A significant majority of people in the United States oppose mountaintop removal, especially when environmental safeguards are rolled back, a new national survey revealed.

Released September 13 by the Civil Society Institute, the poll found that 88 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. "should first make sure that coal mines and coal mining practices are safe for miners, nearby communities and the environment" before new mining takes place.

Only 26 percent said they support the practice of mountaintop removal. However, after learning that mountaintop removal could result in the leveling of 700 additional mountains in the next decade, half of these people (45 percent) withdrew their support.

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) opposed the Bush administration plan "to ease environmental regulations to permit wider use of mountaintop removal."

In addition, the respondents overwhelmingly (77 percent) support policies that focus first on energy conservation to reduce energy waste before resorting to more mountaintop removal coal mining.

The poll was based on interviews with 1,001 adults living in the continental U.S. between August 30 and September 2. It was conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation.

The poll results were released during a national tele-press conference. Detailed poll results and a replay of the press conference can be found on the web at www.700Mountains.org (the replay is available after 6 p.m. EDT on September 13).

You can also send comments from this site to members of Congress and the U.S. Office of Surface Mining concerning the Bush administration's proposal to weaken stream protections.