THE MOUNTAIN COMES TO OBAMA:

Obama walks a fine line over mining: Environmentalists feel betrayed by the EPA's decision not to block new mountaintop mining projects. (Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten, May 31, 2009, LA Times)

With the election of President Obama, environmentalists had expected to see the end of the "Appalachian apocalypse," their name for exposing coal deposits by blowing the tops off whole mountains.

But in recent weeks, the administration has quietly made a decision to open the way for at least two dozen more mountaintop removals. [...]

The administration's decision is not the final word on the projects or the future of mountaintop removal. But the letter, coupled with the light it sheds on relations between the mining industry and the Obama White House, has disappointed environmentalists. Some say they feel betrayed by a president they thought would end or sharply limit the practice.