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Yes, and mountaintop removal has been disasterous for some rural areas of West Virginia. Some communities struggle just to get good drinking water and have to deal with contaminated rivers.
some communities in every state have problems---hardly any in WV
I support Mountaintop removal because it is 300times safer than underground mining.
and your comment earlier about "imbreeding" was uncalled for
Lack of diversity, conservative, hillbilly, Robert Byrd and personally I felt uncomfortable visiting there along with WV's neighbor, Kentucky. I saw lots of rural, poor areas and it was quite depressing. And I thought Charleston was a very boring city.
some communities in every state have problems---hardly any in WV
I support Mountaintop removal because it is 300times safer than underground mining.
and your comment earlier about "imbreeding" was uncalled for
I don't ever call mentioning anything regarding imbreeding. If I did I apologize. With regard to mountaintop removal I invite you to use the google search button and read the stories as well as watch the videos. I would say greater than 80% of the people I talked to in many areas of WV are now against mountaintop removal mining. It is far more devastating to the natural landscape. 100 year floods are now happening every year or two in some of the mined over areas because of the vegetation that has been stripped off. Yes, water quality has been severely constrained, rivers have been buried, and people have to deal with blasting 24 hours a day in some areas. Apparently, you don't know coal country and Appalachia as well as I do.
I'll tell you, as a KY "Friend of Coal" and family of 3 dead underground miners, 1 from black lung, 2 from collapse, mountaintop removal is the better option.
Those who have trouble are often the Wendell Berry types, wealthy old men with big polluting pickup trucks whining about the injustices of using our own resources while they drive Iraq-oil fueled diesel Canadian made Honda Ridgelines.
Here's a tip of advice: Don't move to the middle of coal country if you don't want to be around safe, efficient mining.
If you don't like mountaintop removal, you can kill your own damn family.
I'll tell you, as a KY "Friend of Coal" and family of 3 dead underground miners, 1 from black lung, 2 from collapse, mountaintop removal is the better option.
Those who have trouble are often the Wendell Berry types, wealthy old men with big polluting pickup trucks whining about the injustices of using our own resources while they drive Iraq-oil fueled diesel Canadian made Honda Ridgelines.
Here's a tip of advice: Don't move to the middle of coal country if you don't want to be around safe, efficient mining.
If you don't like mountaintop removal, you can kill your own damn family.
****ing hippies.
First, I offer condolenses for your family members.The problem is that in coal country "coal" is the only option. Somehow, those counties must diversify the economy so that they are not so reliant on only mining. Neither underground mining nor mountaintop removal are safe. They both are dangerous and hazardous. It is actually a conservative principle to not want the mountain over your village to be leveled. Once that happens any quality of life you might have had goes quickly down the drain. I talked to a few families who could not move or sell their house due to constant mine blastings and fear of continual flooding due to land being stripped off and thrown down the next holler over.
Also, I heard that a lot of that Appalachian mined coal is being shipped over to China because it has a higher sulfur content. Based on my research, much of the coal burned in US power plants comes from the Powder River Basin of WY and MT. If you have ever been to Gillette, WY you will know that town is now the wealthiest blue collar place in the country.
First, I offer condolenses for your family members.The problem is that in coal country "coal" is the only option. Somehow, those counties must diversify the economy so that they are not so reliant on only mining. Neither underground mining nor mountaintop removal are safe. They both are dangerous and hazardous. It is actually a conservative principle to not want the mountain over your village to be leveled. Once that happens any quality of life you might have had goes quickly down the drain. I talked to a few families who could not move or sell their house due to constant mine blastings and fear of continual flooding due to land being stripped off and thrown down the next holler over.
Also, I heard that a lot of that Appalachian mined coal is being shipped over to China because it has a higher sulfur content. Based on my research, much of the coal burned in US power plants comes from the Powder River Basin of WY and MT. If you have ever been to Gillette, WY you will know that town is now the wealthiest blue collar place in the country.
Believe me, there is little in the value of Appalachian homes anyway. The region has had rust-belt level problems for decades now.
The only solution? Move. Believe me, I wish something could fix it. The mining business is an ugly one but take my word for it... There is no way to diversify the economy competitively.
Mountains block infrastructure, making what can be developed difficult and expensive to build. They are unsuitable for agriculture. Green energy methods can be achieved much more easily and accessibly elsewhere. Unless Texas builds a massive wind-shield, wind turbines in Appalachia are unfeasable and accessibility remains a problem.
Alabama I think gets made fun of alot. West Virginia's one of the states that's kind of been seen as stagnant or in decline for awhile. From 1917 to 1963 they had 6 members in the US House of Representatives, but since 1993 they have only had three. The World Almanac I have indicates WV had more people in 1940 than today. The Dakotas have had a roughly equal decline and Pennsylvania has had a similar decline in terms of House representation. The Dakotas however due a bit better in rates of education, I think, and Pennsylvania has some large cities to gain attention.
Still I think there are some things in the culture that counteract denigration and give a positive view of West Virginia. "Country Roads" by John Denver is a largely romantic/positive description of the state and John Corbett of Northern Exposure/Sex & The City I think talks of Wheeling a fair amount. In Northern Exposure his character, Chris, even seems a tad nostalgic about some things in his West Virginian childhood. I think even some people who bash the people have a "it's when good land happens to bad people" view of the place. There's also some of the weird ambivalent feelings the culture seems to give to any poor, or relatively poor, region. So poor black areas are both "real" and full of "strong people" and nightmare areas full of "gang-bangers" and "crack-head losers." Poor white areas are both "salt of the earth" and "real America" and places full of "toothless goobers" and "white trash hillbillies." I'm aware WV has some more upper-class places, John "A Beautiful Mind" Nash came from a fairly upper-middle class West Virginian family, but I think it's image is one of poor white people. Both the good and bad that implies.
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