When you have the courage to stand up, others stand up with you. Broadcast your story and watch others follow in your footsteps. Please tell the story of why took the pledge on your blog. Below is a sample blog post and form to lets us know the url of your blog.

Sample Blog Post

Make The Pledge To Save America’s Mountains

Ever been to the Appalachian Mountains? This breathtaking green mountain range stretches from central Alabama all the way up to Canada, separating the eastern seaboard from the Midwest. More than 300 million years old, this ancient band of mountains is one of the most biodiverse regions in North America. The temperate forests and sparkling rivers here are home to thousands of species including moose, black bears, hawks, white-tailed deer and speckled trout. The people of this region have long been the keepers of a rich cultural heritage that defined early U.S. history.

Can you imagine what the Appalachia Mountains would look like if hundreds of mountaintops there were blown to bits, leaving a flat wasteland with no wildlife, poisoned water supplies and cancer-ridden communities? Sounds absolutely apocalyptic, doesn’t it? Well, this tragic scenario is actually happening right now, and it’s called mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR). http://mountainpledge.org/about-mtr/

To increase profits and decrease liability, coal companies have figured out that using millions of pounds of dynamite to blow apart mountaintops provides greater profit and less liability. More than 470 mountains have already been blasted away and 2,000 miles of rivers and streams buried. Wildlife in these areas have not had a fighting chance for survival, and local people throughout coal country have been afflicted with cancer, liver and kidney disease, and skin rashes from the contaminated water.

MTR is a very sad story…but there is a way we can make sure this insane method of mining does not continue. Thousands of people across the country and around the world have begun to say no to MTR. From the brave coalfield residents in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia that are risking their own safety by standing up to coal corporations, to environmental and human rights organizations all over the globe lobbying in D.C. and taking daring actions to protect Appalachia (http://www.utne.com/Wild-Green/Calling-Out-Big-Coal-at-the-EPA-6938.aspx), the movement to end this insane practice is growing fast.

What can we do about it- the everyday folks outside Appalachia? We can commit to a few minutes or hours or days this year to protecting our mountains, by signing the Mountain Pledge. (http://mountainpledge.org/) This pledge states that we will take action to help end MTR this year, whether it’s online, in the streets, or up on Capitol Hill. The United States is under attack by a few greedy people; together we have the power to change this.

The Mountain Pledge puts the tools into the hands of all Americans to change the course of history, and ensure these ancient mountains remain standing for every generation to come. I have made the pledge to help end mountaintop removal in 2010.

Will you please take a moment and join me? Sign the pledge. (http://mountainpledge.org/). Do it today. We have no time to lose.