Coal mining has been a big part of our nation for a very long time.  My great-great grandparents came over from Czechoslovakia and became West Virginia coal miners.  Coal mining has been traditionally associated with underground caves and total darkness.

But in the past few decades, the face of coal mining has changed and it’s changing the landscape around it.

Mountaintop removal mining is a method of mining coal in which mountaintops are deforested and literally removed with explosives to expose the coal beneath. …read more of Singers Come Together to Protest Mountaintop Removal Mining here

Change.  Obama’s mantra of change was the center of his campaign and the center of his energy policy.  It was also a main point of criticism by Republicans.  Obama was attacked and questioned about how his changes would be accomplished.  Obama answered with a very detailed response in his nomination acceptance speech as well as in several speeches across the country.

In a nutshell, here is what Obama proposed:

Short Term: Obama will require oil companies to help fund a $500 tax relief check to individual American citizens in the next four months.  A second stimulus check has been proposed for fall/winter of 2009 to assist in rising heating costs.  Obama and his team will be cracking down on oil company regulations to save costs.

Mid to Long-Term:  Obama’s administration proposes a cap and trade program in which corporations will be given an incentive to emit less.  If corporations undershoot their energy allowance per year, they may sell their remaining energy allowances to another company.  In this way, companies benefit from using less and other companies are forced to pay if they exceed their allowance.  In addition, part of this fund goes towards green efforts. …read more of Inauguration 2009: Obama’s Energy Policy Begins here