Do Appalachians deserve democracy, too? Or just coal companies?
Hey friends,
I first became aware of mountain top removal in Appalachia a few years ago. But I didn’t give it much thought. Hey, that’s down in Appalachia. That’s their problem. They can fight for themselves. I’m working hard to save the beauty in my own backyard.
A documentary I watched in December called “Burning the Future: Coal in America,” helped me see that I was wrong.
It’s all my backyard and yours, too.
We’re in this “thing” called life together and the sooner we realize that, the sooner it may dawn on us that Earth is Heaven and we’ve been turning it into hell by not speaking up.
If you’re not familiar with mountain top removal, the coal companies blow off the tops of Appalachian mountains with ammonium nitrate, the same materials Timothy McVeigh used to topple the Albert P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City. Then they push the toxic remains over the side into the valleys and streams. It pollutes everything downstream — water, land, people, cultures, hope. So far, they’ve blown up 500 mountains. In Coal Valley, West Virginia, there’s only one mountain left. And the people of that valley are fighting hard to save their last mountain. And that’s the point. This is our mountain, too.
Why has it come to the point where only one mountain is left? That no one listened to the cries of these people to be heard. That they went to Washington to speak to the President and got arrested instead. Even the press hasn’t taken much of an interest. If they had, they’d know that the Appalachian Mountains contain the headwaters that feed many of the cities in the East Coast. Destroy those mountains and we destroy the fresh water for millions of Americans.
It’s hard to fully grasp the ecological atrocities being committed in southern West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Tennessee and Western Virginia unless you see it. Over 500 mountains have already been destroyed. Please check out the trailer for a cinematographer friend’s documentary: The Last Mountain. It’s got immense visual and auditory power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSP2Ju8ojUU
Also, consider checking out my column in the MetroWest Daily News: Clean Coal and Dirty Politics.
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion/x566723986/Nardone-Clean-coal-and-dirty-politics
If you want to help, please contact your congress person and tell them how you feel! We can’t undo what’s been done to the second most biologically diverse place on the planet after the Amazon, but we can help them save “our” last mountain.
Many thanks, Giulietta
p.s. Should be keep blowing up these mountains? Should some areas of the world be sacrificed for the use of others?
RSS
This is how many in Canada feel about the Alberta Tar Sands, currently the largest supplier of crude oil to the US. it’s a crime that we allow the most near-sighted people the power to make decisions that will impact generations to come.
Thanks, Giulietta. Very timely, and very well said.
Hi Michael,
I will check out the tar sands. Turning the world into a toxic pit doesn’t bode well for humanity.
As I recall, the Iroquois tried not to do anything that would hurt 7 generations out. We don’t even take the present generation into consideration when making decisions.
I’m convinced we could convert trash & sewage into electricity if we really wanted to. Either we don’t want to or the companies that benefit have made sure we don’t want to.
Near-sighted is a great metaphor for many of our decision makers. We all need to speak up more …
Thx, G.
Hi Giulietta – Until recently, mountain top removal was on my very distant radar, something I knew was bad and hoped that someone would have the sense to stop one day. But lately it’s come into clearer focus, after reading “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen. I know, it’s fiction, but he takes on the topic (one in a book of many topics). His hero tries to find a compromise between the powerful monied interests and the environmentalists. No surprise, it doesn’t work out. But it’s a searing commentary on just how polarized and unstable we have become, and how limited our definition of “freedom” now is: in this case, the right to an unending supply of cheap coal that really isn’t so cheap when you shine a light on it. I read your article…it’s great! You’re great! Thanks, G.
Hi Patty,
Thanks for reading my article. I just tried to order Freedom at the library — 470 holds on 1 copy! He must be onto something. Will try to get it elsewhere.
Am fascinated with the topic of freedom as well. What it means, how much of it we really have, what kind we really have and which of us have which kinds. The Appalachians certainly do not have the kind they need anyway from what I can observe. And the rest of us watch from the sidelines – it’s almost got this creepy Colosseum feel to it.
When this ecological travesty finally gets the attention it deserves, we are going to realize what we have done to our beautiful country, our water supplies, our own people.
Appreciate the fab comment! G.
Giulietta, Thanks for this post. Like Patty, I had a sort of hazy idea of mountaintop removal until I read Freedom, which brought it into sharp relief. Sometimes I wish I had a more definable skill set than writer and creative person, but posts like this (and novels like Freedom) remind me of the power of the pen to spread ideas and knowledge.
Hi Charlotte,
Have bought Freedom! I’m happy you stopped by and were able to read more about this inhumane practice. I’m amazed sometimes at what goes on unchallenged by the US government. Bad decisions have a way of always catching up with us … Thx, G.
Giulietta, This post had me in tears of fury and sadness at the outrages men are committing against the earth! Only when the consequences of their actions hit too near home or the earth strikes back – as it undoubtedly will, do business and political interests react.
Unfortunately, the destruction of Appalachia is one more to add to the long list of destructive practices that will eventually make large parts of this world uninhabitable for future generations. How will they survive on what’s left of our disastrous legacy? They won’t.
I will definitely read “Freedom.”
BTW. I am posting again on donthangupbook.com/blog
Hi Penelope,
I with you on your reaction. It’s horrifying to see them destroying something as beautiful as a mountain to get at its gizards. At least in the old days, the mountain appeared to be intact on the outside. Believe it or not, to take down a mountain like this takes very little workers. Those folks are as poor as ever.
What fury hath technology brought on this ancient place?
Will stop by your blog! G.
The foundation I run funds a non-profit that’s involved in working on putting a stop to this. I admit I need to learn more about this subject but what little I already do know is appalling.
Thank you for putting a spotlight on this important subject.
Hi Belinda,
Your foundation is doing good work by funding anything related to stopped this tragedy. Thank you! G.
Giulietta, thank you for blogging about this hugely important topic and for providing the link to your friend’s documentary.
I’ve just moved to a new part of the country and three times have been caught waiting for a miles long train full of coal, so I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot, too. I saw Kilowatt Ours a couple of years ago (http://www.kilowattours.org/) and became aware for the first time that mountaintop removal was a huge issue – back then “only” 450 mountains or so had gone.
It’s horrifying that in Coal Valley, West Virginia, there’s only one mountain left!
I can’t help but wonder what removing mountaintops does to our wind patterns, thus our weather patterns, in addition to the economic, aesthetic and environmental damage it causes to the localities effected directly.
There is a great song about this on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CddjKEVeos0. Don’t Blow Up The Mountain.
One would think the EPA and other government agencies would protect us all from this kind of damage by greedy corporations (and consumers). At least that is what I used to think a long time ago.
Hi T,
Thank you for leaving such a great comment. Will listen to the song and pass it around. I’ve never been stuck waiting for a coal train — that I knew of. Some of these 80 car freight trains that go through my town might have them. Think this area is more nuclear power plant-driven, so maybe Uranium? I agree with you that removing mountain tops must cause damage. It’s certainly flooding the folks that live there. Did you read about The Buffalo Creek Disaster. Read it years ago and never forgot it. The EPA often seems to protect the companies from us humans who want to live in healthy, natural environments! Appreciate this wonderful comment. G.