there goes the mountain

no poison should be made for which there is no antidote. no industrial process should occur which fouls our water supplies. no one should kill workers or neighbors or activists or peasants or the indigenous or the landscape in the process of manufacturing park benches, kleenex, and grocery bags. why are these commonsensical and ethically self-evident principles so impossible for so many to practice?

the problem is not and has never been a lack of accounting methodologies or industrial know-how; the problems are denial, recalcitrance, apathy. the solution isn't technical, but political. the solution isn't even political but social. the solution isn't even social but psychological. the solution isn't even psychological but perceptual. the solution isn't even perceptual but spiritual. the problem is our entire way of living and relating to the world.

~~from strangely like war: the global assault on forests
by derrick jensen and george draffan

we abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. when we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

~ aldo leopold

--
***support the third annual mountaintop removal week in washington, d.c.***
april 5th - 9th, 2008
(there are many ways you can support it)

crucial site:
http://www.ilovemountains.org/

--
over 500 mountains in the appalachian range have been blown up

hundreds of miles of streams have been buried forever

hundreds of thousands of acres of some of the world's most diverse forests have been destroyed

two football fields of forest are destroyed every second on our planet

coal-fired power plants cause 30,000 human deaths per year

who are the terrorists?

--
there goes the mountain
written and performed by tom paxton

there goes the mountain, father of fir trees
home for the grizzlies, under its snow
shorn of its timber, torn by the monsters
taken by truckloads to the valley below
there goes the mountain, the avalanche maker
heaven's caretaker, breeder of streams
there goes the mountain, maker of thunder
torn down for the plunder. remembered in dreams
there goes the mountain, greeter of sunrise
giant by starlight, the highest and best
the roar of the engines, the first in its lifetime
will take what man values and spit out the rest
and there goes the mountain, the avalanche maker
heaven's caretaker, breeder of streams
there goes the mountain, maker of thunder
torn down for the plunder. remembered in dreams
lord of the highlands, home for the eagle
catcher of snowfall for millions of years
bleeding in mudslides, robbed of its insides
prey to the skills of the cruel engineers
and there goes the mountain, the avalanche maker
heaven's caretaker, breeder of streams
there goes the mountain, maker of thunder
torn down for the plunder
remembered in dreams
--
mountaintop removal movie from ilovemountains.org
(featuring woody harrelson and willie nelson):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPixjCneseE&feature=related

mountaintop removal section of "the appalachians" part two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2dueyHZ6tY

green rolling hills (trailer):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ303D5revE

mountaintop removal: black diamonds documentary (trailer):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga3YPTAzOJs

burning the future: coal in America (trailer):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQPYKD4WGew

clearcuts and the risk of mudslide:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGn4jMFsjCU
--

special thanks to the awesome youtube videographers i ganked clips from
and to itsfilthy for de-crapifying the soundtrack

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• mountaintop
• removal
• deforestation
• tom
• paxton
• there
• goes
• the
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• god
• this
• is
• heartbreaking
• stop
• destruction
• now

[girlzgood]

iT MAKES MY CRY!!

[pennilesscripple]

that means you are human

[xyaseminsemax]

This is beautiful, so moving. :) x

[pennilesscripple]

it is a beautiful song

i trust it will move people to end this industrial madness

[RadioSchizoUT]

Thank you for posting this. I uploaded a video segment from the documentary "Burning The Future: Coal In America" and I encourage everyone on both sides of the aisle to watch it.

[pennilesscripple]

great

thank you

[PatriciaShannon]

This is so beautiful. Does anybody know how I can get in touch with the person who made the video, to see if he/she would be willing to work with a group of musicians to make Youtube videos?

I think the song "The Oneness of Being" has the potential to do well.

The beginning can be heard on reverbnation : Patricia Shannon

and you can see the lyrics there.

I also have several environmental songs that would be suitable.

And I know several musicians with some great, suitable songs

[PatriciaShannon]

The move "The Last Mountain" is in limited distribution. It's showing in Atlanta thru Thur., July 14, 2011. I plan to go to it.

[TheWarPlanet]

@crawl73 so you support coal power?

[xyaseminsemax]

This is beautiful.