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1. 

   justlou Posted 3:22 am
   01 Aug 2008

   Other uses

   Artillery and bomber practice ranges.  

   Schools for heavy equipment operators and testing grounds for Caterpillar.

   Fostoring chronic diseases to utilize those hospitals.  

   Resorts for the ecotourists who fly into the airports.  

   More schools to educate creation scientists.  

   Jails for those who fail to live up to the high community standards.  

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2. 

   WWAGD?! Posted 3:34 am
   01 Aug 2008

   Mountains ARE in way

   
   I agree.   Only a few hundred people use mountains every year, but many more people could live and work there if they weren't so, like looming or something.
   

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3. 

   Erik Hoffner Posted 3:51 am
   01 Aug 2008

   oy

   This notion of creating economic opportunity in Kentucky via flattening mountains for coal was well debunked by Erik Reece in his great book Lost Mountain, from waaay back in 2003. Reece talked about how strip malls and office parks were unrented, businesses failed, and in the case of the one out of state corp that took a huge economic windfall package from the state to bring its call center to a MTR zone - well, it moved its 100 call center jobs to another country once the incentives ran out.

   Erik

   The Orion Grassroots Network: supporting grassroots groups working for conservation, justice, & more

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4. 

   Gustavion Posted 4:20 am
   01 Aug 2008

   No way

   What will we concede next?  I thought we were trying to protect the integrity of our environment.

   Simplestop.net - Stop postal junk mail, Protect the environment, Protect your identity.

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5. 

   Laurence Aurbach Posted 4:48 am
   01 Aug 2008

   Pesky planet

   Why stop with mountains? We need to get rid of everything that stands in the way of progress. Get rid of foothills, get rid of valleys, get rid of canyons, get rid of rivers, streams, lakes, oceans.

   Heck, let's just get rid of the Environment and be done with it.

   Face up to it America -- we'd all be better off if the planet was a featureless slag heap with every square inch working to maximize corporate profits.

   Besides, a coal-mining leachate pad is the perfect spot for a hospital. It's so, you know, healthy and restorative.

   Ped Shed Blog

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6. 

   Wolverine Posted 5:11 am
   01 Aug 2008

   Already Well Along

   Humans have gone a long way toward turning the Earth into Gidi Prime.  While Dave has correctly identified the worst of human ideology, it's human society as a whole that's responsible.  After all, we consume the electricity that's created by the coal.  Of course, those of us who rent and have little money don't have the choice of placing solar panels on our roofs, but we can certainly lower our electrical use to minimal levels.

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7. 

   Hal 9000 Posted 8:41 am
   01 Aug 2008

   Biblical

   MLK's "I Have a Dream Speech" quotes Isaiah (make the mountains low, etc.) to imagine a transformation to justice for all people. This yahoo (can I refer to a Lt. Gov. as a yahoo?) perhaps didn't have Isaiah in mind when he literally argued for Wal-Marts on devastated mountaintops, but he's essentially imagining and arguing that we need to clear even more pathways for the god of consumerism. As if. Anyway, I thought it an interesting comparison of images and the quote itself a depressing perspective on our societal priorities and the quality of our current leaders.

   If interested, this is the Isaiah quote, 40:3 - 5 (from The Message translation of The Bible):

   Thunder in the desert!
      "Prepare for God's arrival!
   Make the road straight and smooth,
      a highway fit for our God.
   Fill in the valleys,
      level off the hills,
   Smooth out the ruts,
      clear out the rocks.
   Then God's bright glory will shine
      and everyone will see it.
      Yes. Just as God has said."
    

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