By Maggie Lawrence

Imagine our beloved Catalina Mountains removed from our sight. Imagine giant earth-moving equipment going up Mt. Lemmon highway. Imagine the boulders, the trees, the homes sliding down the mountains into our valley. Imagine Sabino Canyon filled up with coal slurry and slurry running along Skyline Drive, then down Kolb and Craycroft and Swan and on around Pusch Ridge tearing up utility lines, sewer lines, and water lines. Imagine boulders bouncing down through the foothills followed by tons of rock and dirt. Imagine!

These catastrophies are happening in many countries and in our Appalachia Mountains. Mountaintop removal, the coal companies say, is the best way to get at the veins of coal running through the mountains of West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and other states of Appalachia range. Coal companies with little regard for the livelihood or the lives of the mostly impoverished mountain people bring in their gigantic earthmovers, scraping away top soil and trees, generally savingnone of these things, just pushing them aside, down the mountain into the valleys and streams. Polluting the mountainstreams, family and town wells, as well as the air. Imagine your life being uprooted as the mountain you live on is uprooted and removed! And think of the wildlife losing their homes and the migratory birds losing their flyway. Imagine!

Here's a place you can learn more and see how mountains have been devastated. www.ilovemountains.org

All social justice issues have environmental dimensions, so we must identify these. For example, does affordable housing include energy saving technologies to minimize CO2 emissions? We know children affected by air pollution suffer higher rates of asthma. They need access to health care, but they also deserve reduced pollution to improve their overall health. We must combat hunger and find ways to improve access to healthier food for low income people. We must look for ways to build new relationships in disadvantaged communities.

How might we work to restore earth justice?

• investigate impacts on poor and/or indigenous communities, such as drought, erosion, or flooding that result in loss of homeland and forced migration, famine, disease, etc.
• work to mitigate pollution sources sited near disadvantaged communities,
• promote investment in infrastructure to prevent disasters such as floods, toxic spills, etc.
• reverse unsafe conditions or practices in our church facilities that may impact employees, neighbors, or congregants, e.g. toxic cleaning supplies, asbestos, or mold, etc.
• support efforts to reduce loss of species diversity and habitat degradation impacting non-human species.

By Anu Pundari

Common household and automotive products become a hazard to the environment when disposed of improperly. Leftover quantities of these products should never be poured down the
drain, put in trash, or stored for excessive periods of time.  Bring them to the household waste collection sites for safe
disposal at no charge.

Common items include Automotive Fluids, Rechargeable Batteries (Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, Li-ion, Pb), Small Button Batteries , Lithium Batteries , Cleaning Products , Drain Openers, Cooking Oil , Mercury Containing Products , Fluorescent Lamps , Paint Products, Solvents, Hobby Chemicals, Pesticides, Lawn and Garden Products , Pool Chemicals , Propane Cylinders ,Computer Equipment, Printer Cartridges, Items Labeled: Acid, Flammable, Caustic, Poison, Caution, Toxic, Danger or Warning.

Pima County has a Main Site at 2440 West Sweetwater Drive that is open every Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. Outreach Sites are open on the first Saturday of each month from 8 am - 12 noon. 1) Eastside City Hall: 7575 E. Speedway Blvd. 2) Tucson Water Plant 2: 1102 W. Irvington Rd. 3) Pusch Ridge Christian Church: 440 W. Calle Concordia, Oro Valley For more information, call 888-6927 or check out the website: http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/es/content/household-hazardous-waste.

Five Steps You Can Take are: 1) Buy only what you need. 2) Read and follow labels. 3) Store properly and in labeled containers. 4) Take leftover quantities to a drop-off site. 5) Use safe alternative products when possible.