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Will West Virginia Go Green or Go Backwards?

ecolocalizer.com — The choices we make now will make or break our collective environmental future. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than with the dispute over West Virginia ’s Coal River Mountain, one of the last mountains still intact in the Coal River Valley.

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  • alapoet, on 07/10/2008, -7/+25West Virginia, like the rest of the nation and world, is at an important crossroads.

    I hope they take the sustainable route.
    • vtfrosty, on 07/10/2008, -0/+9Being a native of WV I can say that the good people have little to no say in the matter. It's a microcosm of what is going on at the national political level. The bureaucrats in Charleston and the Energy Companies who lobby them call the shots. Fast, easy money will be the deciding factor for them.

      It never ceases to amaze me how much money has left the state on the rail lines, via coal, and never come back. Now we are one of the poorest states in the union while we have provided energy to a great deal of the country.
      • DuffyDirect, on 07/10/2008, -1/+2Most of the low-sulfur coal that's generally preferred over West Virginian coal comes from the Cascade Mountains in the north west, but whatever the case, it's not like the people own the coal or the land anyway... Aren't entire towns, shops, stores, and everything owned by the coal companies that the people work for there? Dunno if that's changed, that's what my aunt told me it was like though when she worked there with Americorps in the 60s. The companies that deal with the coal are probably making record profits but just not trickling it down to the regular Joe. I know that CSX and some of these major railroads that transport coal are richer than ever nowadays and building and upgrading railroad tracks all over the place.
      • Stra10, on 07/10/2008, -2/+1Dugg down for lack of knowledge about coal towns and the history of coal towns.

  • MarkEarhart, on 07/10/2008, -6/+32I think destroying mountains to get to the coal is absurd. It pollutes rivers and streams, destroys the ecosystem, and destroys the quality of life of humans who live in the midst of it.

    I have not seen the damage in WV first hand, but I have seen video footage of it, and strip mining has also started along the Cumberland Plateau in E KY. The conditions in most of that region are much the same as the descriptions of WV.

    The only reason for doing this is greed. Wind power would not be as profitable for energy companies, who think they have to have an obscene profit margin in all that they do. When coal must be mined it should be done the old fashioned way using every possible precaution to prevent harm of the surrounding environment. Mine shafts should also be secured to the highest level of safety possible to protect the miners. Energy companies could still make a profit while mining the coal in the most ethical manner possible.

    Nature lovers like me would love for the mountains to remain unchanged. Tourism could easily be a source of income. Tourists need gas, food, some want lodging. If they would leave the mountain roads open when there is significant snow, there are people like me who love snow and own 4x4 SUVs who can drive through almost anything unharmed. The photos of the mountains in WV on Google Earth are beautiful, and I have wanted to go there. The current price of gasoline has prevented me from doing so.
    • doctechnical, on 07/10/2008, -1/+3"The photos of the mountains in WV on Google Earth are beautiful, and I have wanted to go there. The current price of gasoline has prevented me from doing so."

      You just buried the needle on my irony meter.
    • superkendall, on 07/10/2008, -6/+2Wind power is not a solution for something lie 80% of the continent - not to mention it does tend to slice and dice some of the local flying wildlife.

      Nuclear would be much better and could replace coal. So I suggest you start protesting that you want a nuclear power plant by you, NOW.

      The other option is bye-bye mountain.
      • macweirdo42, on 07/10/2008, -0/+7Oh hell, airplanes and windows take out more birds than wind turbines.
      • DuffyDirect, on 07/10/2008, -3/+4Well 80% of the continent probably wouldn't need nuclear power if 80% of the continent was irradiated by nuclear melt-down!

