Protect Colorado's Forests From New Coal Mining
Tell the Forest Service not to give Arch Coal, a company that today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, access to 19,000 acres of pristine, roadless National Forest for new coal mining.
Devastating Numbers
New mines would give the nation’s second largest coal company access to 170 million tons of publicly-owned coal
Coal would release 485 million tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere along with millions of cubic feet of methane emissions
The Forest Service’s own analysis estimates $13 billion in environmental and economic damages
STOP POURING MONEY INTO COAL PLANTS IN COLORADO
Keep Our Forests Untouched
Explore the area around Paonia, and you’ll find some of the Western Slope’s most beautiful country. That’s why in 2012, the area was included in 4.2 million acres of National Forest that were set aside under the Colorado Roadless Rule.
The Roadless Rule was intended to conserve Colorado’s forest for future generations but a Forest Service proposal threatens to give Arch Coal access to thousands of acres of roadless National Forest for new mines.
Keep Coal in the Ground
China recently announced a 3 year ban on new coal mining. The Obama administration should also halt new coal leases, but these new mines would give Arch Coal access to 170 million tons of publicly-owned coal. When burned, this coal would release 485 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere along with millions of cubic feet of methane emissions.
We have until January 15th to tell the Forest Service: keep our forests untouched and keep this coal in the ground! Act now to protect Colorado’s forests from new coal mining.
“Ultimately, if we’re gonna prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, we’re gonna have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground.” – President Obama, upon rejecting the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline