Tipping Point for Mountaintop Mining?

"Mining permits are being issued despite the preponderance of scientific evidence that impacts are pervasive and irreversible and that mitigation cannot compensate for losses." This is the disturbing conclusion of an article in the January 2010 issue of Science synthesizing all of the peer-reviewed studies on the ecological and human health impacts of mountaintop mining with valley fills (MTM/VF).  The article documents the breathtaking destruction that has been visited upon the unique ecosystems and vulnerable human communities of Appalachia.