        And before you reply about how safe it is, just go look at some pictures of Ukraine and keep in mind that the U.S. is a country that is "struggling" in math and science education (probably poorer quality than the Soviets...) It's not safe. It never will be. It's as safe as the Titanic was "unsinkable".
      • lisaawesome, on 07/10/2008, -0/+2My cat kills more birds than wind turbines. Well not anymore. She died today. ***** I'm gonna cry again.
    • dcshiderly, on 07/11/2008, -0/+0FTA: "The wind farm would power 150,000 homes"

      The energy in the coal will power the entire east cost for ten years.
  • louiebaur, on 07/10/2008, -5/+9Hopefully it goes green!
  • AmyVernon, on 07/10/2008, -1/+10the coal industry has been both good and really bad for WVa. I hope it turns the corner and is able to sustain both its economy and its environment in a better way.
  • Rtaylor32, on 07/10/2008, -8/+11I love how this is phrased go green or go backwards. It is totally loaded if you don't do exactly what I say and go "green" whatever that means precisely then you are "backwards". It is just so funny to read left wing speak. If your not like us your benighted your dumb, you live in a red state ewwwww. I wonder what impact left wing semantics has on the environment?
    • AchaIemoipas, on 07/10/2008, -6/+5Environmental protection has absolutely nothing to do with right or left wing politics.

      If you're educated, you think it's important because you understand why.

      If you aren't, you don't give a *****.

      It has absolutely nothing to politics, politics just get in the way.

      That's like calling someone a "libtard" because he cleans his house.
      • superkendall, on 07/10/2008, -4/+5Environmental protection doesn't. Vocabulary does.

        While I'd love to save the mountain, it exists in a much larger context. Save the mountain at the cost of befouling what else? It's blind black and white thinking from the left that leads to terrible unintended consequences - even for the environment, for we wouldn't be talking about having to level the mountain if supposed "environmentalists" had not been so successful at blocking nuclear power plant construction for decades.

        Or then there's speeding up global warming through pollution reduction:

        http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-07/ ...

        Though honestly I have a hard time faulting anyone for wanting to reduce pollution, I like to breathe too.
      • AchaIemoipas, on 07/10/2008, -2/+4While I'd love to save the neighbor's starving kids, they exist in a much larger context. Save the neighbor's children at the cost of befouling what else?

        The environment: it's what allows you to live. You break it, we all die. That simple.
      • AchaIemoipas, on 07/10/2008, -0/+2Oh and btw, you should really read the study your article linked to.

        That headline is the dumbest overstatement I've heard in the past 78 seconds.

        Here's the real conclusion:
        "The measurements show a decline in aerosol concentration of up to 60%, which have led to a statistically significant increase of solar irradiance under cloud-free skies since the 1980s."
    • jesusfish, on 07/10/2008, -2/+3Good question, given that it's all a bunch of hot air.
  • obliviousfool, on 07/10/2008, -5/+13Dear WV, please don't cut off the tops of any more of your mountains. Tourists don't come to see the places where mountains used to be. A few years worth of coal isn't worth it.
  • tmyprod, on 07/10/2008, -14/+6How much further "backwards" can WV go?
    • superkendall, on 07/10/2008, -5/+3Ahh, leftist bigotgry - the stench fills the air in virtually any story on Digg.
      • withears, on 07/10/2008, -1/+4Leftist? Remember Dick Cheney's comment about West Virginia?

