Oddly enough, some folks feel no real affection for the mountains–or even hills, sand dunes, dirt piles…or speed bumps for that matter! These flatlanders, who seem to congregate most deliberately in the middle portions of these United States and similar terrains, huff and puff and would love to blow all the mountains down. Mountains, for these folks who take the plane view of things, are just one more obstacle that has to be overcome in life…one more wall to climb over to get where they are going. Or for others with an urge to conquer, mountains are just one more notch to put on the belt of “extreme living,” one more element of Earth to bring under humanity’s domain.

Ironic, this missing amazement over mountains is, considering that mountains have held such a fascination for humans of all locales, colors, creeds, and cultural epochs. Think of Mount Kailas (also known as Meru, Sumeru, etc.) in the Himalayas of Tibet, which is held sacred in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Bön as the center of the world, the residence of Siva or the Buddha Demchok, a place of enlightenment, the source of all spiritual power…. Think of the mountain in Christianity where Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount. Think of Mount Sinai in Judaism and Moses’s chat with God at the top, where he received the Ten Commandments. Think of Mount Olympus in Greek mythology, where Zeus and his cohorts gather when not messing around with humans, or Mount Parnassus, where the Muses reside and give inspiration to the artistically inclined. Is it any wonder, then, that a typical route for the spiritual and artistic paths leads up to a mountain peak, to a mountain cave, to a mountain niche…?

And yet nowadays, no one seems to give much love to mountains. No one seems to dream about mountain peaks and mountain sides, about winds so strong they whip away your breath and your hair and anything not tied down with several strong ropes. No one longs to run up a mountain side to the top…and then to launch up into the wide blue sky.

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After all, coal might be dirty, deadly and environmentally destructive, but it also has a purpose, one of which is to fuel the power plants that generate our electricity. So unless you’re living and working completely off the grid, you too are a cog in the dirty coal machine. Ignorance is no excuse.

And now there’s no excuse for even claming ignorance: A Website created by the environmental group Appalachian Voices and Mathew Gross, Howard Dean’s former director of Internet communications, lets you find out exactly how you’re connected to the world of coal. It’s both fascinating and disturbing.

Just type in your Zip code and click “Show My Connection,” and you’ll get a detailed map showing the locations of coal-fired power plants in your area. You’ll also be able to find out whether your local plants are direct users of coal mined through mountaintop removal, or whether they’re indirectly connected by buying coal from companies that operate mountaintop removal mines elsewhere.

Once it’s left you feeling appropriately guilty, the site offers several ways in which to redeem yourself. There’s information about House Resolution 2169, the Clean Water Protection Act that would help protect the health and welfare of people who live in Appalachia’s coal regions, along with a list of which U.S. representatives have so far lent their support to the bill. You’ll also find links to help you email your House representatives — either to thank them for backing the bill, or to ask them to come on board.

The site also offers plenty more: email forms to recommend the site to friends and family; a “Go Tell it on the Mountain” page to offer your own prayers and prayer requests “for the people and mountains of Appalachia”; comments from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Wendell Berry and others about the high cost of coal; an online National Memorial for the Mountains that uses Google Earth’s mapping software to illustrate how mountaintop removal mining has affected individual communities and regions; and videos, photos and more.

Oh, and if you want to help a bit more and still have a few holiday gifts left to buy, you’ll also find a link to the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy’s online store, which offers “I Love Mountains” t-shirts, bumper stickers, books, hats and more.