The University of Michigan awarded the prestigous Wallenberg Medalto mountaintop removal activist Maria Gunnoe earlier this week.Gunnoe lives in Boone County, W.Va., and has spent the past eight years campaigning against mountaintop removal and its environmental effects in Appalachia. Gunnoe was also the 2009 Goldman Prize honoree from North America.As part of the honor, Gunnoe delivered a lecture on Tuesday in Michigan, where she spoke about flooding, water pollution and health issues in the Coal River Valley. Here's a video:Previous recipients of the Wallenberg Medal include Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
