Concerned about mountaintop removal mining? Hungry for minute-to-minute coverage of all things coal? Looking to keep the August doldrums at bay by organizing your internet browser bookmarks?

If you answered 'yes' to any of the above questions, you need to click here. Bookmark the site. Read it daily.

I've just directed you to Coal Tattoo, a blog by Charleston (WV) Gazette environmental reporter Ken Ward Jr. It's the go-to source for coverage on mountaintop removal mining that is both timely and thoughtful.

The blog celebrated its six-month anniversary this month. The occasion ushered in congratulations and praise from folks on all side of the mountaintop removal mining debate—a testament to Ken's fair and accurate reporting.

Appalachia's mountains never seem to get a break. First, back in 2007, a district court judge ruled in favor of a lawsuit we brought on behalf of some West Virginia groups that stopped five mountaintop removal mining permits from going forward because of the permanent destruction they would have done to Appalachian streams and headwaters. It was a short-lived victory: the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision and the permits were moving forward again.

But then, the Obama EPA said it was going to review a slew of pending mountaintop removal mining permits that were awaiting the outcome of the court decision, and all were optimistic that the agency would put a halt on them and help prevent further stream and mountaintop destruction from happening. Appalachian groups hailed this decision, but again, victory was short-lived: just this month, the EPA said that despite having reviewed the permits (and despite mountaintop removal mining completely flattening entire mountain ranges and completely burying streams and headwaters) it was going to let 42 mountaintop removal mining permits proceed.

UPDATE: There was a lot of confusion and misinterpretation about Tuesday's announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency that it was reviewing mountaintop removal mining permits to assess their potential impact on the waterways and people of Appalachia. Only two permits have been questioned. Dozens are under review. And the EPA is signalling that many of those may not be held up for environmental reasons.

This is nonetheless a first step towards what we have been petitioning -- and suing -- to have the federal government do. Just this month, nearly 25,000 Earthjustice supporters, along with many others across the nation, sent messages to the White House asking for a halt to this most-devastating method of coal mining.

A few years ago, I climbed aboard a small airplane in Charleston, WV, and took off for a bird's eye view of mountaintop removal. The spectacle left me speechless, mouth agape in awe at the vast and total demolition of one of the world's oldest mountain ranges.

When we took off, I foolishly expected to see a mine here, fly for 20 minutes, see another mine there, fly for 20 more minutes, see a final mine and then head back to the airport. Instead, the challenge was trying to find land not completely razed, scarred, demolished or barren just 10 short minutes after takeoff. I'd seen the pictures, I'd spoken with the locals, but never before had I imagined the utter devastation in these once-picturesque West Virginia mountains.