Sometimes, we're just overwhelmed with issues and information. You feel like, "yeah, I should care about that, but..."

But occasionally, an issue becomes so clearly crystallized that it can no longer be ignored.

My epiphany on strip mining came this morning courtesy of Daily Kos.

30 1 Days to Save the Mountains: That's All, Folks

If you were to turn to the news this morning and see this story:

Dam breaks in the Hollywood Hills. Wall of mud sweeps away homes and businesses. Many well known stars missing, presumed dead. Thousands homeless.

How much attention do you think it would receive? Or what if the lede on the Times was "Kiloton explosion rocks Central Park. Homes shaken, windows broken miles away. Air filled with dust as giant blast knocks buildings from their foundations and sends rock flying."

What laws might we pass in response? What would people do to stop these things from happening again?

The answer must be nothing. Because these things are happening. They're just not happening to rich, glamorous people in the middle of powerful cities.

They're happening in towns like Saunders, where a coal-slurry dam burst, releasing more than 130 million gallons of black, toxic sludge. The town was swept away in an instant, leaving 125 dead, over 1,000 injured, and 4,000 homeless. Did we outlaw the practices that had destroyed Saunders? Of course not.

Those explosions are happening every day -- and night -- right next to people like kossack wisecountyva. Is any news crew there to cover the damage?

Do something. There's much, much more.