Mountain-top coal mining in Appalachia

[LadyJeanne]

I've been making my way through a Vanity Fair I picked up at the airport, and just read this article about mountain-top coal mining. I had no idea that we've moved beyond underground mining and have found new ways to destroy our environmnet.

I'm particulary appalled as coal has been touted as one 'solution' to our dependancy on foregin oil problem, and that new technology has made coal 'clean'. Maybe we can find a way to burn coal more cleanly, but as far as mining goes, this doesn't look or sound like clean to me.

http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/060501roco03?page=1

...Kayford is astonishing. But it's just one of nearly a dozen mountaintop-mining sites that ring the Coal River Valley. It's one of scores of sites in central-Appalachian coal country. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, even while sanctioning the practice, concluded in 2003 that 400,000 acres—all rich and diverse temperate forest—had been destroyed between 1985 and 2001 as a result of mountaintop mining in Appalachia. That figure is probably 100,000 acres out of date by now. In those same 16 years, the E.P.A. estimated, more than 1,200 miles of valley streams had been impacted by mountaintop-mining waste—of those, more than 700 miles had been buried entirely. That figure is old now, too....

~

... The reasons so much mountaintop mining is being done now are simply enumerated: money and politics. For decades, coal was the fuel of last choice, visibly dirty and messy, its black smoke an urban blight, its sulfur compounds and nitrous oxide known, even then, to cause acid rain and strongly suspected to be greenhouse gases partly responsible for global warming. Homes and buildings once heated by coal were converted to gas and oil, and scientists predicted that coal would soon be a fuel of the past. But half of the country's electric plants were still powered by coal, and power companies balked at the cost of abandoning it. Now that the cost of oil is so high, and Middle East politics so fraught, coal is back. In fact, it is the centerpiece of President Bush's energy plan, because America is said to have 250 years of minable coal reserves, much of it in these Appalachian coalfields. More than 100 vast, new coal-fired power plants are being built across the country, and hundreds more in China. The price per ton has soared on the global market, from about $20 to more than $50. In the coalfields, these are boom times, and the best, most efficient way in Appalachia to satisfy the insatiable demand is to blow off the mountaintops to get to the seams that lie like layers of icing below.

It would be hard to imagine a more ill-advised course of action than ruining large swaths of land to get coal, and then poisoning the atmosphere with the gases from burning it. Yet the incremental damage from mining and burning a billion tons of coal a year is hard for most Americans to see, so they don't worry about it. The 18,700 people in the U.S. who die each year of coal-dust-related respiratory disease do so singly, and invisibly. The downwind emissions from coal-fired plants dim views and kill aquatic life, but subtly, over time. The mercury produced by burning coal settles in waterways, to be consumed by fish and work its way up the food chain, but this, too, is an invisible process, and so the danger, particularly to pregnant women, is ignored.

Until recently, mountaintop mining went unnoticed as well, even by many Appalachian residents, and certainly by West Virginians north of the coalfields. That's changed. So voracious are the coal companies now, seizing their chance with an administration that does all it can to encourage them, that the mountaintop sites have broadened dramatically, and even local families whose fathers and grandfathers proudly mined underground coal have begun speaking out....

~

...a timber contractor clear-cuts a ridgetop where families in the hollow hunted and fished and hiked for generations. Then the blasting begins. Daily detonations of ANFO—a mix of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, the same explosive that Timothy McVeigh used in Oklahoma City—cause reverberations that crack foundations and walls, destroy wells, and rack everyone's nerves. Coal trucks start barreling up and down the narrow hollow road. Coal dust from their open loads coats the houses and cars. At times, toxic chemicals, spilled from the site above, turn the hollow's streams black...

You can see the brown devastation of the Kayford Mine near Whitesville, WV on this Google sat map. If you zoom out a bit and pan north, you can see another, equally large swath of another mining zone in the midst of the mountains. And if you zoom in on the brown, you can see exactly what has happened to the land and the residents isolated in their homes amidst the destruction:

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Kayford,+WV+25075&t=h&om=1&ll=38.075123,-81.537094&spn=0.254588,0.692139

 

[impressive]

Huge issue here.

Recently, some residents won a pretty big lawsuit against "King Coal" because the mountain top removal resulted in flooding & mudslides which destroyed a bunch of homes.

Every year there is legislation introduced to stem/regulate it ... but the money talks louder.

