They say that “coal keeps the lights on,” but there are other ways to generate energy that are far less destructive like wind and solar which are both on the rise as two of the fastest growing inevestment markets around.

While it’s true that I don’t have the option to select wind-generated power from Appalachian Electric Power who supplies my energy, friends in Tennessee have this option on their monthly utility bills with the Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA recently stated their need to invest in more wind technology because so many Tennessee residents were choosing to pay a premium for wind power.

The mountain above my house is called Coal River Mountain. Massey Energy has applied for mountaintop removal permits that would remove nearly 6,000 acres of mountain and require 19 new valley fills. Alternately, a wind company has studied the topography of the mountain and has determined the mountain suitable to support more than 200 windmills. This project would generate enough power for more than 90,000 homes forever and create approximately 50 direct jobs — again, forever. The project could create up to 150 jobs for the first few years of construction. With very little re-training these could be local jobs, the men around here certainly know how to navigate steep hilly terrain with heavy machinery.

Why wouldn’t Rowland Land Co. (the land owner of said mountaintop though I will always uphold the common value of that land - hunting, ’senging, ramping…) prefer to lease to an operation that would generate profit every year into eternity rather than to a surface mine that would be played out in approximately 20 years? When the MTR job was done Rowland would be left with reclaimed land which is good for? Less than 2% of all reclaimed MTR land in Appalachia has been “re-developed”.

The old adage that “coal keeps the lights on” is just that — old. The time is now; let’s move into the future before we’re left in the inevitably clearing coal dust.

If it were your back yard what would you choose. I’ve made my choice.

Posted by Freebird

In 2002 about 40% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions stem from the burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation. Coal accounts for 93 percent of the emissions from the electric utility industry. US Emissions Inventory 2004 Executive Summary p. 10 .pdf

Coal emits around 1.7 times as much carbon per unit of energy when burned as does natural gas and 1.25 times as much as oil. Natural gas gives off 50% of the carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, released by coal and 25% less carbon dioxide than oil, for the same amount of energy produced. Coal contains about 80 percent more carbon per unit of energy than gas does, and oil contains about 40 percent more. For the typical U.S. household, a metric ton of carbon equals about 10,000 miles of driving at 25 miles per gallon of gasoline or about one year of home heating using a natural gas-fired furnace or about four months of electricity from coal-fired generation.

from - Causes of Global Warming

—

Coal is the dirtiest of all fossil fuels — it creates more pollution than oil, natural gas and gasoline when burned. As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said recently, “There’s not a coal-fired plant in America that’s clean. They’re all dirty.” If we’re going to get serious about fighting global warming, we need a complete halt to the coal industry.

Mountaintop removal mining flattens mountains, devastating communities and ecosystems in Appalachia. A biologically diverse habitat is being destroyed, and the rich Appalachian culture it inspired is threatened. It is a deadly lose-lose for climate change — accelerating coal burning and deforestation.

from - Co-op America: Save Appalachia: Stop Mountaintop Removal

—

Deforestation - Wikipedia

Show the Mountains some Love on Valentine’s Day…….

If you live in or near Kentucky, come out to Frankfort in support of the mountains this Thursday for “I Love Mountains Day”. A rally will be held at 11:30 a.m. on the steps of the Capitol building, followed by speakers (including Wendell Berry) and music. For more information and questions about transportation, go HERE .

They are hoping for 1000 mountain lovers to show up, and already have a record number of commitments. Let the Kentucky legislators here your voice……

Posted by Bluemountainmama

Wandering through the mountains it is hard to tell where you may come across an old family cemetery. Some burial sites are nothing more than stones in a clearing. I started thinking about the atrocity to our ancestors when thinking about Larry Gibson and his family cemetery. Headstones falling over from nearby blasts, ground crumbling - just overall disrespect. All in the name of progress - right?

—

This old family cemetery is in the head of Peachtree hollow. Cemeteries much like this one are scattered throughout the hills and hollows of southern Appalachia.

I actually went looking for this site after being told about it by some friends. I was visiting a family and the lady of the house started telling stories of the cemetery. She was no longer able to make the trip to the site. She knew the general direction but otherwise I was on my own in my search. The woman had a sister that had passed away as a baby and different relatives back through her family tree were buried there.

Although there were no headstones - the site was fairly easy to find. It was the only area on the side of a mountain that was open with no growth other than moss. It didn’t take long to know I was in the right spot. As I started moving leaves aside I noticed the rocks set with love and care marking the resting place of family members. Small plastic crosses buried under time - I was sad just from the nature of my surroundings. Sorrow lingered here right along beside the hardships of a not to distant past, evident in the creek rock markers.

I sit at my home now - feel the explosions on Bolt Mountain and think about the lost cemeteries nestled into the valley of an active war zone, no longer protected by a mountain or resting in the peace intended.

In the hollows adjacent to the unmarked cemetery - also at the base of Bolt Mountain, there are a couple more cemeteries. One of those contain civil war veterans.

Note the significance of the date on the headstone. A US call to arms was issued on April 16, 1861. “To Be Forgotten” should be engraved upon this stone using a hammer and chisel
provided by King Coal.

In the other, I found children’s graves that outnumber adult graves. All of these from different times in history - Civil War, World War I & II - all but forgotten. Waiting for their turn to be completely erased - the ultimate sacrifice.

I wonder how many of our ancestors have been sacrificed or erased already? We will never know. That’s just sad and barbaric. At one time, I thought I would want to be buried under a tall oak somewhere in the mountains. I’m not so sure anymore. The mountains aren’t as forever as they used to be.

—

I apologize for the morbid nature of this post but I think it is important to realize how far some people are willing to go for cheap energy. The price that we have had to pay is unimaginable and at times unbearable. To say a culture is being destroyed is the understatement of the century.

All of these photos were taken in ‘05. I was on a trip through history - in a manner of speaking. There is a lot of history scattered throughout the hills of Appalachia and some of our history is being covered by mine waste or valley fills even as I write this.

Not that I would ever do such a thing, but I wonder how fast I would go to jail if I desecrated a cemetery in Charleston, WV? Faster than I could say mountaintop removal coal mining.

—

Adding -

In researching mountaintop removal one would find a lot of material relating to Larry Gibson. Larry lives on a fifty acre plot on top of Kayford Mountain. Mountaintop removal is quickly surrounding his land and destroying a family cemetery. His property gives a good unguarded view of a mountaintop removal site.

I had the opportunity to meet Larry a couple of nights ago. I found him to be a very strong individual and very determined. I’ve been invited to visit Kayford Mountain and hope to do that soon.

At any rate, I found this little video clip of Larry and the view from his backyard.

All photos found within the posts on this blog are copyright by the blog authors unless otherwise specified.

There is a new book out entitled “Coal River: How a few brave Americans took on a powerful company– and the federal government– to save the land they love.“ by Michael Shnayerson.

About the book -

“One of America’s most dramatic environmental battles is unfolding in southern West Virginia. Coal companies are blasting the mountains, decapitating them for coal. The forested ridge tops and valley streams of Appalachia—one of the country’s natural treasures—are being destroyed, along with towns and communities. An entire culture is disappearing, and to this day, most Americans have no idea it’s happening.”

Paragraph from here - Coal River Book - Link to Amazon at the site.

—

We receive no benefits from promoting this book. It is simply suggested reading.

—

Adding - Rephrase - I probably should have said we don’t profit from the book. We benefit in our struggle for awareness.