Mountaintop Removal is a form of coal mining where the top of a mountain is blown off to access the coal underneath. The waste gets dumped into local streams, which deposits toxic materials into streams. This toxic material has been connected to high cancer rates and birth defects that would not otherwise occur.
PNC Bank is involved in the communities in which they have a presence and claim to be an environmentally responsible bank. However, they are one of the top 2 financiers of companies that practice mountaintop removal coal mining. When asked why PNC funds this environmentally disastrous practice, they say it's because it provides jobs to those in the Appalachian region.
PNC should be funding Green Jobs that are consistent with their public claims to be environmentally responsible, not funding environmentally disastrous practices like Mountaintop Removal coal mining. If PNC stopped funding Mountaintop Removal, this would be a true model for banks across the nation in the arena of environmental sustainability.
