Kentucky ranks dead last in healthy behavior, and 49th in overall well-being, ..More mountaintop removal will only make these problems with the health of Appalachian people even worse. Its hard to get worse than worst, but Hal Rogers is doing his darndest.

Hydrofracking’s proposed a  massive industrial transformation on a huge swath of rural Northeastern U.S.  It has divided communities and sparked an intense public debate about science, economics, law making and enforcement.  Under the Surface tells the story of the Marcellus Gas Rush and is written by Tom Wilber, a newspaper reporter who covered the environmental beat for Binghamton, N.Y.’s Press & Sun Bulletin. Recommended!

...Slottje warned municipal officials to avoid getting trapped into thinking they have to provide road use agreements....The biggest problem Slottje sees facing municipalities is the increased erosion of enforcement of environmental regulations. “So we’re swinging back to protecting the environment through property rights and home rule,” she said.