        Nice try, wingnut.
  • redcolumbine, on 07/10/2008, -4/+4Some choice. The only thing pulling for the strip mining option is the fact that its proponents hold all the cards.
  • CheckPlease, on 07/10/2008, -9/+6I thought "West Virginia" was slang for "very backward with no hope whatsoever of ever even looking forward, much less going that direction."
  • Inohavehalos, on 07/10/2008, -11/+5If marrying your cousin is going green then they're one step ahead of everyone else
  • krnldmp, on 07/10/2008, -10/+4There is only ONE way the hicks will go green. Dirt Cheap solar heat.
  • jkirk7msa, on 07/10/2008, -8/+1Time for the West Virginia bashing fest.
  • sodade, on 07/10/2008, -7/+6Squeal like an organic pig!
  • radiofrequency, on 07/10/2008, -8/+2Will they drink the Kool-Aid? People will "go green" when it makes economical and ecological sense to do so. You greenfreaks should try sobriety sometime, it's good for the brain.
  • pstroll, on 07/10/2008, -3/+2If you douchebags were really concerned you'd stop running your 1337 boxen 24x7.
  • tnycatgirl, on 07/10/2008, -1/+7Havent we noticed a pattern here, that has emerged, over and over, for centuries, in Europe, and more recently in the United States? Money is the grand incentive, at all costs, no matter who it hurts, or how much of our ecosysem is irrevocably destroyed, greed is the sad instigator of the worst mankind is capable of. Remember not so long ago, the Gold Rush?? Once again, it was erroneously believed there was an endless supply of gold in them thar hills, and speeded up the slaughter of the remainder of Native Americans culture, and right to live on their land. Have we learned anything from the course of history? Ofcourse not, since time and again, it keeps repeating itself over and over again, to the dismay of not just me, but other green-minded thinkers of the coming generations.
  • rdldr1, on 07/10/2008, -8/+1West Virginia - no lifeguard on duty at the gene pool. Even the humorless Dick Cheney cracked a joke about West Virginia and inbreeding. It doesnt help that West Virginia is full of racists either. Way to go, real Virginia rejects.
    • giraffewrangler, on 07/10/2008, -0/+3Not all of us who live in West Virginia are racist. Those of us who were brought up in the suburban areas of West Virginia are far more intelligent than that. There *are* racists here, but racists are everywhere, and your comment was incredibly generalized, ignorant, and offensive.

      I'm sorry I was born and raised here, in West Virginia.
  • ElDiablo6870, on 07/10/2008, -5/+4So, if you are not going green, you are going backwards. All you you nuts that really believe this should give up electricity produced with fossil fuels, food harvested or planted using fossil fuels, and quit living in homes that are made with wood, steel, or anything else that might have been built at the expense of the environment. You are all hyporcrits just like you leader. (Gore)
    • lettruthout, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2No, you don't seem to understand. We like our standard of living. We want to keep it but realize that earth's resources are going to get even more expensive then run out.

      The choice is get smart about conserving our resources or use them all up right away.

      If we keep on as we are we WILL be living in mud huts with little to eat because we wasted it all.

      Don't believe what mainstream media tells us about environmental issues. The truth is much worse.
  • hollywoodphony, on 07/10/2008, -1/+4I think if more people saw the effects of strip-mining in person, they'd be in less of a hurry to make this a political forum to air their conspiracy theories.
    • thejamabides, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1My family farm has 4 strip pits on it that we turned into thriving lakes and ponds. More wildlife exists there as a result and it's beautiful.

      All because of strip mining.
  • guymandood, on 07/10/2008, -6/+0Nonsense.... decades of hillbilly inbreeding have now create "super miners".... They must fulfill their destiny!
  • dantenhickville, on 07/10/2008, -5/+6First, the headline was extremely biased and opinionated. Second, I live in PA, I've been to WVA many times, I've seen abandoned coal mines. The area isn't devastated at all. Everything grows back. You can't even tell a mine was there, except when they don't fill it in and a pond forms. Fish end up in them with human intervention, of course. There's tons of money on the Al Gore Carbon Credit side of the issue. Yes, we can't depend on fossil fuels forever. No, alternative energy isn't ready to take it's place. I've followed both sides of the energy issue. The biggest waste is the push for corn ethanol over garbage/waste ethanol. Of course, corn has the money, so that's what we do. Big Oil didn't decide that Big Government did.
    • malex, on 07/10/2008, -1/+4Dude, you aren't even pretending that you read the article. We're talking about mountaintop removal, not traditional coal mines.
  • hellahyphy, on 07/10/2008, -3/+1the f'ing page won't load for some reason.
  • LordPhilMil, on 07/11/2008, -3/+1Firstly, its WV, no A is necessary as it is the only state that has the official abbreviation of WV.

