I call upon the men and women responsible for the 2012 Democratic Party Platform to include a call for a national moratorium on the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining. As Democrats, we cannot speak of being staunch advocates for clean energy production, economic justice, civil rights and the protection of the environment if we turn our backs on the besieged residents of Appalachia and continue to quietly accept mountaintop removal coal mining. In truth, this devasting and destructive method of obtaining coal provides less than 7 percent of all the coal mined in the U.S. As a production practice it is dangerous to the communities in which it takes place and has proven to be unnecessarily destructive to both the lives of those residing in Appalachian mountain communities and the region's environment. It simply isn't needed any longer. Study after study has documented the link between mountaintop removal coal mining operations and higher-than-national-average levels of birth defects, cancer, and other diseases among the people of Appalachia, many of whom have little or no access to adequate medical testing and health care. In addition, the irreversible destruction of freshwater streams and mountain waterways caused by this destructive form of coal mining has a devastating long-term impact on mountain communities. It destroys forever the rich plant and animal life found there, depriving Appalachian residents of natural medicines, native wild foods, and a life-sustaining, biodiverse environment. This horrific humanitarian disaster must end.