“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.” Wendell Berry
What are your children worth? How about your spouse, your partner, or your parents?
For most of us, the answer to all those questions is: ”Priceless”. But to this administration, it would seem that the answer is: “Not as much as profits.” Why else would the EPA try to hide the results of scientific studies on health issues caused by pollutants from coal-burning power plants?
On August 21, 2018, the New York Times ran an article titled: “Cost of New E.P.A. Coal Rules: Up to 1,400 More Deaths a Year.” It said that an analysis by the E.P.A. of the existing rules, which were adopted by the Obama administration, “calculated that they would prevent between 1,500 and 3,600 premature deaths per year by 2030.” In contrast, the administration’s own analysis revealed that the new rules could “lead to as many as 1,400 premature deaths annually by 2030 from an increase in the extremely fine particulate matter that is linked to heart and lung disease.”
And what’s that got to do with the Faith and Money Network?
Throughout our history, we have taken interested, caring individuals on Trips of Perspective to witness the impact of poverty on families around the world, including in the USA. All too often that poverty is a result of governments whose officials have ignored life-threatening environmental problems, impoverished the people of their nation, and destroyed the land while enriching themselves. 
November 8 – 11th, we will lead a trip to Southwest Virginia to witness the devastating effects of Mountain Top Removal on the land and residents of Wise County communities of Central Appalachia.
A few years ago Laura Miller, volunteer for the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, wrote a newsletter for us on Mountain Top Removal. She explained that it is a “radical form of coal mining in which entire mountains are literally blown up. First, the trees are bulldozed, then the mountaintops are blown off. After the coal is extracted, the ‘waste’ from the mountaintop is dumped into adjacent valleys, where it buries streams and causes water pollution.” Click here to read that entire article.