If you鈥檙e having trouble getting a bank loan, you have something in common with the US coal mining industry. The Bank of America has announced that it will refuse loans to mining companies that pursue the damaging practice of lopping off mountaintops to extract coal. The hope is that other banks will now do the same.
Mountaintop mining exposes coal deposits by blasting rocks from the surface. The practice, which is common in the Appalachian mountains in the US, destroys ecosystems and pollutes rivers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the worst form of mining you can do,鈥� says of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group based in New York City.
In response to these concerns, the Bank of America has said that companies that carry out mountaintop mining can go elsewhere if they want to borrow money. 鈥淲hile we acknowledge that surface mining is economically efficient and creates jobs, it can be conducted in a way that minimises environmental impacts,鈥� .
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Some have called it a PR stunt that will have little impact. Luke Popovich of the US National Mining Association points out that the Bank of America is not a major source of loans for mining projects.
Perks, however, believes that other banks will soon follow suit, which together with current economic problems, could have a serious impact on the companies concerned. This would help mitigate the effects of a law passed last month that allows coal companies to dump waste in rivers, he says.
