Thanks for this story on Mountaintop Removal mining.  Recent, tragic deaths at subterranean mines in other parts of the country have readily caught the hearts and sympathies of the public.  I suspect that this is in part because the contours and scope of the tragedy are readily understandable - miners are trapped underground in a fight against time.  Mountaintop removal mining, on the other hand, is a calamity that goes largely unnoticed by the public.  Perhaps this is because, until you see it, it is hard to imagine that mountains are being taken apart like legos. The ramifications of leveling a mountain top and filling in a valley takes some consideration; it seems more like science fiction than harrowing drama.  

And yet harrowing drama it most certainly is, both environmentally and economically. Thank you for posting this blog about your trip. Your photos and journal brought me to a location I would not otherwise have gone to and help to make real a situation that I could not have otherwise imagined.

I look forward to reading your future postings.

You would think the violation of a burial site should bring a community together in opposition.  But what, really, does it take?

We may hope to hear more about why the people who live near the MTR mines are generally so passive and acquiescent.

Chickens are our cousins! So are other sensitive animals! Enough is enough! No more factory farms!

maybe we can discuss why the people in planes and in the World Trade Center were so passive and acquiescent on 9/11.

Jesus, Canis, get a grip.  Appalachia suffers from the same resource curse as every other place that has created immense wealth for the few at the expense of the many poor they oppress.  The coal companies have been murdering and destroying people long before Shell helped hang Ken Saro-Wiwa--it's the same damn thing.

Save the world: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 5% annually.

That is almost sacramental, you know, dear JMG, putting the name of my Lord and Saviour so close to mine. : )

I quite understand what you mean, about the sociology of Appalachia.  I do not think I am gripless.  But I am clearly nowhere near as well educated as you, and all I am asking for (right now) is a bit of education.

You might start, in fact, you, dear JMG, by explaining the analogy with what happened to the Nigerian hero.  And I do not ask for myself alone.  It would encourage many in West Virginia and Kentucky, if it were written straight out, how what happened to Ken Saro-Wiwa is very like what has happened, and what is ever threatened, in Appalachia.

Chickens are our cousins! So are other sensitive animals! Enough is enough! No more factory farms!

It's "moonshine, coal mine, or move it on down the line" Canis.

All the troublemakers that would have energized coal unions were moved off to the city.  No unions, no worker protection.   And environment comes last, way after workers.

Imagine modern coal miners.  Drwan even from other regions in their zeal to do a dangerous job without complaining and earn a few more dollars per hour.  The reverse is happening.  people who are proud to oppose safety, health, and unions on the job, moving to coal mining country.  To risk their lives for mine owners.  Happily.  Until an accident.

Remember the fellers who dipped their bodies into barrels of agent orange to prove it harmless during vietnam?  yep.  The real canaries in the coal mine.  

It's a volunteer army of victims!  So it's ok.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

Threatened natural areas need human beings around to protect them. I know it sounds contradictory, but a small amount of residential development might save an area... lots of squeaky wheels not immediately dependent on timber or mineral extraction. Does blowing the top off a mountain make a sound if no home owners are around to hear it?

Environmentalist might want to look into how one might encourage telecommuters to settle near these areas or perhaps not criticize wealthy corporate executives or actors who want to build a second or third home in the rolling hills of West Virginia. Once the people are in place, they can form alliances with locals who want to preserve the natural environment around their homes. The area might be protected by three powerful forces... money, pure selfishness, and a personal tie to the land. Oh... and the wealthy will want to preserve their property's value for a long time.

Just a half-baked idea. Putting it out there for discussion.

Based on political behavior I've observed... but I won't go into that right now.

Forward!

You notice how these rules always get punched through right before the old ones are set to expire.  It creates a nice little smoke screen for the scumbags in the White House as they cite there is a big emergency to get something in place.  And where is the media on this?  As usual they're reporting on things like telepathic house pets that can find dead people (CNN 8/19/07).
Where are the hearings, floor debates, committee reports?? Seems like everybody is getting a piece of the action- coal party rolls on.

What they are doing to the Appalachians is criminal and it's going to take a lot of screaming and crying to set it right.  So get on it people.

Give me the best names and contacts to voice my despair and anger and I will follow up with protests up the chain to the white house.  I used a lower case W to signify my disgust with the total disregard "for which we stand" unless it is attached to the almighty $ or to a political manipulation.

I am an environmental engineer and have conducted numerous windshield studies throughout most of West Virginia.  It takes little time and effort (unfortunately)to see firsthand the results of previous illegal MTR.  The only ones to benefit from this practice have been the mine company owners and real estate barrons.

One does not even have to drive through or flyover the devastated areas. Simply go to a university library and take a look at the 1970 and 2000 West Virginia aerial photographs.  MTR is responsible for all of the cleared or "mall" filled flat tops that once were lush, vegetated mountain ranges.  The same libraries, as well as the state's Bureau of Public Health, contain documented proof of the environmental damage.

What do we have to do to end the white house's undemocratic devastation of our political, environmental, and moral landscape?  How do we awaken an apethetic populous to their design for immediate gain regardless of long term ramifications?  

Paint the path towards likely receprtors and I will follow up with other articles to gain a peaceful way out of unbridled destruction of our environment.

Thanks for helping me get my comments out there, feminist!

I'm curious how many of the people who commented on this article are Appalachian.  I'm from Buckhannon, WV, right in the heart of WV.  I can't help but notice that some of the commentary seems to be blaming the community for the problem of MTR.  I don't think that's a fair or accurate assumption.  Larry Gibson isn't alone in his fight.  It's difficult to explain the circumstances experienced by the people in WV.  There are those that support Gibson but it can be difficult for people to choose between their need to provide for themselves and their families and their environmental responsibilities.  People who have never lived in a community based on such an industry are quick to judge.  It makes me sick to see what's happening to the mountains but I also understand how it's difficult for people to stand up to the coal company giants.  Big Coal doesn't play nice and to go up against them is to put one's self and family in danger.  I'm grateful for the fearless Larry Gibson and all the other like him.  MONTANI SEMPER LIBERI!

Mr. Gibson,
  Do you have two brothers named Clyde and Andrew Gibson? Also did you ever go by the name Michael? I am trying to find someone.
Alli

alli