Ashley Judd's Mountani Mining Anger

Ashley Judd fought back tears as she spoke out against mountaintop mining on Wednesday (09Jun10), accusing U.S. government officials of supporting the "rape of Appalachia".
  
The Double Jeopardy star appeared in Washington, D.C. to deliver a speech at the National Press Club, where she highlighted the environmental damage caused by mountaintop removal mining.
  
The practise involves the use of explosives to mine for coal in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and Kentucky - Judd's home state.
  
The actress took aim at officials who have approved permits, calling the practise 'strip mining on steroids', and she stressed how the people of Appalachia have been effected by the explosions and the destruction of their landscape.
 
Judd has previously teamed up with the Natural Resources Defense Council to lobby for an end to the practise.