    Secondly, I'm no expert (only lived in WV for the first 18 years of my life and go back every weekend now...) but from what I've seen of the strip mining operations is that they usually become some awesome looking lake or something like that. For example, the Logan Airport use to be a Mine. Got some good use out of it afterwords didn't we?

    So, I am for the strip mine. Get all the coal you can, turns out my families house is powered by it. Italy and other European countries are building more coal plants, so export it to them. Then afterwords turn it into a lake and put up the turbines then.

    That's like double bang for your buck!
  • Poovey, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1***** Green! Let's go Black and Electron Blue!
  • mkotko, on 07/11/2008, -1/+0I say put all efforts into expanding the human race.......to OTHER PLANETS!!!!
  • Hincapie, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1WV has incredibly poor air quality - I don't see how doing something "green" will improve much here. However, it's a very pretty state, I hope they take the more aesthetic route.
  • dcshiderly, on 07/11/2008, -0/+0@DuffyDirect:

    You really should keep your mouth shut regarding things about which you know nothing. And by "things" I mean the true state of the U.S. educational system (Wisconsin, if taken by itself, has standardized scores ahead of the entire first world save Singapore) and nuclear reactor design (every reactor following TMI has positive failure prevention mechanisms and most 3rd-gen units have passive failure that guarantees their safety. Chernobyl had none of these and was deliberately set up to fail by morons running an unauthorized experiment).
    • DuffyDirect, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1It's because of people with attitudes like yours that I don't trust the supposed fail-proof precautions of human engineers with the power of the sun in their hands. Maybe you need to go to one of Wisconsin's wonderful schools to learn more about polite social behavior or something like that.
      • dcshiderly, on 07/11/2008, -0/+0Attitudes like mine? You mean the ones that see a few hundred kilograms of uranium, and envision a future where electric powered vehicles are commonplace, everyone has clean living conditions, fresh water, light to see by, cool air in the summer, and warm air in the winter?

        Furthermore, what does calling you on your blatant ignorance of fact have to do with how well a nuclear power system is designed? If anything, you should be happy someone's willing to see the glaring flaws and call people on their crap, as it's exactly that kind of rigorous thinking that leads to system reliability.

        Maybe you should visit a place other than a large metropolitan city and learn for yourself exactly how harsh a mistress is Mother Nature.
      • DuffyDirect, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1Sounds like Speer and Hitler's vision of Germania if you ask me.
  • casuallyevil, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Interesting, I thought going green WAS going backwards. Why wouldn't we want to provide people with more energy at a cheaper cost? Because of some pseudoscientific politics?
  • AnimeCwboy, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1first of all WV has already let their entire state be destroyed by the coal companies from strip mining, and they STILL even think that "Clean Coal" is something that is real. GoogleEarth doesn't exactly paint the prettiest picture of WV, or rather what's left.

    Great video about "clean coal's dirty secret".- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0ObQKwxpHc&feature ...
  • pjr12345, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1So, if WV doesn't embrace enviro-whackiness, they're going backward. I am praying that WV lead the rest us back to the future by spurning the baseless religion of the tree-hugging, human-haters.
  • jla3114, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2As a West Virginia native son, who has migrated to Texas, I must say that the state of the mountains in the Mountain State is becoming dire. The last time I flew to Charleston WV from Dallas via Atlanta, our plain went over the southern mountains - where most of the mountain top removal is occurring - and there where huge scabs on the land. Google earth cannot do justice to the damage that is there. This little state has two main industries, tourism and coal. The former could last a very, very long time, but the latter may kill the former. Without mountains the Mountain State will become the State. Who wants to take a vacation to "the State"?

    Down with mountain top removal, down with filling in the valleys, and down with big business trying to impose its will on one of the most beautiful places in the nation for the sake of profit.
  • lollypopguild, on 07/15/2008, -0/+0Why does America still not understand this doesn't help you by raping a State, sooner or later energy alternatives will have to come into the picture. Guess what? It's "Sooner"
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