Can the Power of Oprah Stop Mountaintop Removal Mining?

Oprah Winfrey has what some people might call a grotesque amount of influence over Americans – particularly women of a certain age. She says she likes something on her show, and hours later it’s sold out. She goes on a certain diet, and millions of people across the country do the same. So, now that actress and activist Ashley Judd let it slip that Oprah might use her crazy-gigantic star power to help stop mountaintop removal mining, we’ve got to wonder: how much good could she do for the cause?

From Ecorazzi, via The Huffington Post:

On this afternoon’s live Q & A over on the DailyKos, the actress let slip that Oprah has potentially expressed some interest in a piece on the topic. In addition, Judd is also trying to get ABC’s Diane Sawyer to do a special with her. “You can absolutely help raise visibility of this issue,” she said in the Q & A. “Diane Sawyer’s piece on the children in hollows aired to much national conversation recently. I phoned her producer about a MTRCM piece. Contact ABC and let them know you want to see her do segment with me about it! Also, there is a possibility Oprah is interested in a piece. I have also spoken with Anderson Cooper about it; if they public wants stories on it, they are more incentivized to do them.”

Here’s a video from ilovemountains.org that will give you an inkling of just how destructive mountaintop removal mining really is:

Who knows. While Oprah’s legion of followers pretty much blindly follow whatever she tells them to do, and take on her beliefs as their own, mountaintop removal isn’t exactly as exciting as, say, getting a free car or cashmere scarf. But, it would raise awareness of the issue and possibly get more people involved with organizations like the Sierra Club, and that would be a huge, much-needed boost in itself.

Link [The Huffington Post] + [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: OVEC

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