Obama walks a fine line over mining

Environmentalists feel betrayed by the EPA’s decision not to block new mountaintop mining projects

By TOM HAMBURGER and PETER WALLSTEN
Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — With the election of President Obama, environmentalists had expected to see the end of the “Appalachian apocalypse,” their name for exposing coal deposits by blowing the tops off whole mountains.

But in recent weeks, the administration has quietly made a decision to open the way for at least two dozen more mountaintop removals. Read more