Comments on: ALERT: Blasting Begins on Coal River Mountain

By: Sandra Diaz

Sandra Diaz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:36:31 +0000

sorry forgot to include the map! http://www.flickr.com/photos/24393082@N03/3348009312/sizes/o/

By: Sandra Diaz

Sandra Diaz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:35:45 +0000

Hey Greg- the areas where mountaintop removal occurs is biodiversity hotspot- this is a map to show those spots in the US and as you can see it is not everywhere.

And Leon I have been to eastern Kentucky and and yes, there are some places that are reclaimed, but once again, its less than 3%. And there may be some sites that work, but many have issues with stability, like the Sink-Sink prison in Martin County, KY. The land is too unstable so it costs $40 million to stabilize the land and there are still having issues.

Little reclaimed surface mining land is being developed. Lexington Herald recently did a story on this too: http://www.kentucky.com/greenspot/story/982410.html

At the current rate of development, it would take 100 years to develop all the land that has bee destroyed by mountaintop removal. and a lot isn’t near a lot of infrastructure so you would have to build that as well.

Improved energy efficiency standards for states, counties, schools, have shown that you can decrease energy usage by 30-50%, which then means less energy needed. And mountaintop removal accounts for less than 5% of the coal we use, so even modest reductions would be helpful. Also, like I said before there is less than 20 years of coal in Appalachia anyway, so surface mining is not our future. Also the effects of mountaintop removal makes other industry even less likely to be attracted to the area, so lets save what we can and make sure the green economy reaches Appalachia.

By: Leon Wood

Leon Wood — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:45:21 +0000

Sandra have ever been to any towns in Eastern Ky all these towns have expanded and built on reclaimed mine sites. Hazard, Ky has built extensively on relaimed mine sites. Almost the entire by pass around London, KY has been built on reclaimed mine sites just to name a few. The US can stop utilizing coal if it wants to but we will continue to mine coal and export it to other countries because we will still need steel and and all the other products produced from coal. Nobody has yet came up with a real replacement coal. If you decide today to replace with nuke it will take 35 to 50 years to get enough plants online. Solar and wind are not viable replacements because the US does have enough land area need to produce the amount of energy we require. Surface mining our past, present and will continue to be our future.

By: greg

greg — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:53:09 +0000

Well said Leon Wood, also you gotta love the statment “what environmentalists call the most bio-diverse ecosystem in the United States” yeah right, any plance anyone wants to build something will allways be

“what environmentalists call the most bio-diverse ecosystem in the United States”

I have camped/hunted up on that mountain many times and bio-diverse it is not.

By: Robert Menard

Robert Menard — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:03:11 +0000

Quit whining. These mining operations are killing people and other living beings. You would act to prevent the killing of your family in your home, wouldn’t you? Then get off the protest ego trip and take some real action to stop these mining companies. The Governments, state and federal, and their agents in the courts and law enforcement, are obviously very much in the pockets of the aristocrats who own the mining companies so quit wasting your time “pleading” with them to correct this horrendous mis-use of our resources. Be tougher than them. Get serious.

By: Sandra Diaz

Sandra Diaz — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:47:12 +0000

Leon, sorry doesnt work that way, once you reduce the elevation of the mountain, its wind potential is gone, and plus the ground is too unstable to place anything on it. Coal companies talk of reclamation, but less than 3% of mountaintop removal sites are reclaimed and the ones that are have ongoing stability issues.

And while the mining is going on, the impacts to communities is horrendous, from blasting that shakes and cracks foundations of homes, to floating coal dust and other things like silica (black lug for everyone), to buried head water streams, to a ruined landscape, where locals hunt, fish, gather herbs.

These people do not live where they mine coal, coal companies mine coal where people live.

I also encourage to read this open letter to Obama by an impacted resident, Bo Webb: http://www.alternet.org/environment/143529/urgent_action_need:_we_face_a_national_security_threat_on_coal_river_mountain/

All coal, Surface mining or not in Appalachia will only last at the MOST 20 years, even congressman Rahall from WV has acknowledged that. Not much of a future if you ask me.

By: Leon Wood

Leon Wood — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:55:47 +0000

After mining has been completed and the reclamation done put up the windmills then you have maximized the resource recovery by utilization of the timber before mining, mining all the coal, then using the are for future power generation. I f you now you have changed the wind patterns then use solar panels. Surface mining our past, present, and will continue to be our future.

By: Ron Floyd

Ron Floyd — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:05:41 +0000

What a shame that a few whose hearts are as black as the coal they mine to line their fat swiss bank accounts can dictate the destruction of hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlands and wildlife, not to mention whole communities of people who have called the place their home for so long.

The United States is no longer a democracy. We’re back in feudal dark ages of vicious landLORDS and peasants, Barons and slaves.

May the name Massey forever be known in the company of history’s other brutal dictators.