Economic and Environmental Crises - How are they Related

I chose the title for my new blog, "Cleaning Up the Great Recession", because I believe that our current economic recession, is part of the price we are paying for our failures to make hard choices regarding our environment. Having been laid off several times since September 2007, despite working as an accountant, has let me know that our nation is facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Within the past year, I have discovered that there is an environmental component to this crisis. I did not know until almost a year ago that coal companies were blowing off the tops of mountains using explosives to mine coal. This is known as mountaintop removal. You can almost sense the injustice of this practice right away. Its toxins pollute the rivers, streams, and other waterways in its wake. The air becomes too toxic and can make anyone living or working near the mountain site ill. If coal companies are forced to pay for all the damage caused by this barbaric practice, it would stop immediately.