Environmental activists are gathering in Washington D.C. today for an anti-mountaintop removal rally.For the past few months, non-profit Earthjustice has been naming “Mountain Heroes”on its website—people who have dedicated themselves to fighting mountaintop removal and environmental destruction. Several Kentuckians are named, like Wendell Berry, Teri Blanton and Mickey McCoy and rock band My Morning Jacket. Others are from neighboring Appalachian states, like West Virginian Larry Gibson who died on Sunday from a heart attack.People could also submit their own photos and statements to the website. During the rally today, organizers will present that photo petition with more than 13,000 photos to the White House Council on Environmental Quality.In an apparently unrelated event, religious leaders from across the country will be at the White House to talk to the White House Office for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships about improving the energy efficiency of houses of worship.The founders of Lexington-based Blessed Earth will be there, too. Blessed Earth is an organization that works with churches on environmental stewardship.