 

[cantdog]

One more thing. There is a solution-- become Republican. Then you'll want this stuff to happen.

 

[LadyJeanne]

Huge issue here.

Recently, some residents won a pretty big lawsuit against "King Coal" because the mountain top removal resulted in flooding & mudslides which destroyed a bunch of homes.

Every year there is legislation introduced to stem/regulate it ... but the money talks louder.

The article indicated that the mines owned by the Massey company - which is a majority in WV - have been cited over 4,000 times for safety violations in the last few years, but they have neither remedied those violations nor been shut down. Yes, I'm sure money HOWLS much louder than the residents and wildlife.

 

[LadyJeanne]

One more thing. There is a solution-- become Republican. Then you'll want this stuff to happen.

Yes, then I'd be focusing on the 250 years of coal reserves in the Appalachian mountains, and the billions in investments going to developing 'clean' burning technology.

 

[cantdog]

Precisely. Republicans seem to accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative. All that. If you don't pay any attention to the negatives, they cease to exist. All that's left is profits and coal energy-- all good.

 

[TxRad]

Precisely. Republicans seem to accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative. All that. If you don't pay any attention to the negatives, they cease to exist. All that's left is profits and coal energy-- all good.

That's about the ...... Never mind it would be a waste of time and energy.....

Northeastern Texas has several large strip mine areas that have been working for about thirty years now. While they are mining the area looks terrible but within three years after they finish with a section, you can't even tell they were there except for an elevation change...

Different companies and States have different regulations and standards....

 

[Guest]

One more thing. There is a solution-- become Republican. Then you'll want this stuff to happen.

Noooooooooooo!

Stop saying that - Oh, the horror!

 

[cantdog]

I'm not sure they do. I think the standard is pretty much universal. They're in it for the money. In this case, for the coal energy, too. Houses, health, streams and forests be buggered. You can set aside preserves all you want, too-- they strip mine in the parks, clear cut in the so-called National Forests. It's all good.

 

[cantdog]

Some one out there must be wanting this shit to happen, dude.

 

[LadyJeanne]

Some one out there must be wanting this shit to happen, dude.

Someone who benefits from an increased demand for coal, perhaps?

 

[Couture]

http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/060501roco03?page=1


You can see the brown devastation of the Kayford Mine near Whitesville, WV on this Google sat map. If you zoom out a bit and pan north, you can see another, equally large swath of another mining zone in the midst of the mountains. And if you zoom in on the brown, you can see exactly what has happened to the land and the residents isolated in their homes amidst the destruction:

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Kayford,+WV+25075&t=h&om=1&ll=38.075123,-81.537094&spn=0.254588,0.692139

If God didn't want us to strip mine them thar mountains, he would'na put so much coal in 'em.

 

[rosco rathbone]

I had no idea that we've moved beyond underground mining and have found new ways to destroy our environmnet.

Stripmining wasn't exactly invented last week.

 

[cantdog]

Blowing the entire top off mountain after mountain, though; it's a tad disruptive.

 

[LadyJeanne]

Decreasing our dependancy on oil by increasing our dependancy on and demand for coal doesn't seem like such a great plan, either.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

I've been making my way through a Vanity Fair I picked up at the airport, and just read this article about mountain-top coal mining. I had no idea that we've moved beyond underground mining and have found new ways to destroy our environmnet.

I'm particulary appalled as coal has been touted as one 'solution' to our dependancy on foregin oil problem, and that new technology has made coal 'clean'. Maybe we can find a way to burn coal more cleanly, but as far as mining goes, this doesn't look or sound like clean to me.

http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/060501roco03?page=1


You can see the brown devastation of the Kayford Mine near Whitesville, WV on this Google sat map. If you zoom out a bit and pan north, you can see another, equally large swath of another mining zone in the midst of the mountains. And if you zoom in on the brown, you can see exactly what has happened to the land and the residents isolated in their homes amidst the destruction:

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Kayford,+WV+25075&t=h&om=1&ll=38.075123,-81.537094&spn=0.254588,0.692139

I used to live in West Virginia (including Whitesville when I was 5). So I am well aware of this issue. It's a dying industry, which people understandably want to keep alive, so they can keep their jobs and food on the table. Obvious to most of us that fossil fuels should be replaced in time. NOT so obvious to someone who is unlucky enough to depend on an obsolete tech. No pun intended, but they're getting the shaft. I don't blame them. They're wrong, but it's hard to avoid protecting your livelihood. They are mostly good people. And they don't want to go on welfare or unemployment. Or a minimum-wage job. It's a very tough situation for them.

