To the Point

Strip Mining in the Appalachians

Strip mining has forever altered the Appalachian landscape by cutting off mountaintops to get at low sulfur deposits more cheaply and safely than underground mining allows. Now, after 20 years of dumping the debris into neighboring valleys, a federal judge has ruled that disposal violates the Clean Air Act, which prohibits depositing "waste" near waterways. But with half of America's energy generated by coal, and such mining judged efficient and safe, residents are split over immediate economic needs and long-term consequences of recreating the place they live. Are we destroying Appalachia in order to save it? We hear more from a third-generation coal miner, an industry spokeswoman, a public interest environmentalist, and the head of Kentucky's Appalachian policy and development office. Newsmaker: Cardinal Mahony's Potential Cover Up Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony has admitted to mishandling the case of a pedophile priest. Mahony kept the case secret for 16 years, failing to report it to law enforcement authorities and reassigning the priest to different parishes. Glenn Bunting, who broke the story in today's Los Angeles Times, expands on the cardinal's revelations and the district attorney's investigation, which has spread to 30 current and former priests. Reporter's Notebook: Indigenous Peoples Finally Get A World Voice There are 5,000 indigenous groups around the world, 300 million people living in 70 different countries. Last year, after 80 years of rejection, they finally found a forum with the creation of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Irwin Arieff, who reports from the UN for Reuters News Service, reports on the contentious political problems faced by the Forum's first two-week session.