"'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"...