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

I just love the new ads for 'cleaner burning coal'. The ones with the teenager talking about how much better for the environment it is.

Sure it may burn a bit cleaner after billions invested in the technology. But the mining of coal is just as destructive and ecologically damaging as it ever was. But hey, who needs those damn mountains anyway, all purple majesty and shit. Isn't purple one of those gay colors anyway?

To hell with them, I say we level every mountain in the Appalations looking for coal and put oil drilling rigs on every streetcorner. They'll give those damn illegal immigrant hookers something to lean against.

Idiots..

 

[Spoon77]

I currently live in southern WV, the heart of the coalfields... I moved here from out of state almost four years ago.... the devastation of the mining and timbering companies is worse when you live here.... mountains that should be beautiful in the winter look scarred and abused.... but SEVERUSMAX is right.... it isn't the people actually working the mines to blame... they are just trying to earn a living... and with good paying jobs so scarce in this area... they are willing to bow down and kiss the ass of the coal gods that allow them to earn a living and support a family... Most of the coal companies are operated from out of state and make a big show at brainwashing the people in the communities into believing that coal mines are a good thing.... they have their own PR campaign... they support little league.... "Friends of Coal".... meanwhile most people have forgotten that the reason this area is so economically depressed is because as soon as the coal starts to thin out the coal companies high tail it outta here as quick and their money grubbing little asses can run.... they have left behind entire communities to whither and die without so much as an apology.... They don't offer to help train workers who are left behind after the mine closes.... they take their coal, their equipment, and their money, and they are GONE. That is why I live in a ghost town... a place that once supported a thriving mine less that a mile from my home... with enough houses and people to have their own school, store, and post office.... now nothing more that a dozen or so houses.... surrounded by the ruins (or what nature has left) of a once thriving community.... It's very frustrating to live here... because money does ALL the talking.... all political decisions are made to placate coal companies because everyone is afraid they'll leave.... but they've already proven... that when the time comes... that is EXACTLY what they are going to do anyway......

Sorry.... rant over

 

[cantdog]

I currently live in southern WV, the heart of the coalfields... I moved here from out of state almost four years ago.... the devastation of the mining and timbering companies is worse when you live here.... mountains that should be beautiful in the winter look scarred and abused.... but SEVERUSMAX is right.... it isn't the people actually working the mines to blame... they are just trying to earn a living... and with good paying jobs so scarce in this area... they are willing to bow down and kiss the ass of the coal gods that allow them to earn a living and support a family... Most of the coal companies are operated from out of state and make a big show at brainwashing the people in the communities into believing that coal mines are a good thing.... they have their own PR campaign... they support little league.... "Friends of Coal".... meanwhile most people have forgotten that the reason this area is so economically depressed is because as soon as the coal starts to thin out the coal companies high tail it outta here as quick and their money grubbing little asses can run.... they have left behind entire communities to whither and die without so much as an apology.... They don't offer to help train workers who are left behind after the mine closes.... they take their coal, their equipment, and their money, and they are GONE. That is why I live in a ghost town... a place that once supported a thriving mine less that a mile from my home... with enough houses and people to have their own school, store, and post office.... now nothing more that a dozen or so houses.... surrounded by the ruins (or what nature has left) of a once thriving community.... It's very frustrating to live here... because money does ALL the talking.... all political decisions are made to placate coal companies because everyone is afraid they'll leave.... but they've already proven... that when the time comes... that is EXACTLY what they are going to do anyway......

Sorry.... rant over

Spoon, I live in Maine, where the same thing across the board goes for the timber companies. They have nearly all abandoned the state, now, for Sumatra or one place or another.

They paid hardly a damn dime in taxes, they laid off as they liked, and they left without a fare thee well. They would clearcut, which is to say deforest, an area, then swap that land for state land. On the state land, the actual silviculture took place, using state foresters, at our expense. Once the forest was regrown, the new woods would be swapped for clearcut eroded land with dead streams.

Meanwhile they worked the legislature for every concession imaginable. Then they left. The mills they leave are obsolete, because they had stopped upgrading them some years before, in preparation to leave.

We are, they tell us, supposed to be thankful for the jobs, while they lasted.

