There is no such thing as clean coal. We can capture carbon all day long, but that doesn’t change the filthiest aspect of this fossil fuel: mountaintop removal mining. As we use more and more energy, it gets harder to mine the coal that powers our electricity grid, and that means coal companies are resorting to extreme measures to extract it.

Mountaintop removal pollutes rivers and streams, contaminates water supplies, and contributes to flooding in surrounding areas. We need to move away from this practice, but EPA recently issued yet another moutaintop removal permit. According to an alert from Rainforest Action Network: