining is an abomination and it must be stopped.

The "metrobilly" band 2/3 Goat - whose lead singer, Annalyse McCoy, hails from eastern Kentucky - has written a brilliant and powerful anti-MTR song, "Stream of Conscience". This song also demonstrates why John Prine's classic 1971 anti-strip mining song, "Paradise", is still important today.

Check out both "Stream of Conscience" and "Paradise" on these YouTube videos:

Stream of Conscience - 2/3 Goat

Paradise - John Prine