 

[impressive]

It's very frustrating to live here... because money does ALL the talking.... all political decisions are made to placate coal companies because everyone is afraid they'll leave....

Very true (but hardly unique). Meanwhile, coal industry subsidies draw funding away from social programs ... so the citizenry gets even poorer and more unhealthy. Vicious cycle.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Very true (but hardly unique). Meanwhile, coal industry subsidies draw funding away from social programs ... so the citizenry gets even poorer and more unhealthy. Vicious cycle.

I agree but, it's not as clear cut as all that. WV and Kentucky coal is amongst the dirtiest (sulfur and ash) in the world - also very expensive to extract. We'd do better importing South African, Australian or Indonesian coal, but who's going to advocate that? Certainly not the citizenry of Harlan County, Kentucky.

 

[Spoon77]

The whole situation IS very sad. I think the worst part is the fact that most people ARE simply happy to have had the jobs while they lasted. It seems most simply don't think any deeper than that...

 

[impressive]

Corps plans to suspend contested mountaintop removal permits
By PAM RAMSEY
The Associated Press
June 9, 2006

CHARLESTON -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to suspend four valley fill permits at mountaintop removal mines in West Virginia that are being challenged by environmental groups, according to a court order issued Thursday.

Full article: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606090346


... not that I believe this is anything other than a temporary setback for King Coal.

 

[LadyJeanne]

Corps plans to suspend contested mountaintop removal permits
By PAM RAMSEY
The Associated Press
June 9, 2006

CHARLESTON -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to suspend four valley fill permits at mountaintop removal mines in West Virginia that are being challenged by environmental groups, according to a court order issued Thursday.

Full article: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606090346


... not that I believe this is anything other than a temporary setback for King Coal.

Agreed, but I'm encouraged that the courts are taking the violations seriously.

 

[Matadore]

A Reasoned Opinion

Dear friends, and I mean that sincerely,

I am dead set against strip mining and deep mining. This is a very complicated issue and there are no easy answers.

As a nation, as a people, we all make choices that support the very existence of this “evil.” I was born in the Mountain State but I have lived outside the state for many years. (I do have a point here.) My father and many friends for generations have depended on coal for their livelyhood. I know that the citizens of the state don’t benefit much from the coal and gas extracted from the state in the form of taxes. Most of the money goes out of the state without even pausing near the state treasury. More on this later.

It maybe fair to ask where does this money go? Most of what is left after expenses and capital investment by the industry goes to stockholders; who are upper-middle-income to upper-income Americans and to off shore investors.

Where does this coal go? Some goes to various secondary industries—plastics, steel, and petrochemicals. Much is exported to China, Korea, and Australia among other countries to support their industries that compete with those in the USA. The other huge user of coal is the energy production industry, notably electrical production. A large portion of that coal energy is transformed into electricity before it leaves the state. Who or what needs all of that power from the grid?

Mostly our cities and industries depend on electrical energy. Aluminum refining could not happen without massive sources of electricity. Significant steel production uses electrical power. Lighting, heating, and air-conditioning all use electrical energy...much derived from coal. At this time, we simply have not enough alternative fuels or sources of power to replace all the coal that we mine and still maintain our lifestyle.

So before you rail at the “evil” energy companies and those “poor Appalachian coal miners” at least blow up your TV, uninstall your air-conditioner, stop driving more than 10 miles per week, and say a small prayer of forgiveness every time you use any object made of steel. Recycle plastic and metals.

Again, I am against removing coal, oil, and gas from the Earth. I’m also against clear cutting timber (forestry was one of my minor studies at WVU). I despise those populations of large cities, who suck up energy by commuting and by air-conditioning their personal environment, but I live in a large city, I have air-conditioning where I live and work. I drive about 10,000 miles per year, in a hybrid. And I don’t have any answers.

I also realize that the CEO of Exxon Oil maintains that global warming and the consequences are not yet proven and therefore, the company will do little to develop alternative energy sources. GM, Ford, and most of the auto manufactures have yet to develop vehicles that will improve significantly the type and amount of energy that the world depends on for transportation. Perhaps if enough voters were so minded, there might be change. But the answer isn’t just the hideous amounts of money that industry and CEO’s and union workers are getting. It’s where that money comes from...us. As Pogo said, “we have met the enemy and he is us.” I think that Pogo was a possum misplaced from Appalachia, but unlike me, he was probably a Democrat.