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It's me again! I saw a show on PBS last night about mountain top removal and mining. I was wondering if there is any of this in the northern part of the state, around Morgantown specifically.
I'm not sure,lol. In the documentary I saw they referred to it as "mountain Top removal" and total coal extraction. They would literally take the top of the mountain off, let it fall into the valleys, remove the coal and then try and put the mountain top back on. It caused all kinds of health problems for those around these types of mines,including problems with the water. It wasn't the type of mine where there were holes dug into the mountains and coal brought out, these were all above ground.
This is a subject in which people have very strong opinions. I was a little touchy about your statement about removing, dumping, then putting back. I do not feel that is a fair description of surface mining. The industry is highly regulated by the Feds. Travel down to Southern WV and you will find mountains that are so steep, they are not usable. Take a walk on reclamed land, see how reclamation has resulted in usable land.
We support our miners and their value to the United States.
It would be interesting to take a poll and see how many people in WV, especially in the Southern Coalfields, object to Surface Mining. Sure seems like the majority of people who raise a stink about it are from out-of-state.
When you flip a light switch or turn on your computer, remember that coal is the source of 50% of the electricity generated nation wide (I had heard 60% on a TV show).
Don't know if/when it will air again or if the entire show is on the net but on the TV show called 30 Days - the episode titled Spend Days as a Coal Mining, Morgan Spurlock did a really good show about mining in WV. 30 Days videos on TV.com (http://www.tv.com/30-days/show/36402/videos.html?tag=;more - broken link)
Spurlock is from Beckley, WV - remember him, he's the one who did the Super Size Me, the movie where he demonstrated the health effects of McDonald's food by eating nothing but McDonalds three times a day, every day, for 30 days.
Coal is the primary form of energy used in the United States each day, accounting for one-third of the nation's total energy production.
It is by far the most abundant American energy source, accounting for 90% of America's fossil energy reserves
It takes one pound of coal to produce 1.25 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to light one 100 watt lightbulb for 10 hours.
• A typical computer spread with internet access requires about 1,000 watts of power.
• A lump of coal is burned every time a book is orderedon-line.[/
• It takes about a pound of coal to create, package,store and move 2 megabytes of data.
• The average internet user (12 hours per week) uses over 300 pounds of coal annually for this purpose
• The total demand for electricity from personal computerson the internet amounts to 8% of the U.S. electricalsupply
• When one billion people are accessing the internet is projected, the required electricity will be equal to total current capacity of U.S. electric power production.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]• One ton of coal equals 3.8 barrels of oil, 189 gallons[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]of gasoline, one cord of firewood, 21,000 cubic feet of[/LEFT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]natural gas, and 6,500 kilowatts of electricity.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
This is a subject in which people have very strong opinions. I was a little touchy about your statement about removing, dumping, then putting back. I do not feel that is a fair description of surface mining. The industry is highly regulated by the Feds. Travel down to Southern WV and you will find mountains that are so steep, they are not usable. Take a walk on reclamed land, see how reclamation has resulted in usable land.
We support our miners and their value to the United States.
It would be interesting to take a poll and see how many people in WV, especially in the Southern Coalfields, object to Surface Mining. Sure seems like the majority of people who raise a stink about it are from out-of-state.
When you flip a light switch or turn on your computer, remember that coal is the source of 50% of the electricity generated nation wide (I had heard 60% on a TV show).
Don't know if/when it will air again or if the entire show is on the net but on the TV show called 30 Days - the episode titled Spend Days as a Coal Mining, Morgan Spurlock did a really good show about mining in WV. 30 Days videos on TV.com (http://www.tv.com/30-days/show/36402/videos.html?tag=;more - broken link)
Spurlock is from Beckley, WV - remember him, he's the one who did the Super Size Me, the movie where he demonstrated the health effects of McDonald's food by eating nothing but McDonalds three times a day, every day, for 30 days.
Coal is the primary form of energy used in the United States each day, accounting for one-third of the nation's total energy production.
It is by far the most abundant American energy source, accounting for 90% of America's fossil energy reserves
It takes one pound of coal to produce 1.25 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to light one 100 watt lightbulb for 10 hours.
• A typical computer spread with internet access requires about 1,000 watts of power.
• A lump of coal is burned every time a book is orderedon-line.[/
• It takes about a pound of coal to create, package,store and move 2 megabytes of data.
• The average internet user (12 hours per week) uses over 300 pounds of coal annually for this purpose
• The total demand for electricity from personal computerson the internet amounts to 8% of the U.S. electricalsupply
• When one billion people are accessing the internet is projected, the required electricity will be equal to total current capacity of U.S. electric power production.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]• One ton of coal equals 3.8 barrels of oil, 189 gallons[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]of gasoline, one cord of firewood, 21,000 cubic feet of[/LEFT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]natural gas, and 6,500 kilowatts of electricity.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
I figured this would be a very touchy subject for some,so let me just state. I DO realize how much America depends on coal.I have had countless family members in the coal mining industry, there in West Virginia.I have also had several die in the mines years back. So I am not objecting to anything, I was just asking about a certain type of mining. I also said that after watching a documentary on surface mining / mountain top removal I was wondering specifically where this was being done. I did NOT state that the mountains were being dumped,I said the "mountain tops were literally being taken off, falling into the valleys and then being put back". I didn't say anything about being dumped anywhere. This documentary was about the trouble of some people specifically in Southern West Virginia,it focused on those in So WV and how they were trying to get information about how they felt on this subject out to the general American population.
I am not choosing a side on this issue here, I was simply asking a question about the locations of mines,I did not mean to offend anyone and tried to be very careful with the wording of my question.Again, I realize the importance of coal, I just couldn't find a map anywhere on specific locations, so thought I would go directly to the people in the area we were thinking of moving to.
I completely understand! And I really see your point about coal especially. I don't think the majority of the American people realize how much we truly depend on it.
West Virginia is nicknamed the “mountain state” for good reason. Rock climbing, hiking, fishing, camping and rafting are available in practically every part of the state. Throw in numerous historical sites from the Civil War and West Virginia just might be considered a hidden gem. So the travelers loves loves to visit this place. As well as airlines are providing good vacation trip packages for the tourists to enjoy such beautiful and cultured cities.
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I saw a show on PBS last night about mountain top removal and mining. I was wondering if there is any of this in the northern part of the state, around Morgantown specifically. 
West Virginia-Forget Old Notions
