JP Morgan Chase Bank Funds Mountaintop Removal

This is one I wish was fiction. It's come to my attention by way of my environmentally conscious roommate that Chase Bank (my bank for nearly a decade now) funds the devastating work of mountaintop removal. In case you are as desperately insufficient in environmental knowledge as I am, mountaintop removal is simply a form of surface mining that involves the mining of the summit of a mountain, also known as the top of the mountain. Essentially they blow up mountains in search of coal. Nevermind the fact that dust is everywhere, toxins are in the air and entire mountain views are destroyed. No big deal, right? Wrong.

Over the last few decades its become common knowledge that mountaintop mining has serious environmental impacts, including gross losses of biodiversity. Along with that there are serious adverse human health impacts resulting from contact with affected streams or exposure to airborne toxins and dust. Decades ago it was common for companies to buy entire towns in exchange for the city's residents to receive homes completely paid for. What wasn't clear is that those people, who unintentionally signed away their lives, essentially could never sue those companies for health problems or sell those houses to other people as they've lost all value. It's sad because those companies knew full well that they were putting people in harms way in the long run.

In the run up to this coming week's Earth Day festivities, I thought it a natural progression to write about this terrible practice. Loyola University Chicago will be hosting an event Tuesday, April 20th (7-9 p.m.) called "Purple Mountains Majesty or Appalachian Tragedy: The True Cost of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining." It will be held at  Loyola in the 4th floor (Atrium), Information Commons, LSC. 

As far as JP Morgan Chase is concerned (Reuters, Jan., 2010):

JP Morgan Chase has been funding six of the top eight coal mining companies responsible for mountaintop removal coal mining in the United States. Recently, its investment bank underwrote more than $1 billion in new financing to Massey Energy, the largest mountaintop removal coal mining company.

JP Morgan Chase states that its “environmental goal is to make a positive contribution to sustainable business practices by integrating environmental practices into our business model.” Yet, Massey Energy has a deplorable environmental record, having violated the Clean Water Act no fewer than 4,500 times – resulting in a $30 million fine in 2008.

And I will leave you with this tidbit: "Mountain top removal, basically it's like investing in cancer for poor people."

So, thanks Chase. Thanks.