Rainforest Action Network and Natural Resources Defense Council enjoyed a huge victory when Bank of America decided last week to end its financing of controversial, destructive mountain top removal coal mining in Appalachia.
"'We feel the practice has a significant impact on the environment and on communities,' said [Bank of America] spokesman Ernesto Anguilla.
"The Bank of America move, announced Wednesday, was months in the making, and the result of lobbying by local citizen groups with the help of national organizations such as the Rainforest Action Network and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Rainforest Action has sponsored protests outside banking operations across the country, and the NRDC took banking executives on a flyover to see West Virginia mining operations from the air."
"Carol Raulston, spokeswoman for the National Mining Association, said Bank or America had made an unfortunate decision ... without any consultation with mining companies that I am aware of.
From Rainforest's Press Release: "Bank of America's decision is a giant leap forward in the fight against mountaintop removal coal mining, which has devastated Appalachian communities and the mountains and streams they depend on"...
FULL STORY: Bank of America to stop financing mountaintop removal

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research