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mmccart7

Listed below are comments made by mmccart7 between Tuesday, 14th October 2008 and Tuesday, 14th October 2008.

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Surface tension 05:10am on 14 Oct 2008 Oh, and one last thought: I am TERRIFIED by the talk flying around about the possibility of liquefying coal for fuel. If this happens, you might as well kiss the state goodbye. The rest of the country has never cared for us, and things like like several hundred years of rich culture and history and some of the last remaining tracts of forest won't stop coal companies from ripping up our mountains in pursuit of new fuels. One last soapbox comment: FOSSIL FUELS ARE NOT THE ANSWER. Come on!
Surface tension 05:07am on 14 Oct 2008 I'm a lifelong West Virginian. I love my state more than anything in this world or the next, with the notable exceptions of God and my family. I get angry when people misrepresent it and angry when people continue to exploit our resources and people for their own greedy interests.
First, I would like to gently correct a misconception that has found its way into this discussion. Yes, WV has one of the lowest median incomes in the country. HOWEVER, the vast majority of West Virgians are middle class--we have one of the highest proportions of middle class people in the country. The reason our median income is dragged down is because we don't have a great number of upper middle class and middle class people and a decent, but not outrageous, number of very poor people. In other areas, these are average out. We just don't have that here. I myself am from a very poor family and am a first generation college grad and medical student (I can't believe how blessed I've been!!) but my case is by no means the norm.
Second, let me say this: coal has NEVER done anything good for this state, for the following reasons 1)It has destroyed vast tracts of incredible habitat 2)It continues to impact sites of inactive mines, due to Acid Mine Drainage, which destroys riparian ecosystems and, very notably, 3)the overwhelmingly, disgustingly, vast majority of coal company profits have been pumped outside of the state. Only about 2% of profits in the entire history of the industry have been kept in state. What is kept in state is often funneled towards the campaigns of corrupt politicians. The state very rarely benefits from the profits of coal, because the company owners live out of state and take their profits with them.
Coal also is not doing anything for the job market. Strip mining employs bulldozers and dynamite, not workers. Underground mining is switching towards using machinery, and the human involvement is minimal--something which we should be thankful for, considering the continually unsafe conditions in mines.
Additionally, coal companies have a long history of obtaining mineral rights and property by methods that can be described as nothing but thievery. The extractive industries in this state also played a crucial role in building and perpetuating the stereotypes that many Americans still find acceptable today, the main one being that us West Virginians are poverty-stricken simpletons crying out for the more affluent citizens of this country to save us from our backward culture. Please. We don't want your pity. Your respect is much more valued.
Coal companies exploit state's resources, exploit people with few job opportunities and the fewest resources, and destroys our environment. This is colonialism at home, and transcends any debates about the "left" versus "right". NEITHER side has ever done anything major to improve the state of West Virginia. Coal barons have come from both parties. A lot of us are very cynical and distrustful of new politicians as a result.
In summary, coal does not offer new jobs, does not give the state vast amounts of desperately needed money, and destroys the environment. It's destroying our water and our scenery, which are the two biggest attractions to our main industry these days, tourism.
I could write pages about this topic. I'm so happy that the BBC is covering it--it's nice to see people paying attention to what is going on here. I do have a book to recommend to anyone who really wants to grasp West Virginia in a way that you really can't get unless you've lived here. John O'Brien, a fellow West Virginian, wrote an incredible book called At Home in the Heart of Appalachia. It's a quick read and covers everything from the birth of stereotypes to todays economic woes in West Virginia.
Have a great evening, everyone.

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