| This was another week where coal-related news came fast and furious.
* Protests of Massey mining operations in Raleigh County, West Virginia gained national attention.
* A peer-reviewed study co-authored by a WVU professor provides evidence that Mountaintop Removal costs more to local communities (in premature deaths) than it brings in economically. A study of Kentucky coal mining (all types) shows it costs Kentucky more in extra expenses than the coal industry brings in via tax revenues.
* The House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Depending on who you listen to, this bill is either a huge gift to King Coal or the death of the coal industry.
And, yet, for all this sound and fury, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Same as it ever was...
King Coal still has an iron grip on West Virginia political and regulatory power. Signs of tangible change remain hopeful, yet distant. For every West Virginian protesting King Coal, there is another burying their head in coal ash.
As Ken Ward, Jr. asked in Mountaintop removal protest: Finding a path forward?
The science also shows, though, that mountaintop removal is a very destructive practice. Forests are mowed down. Hilltops are blown up. Miles and miles of streams are buried. EPA reports and independent studies show there's just no denying the damage.
Will mountaintop removal eventually be banned? Perhaps. But even if that happens, it probably won't occur overnight. And in the meantime, where is the real plan for green jobs for the coalfields? Who among the leaders of environmental groups, labor and business are really even sitting down and trying to start such a plan?
Maybe West Virginia's political leadership wants this to be fought out in the streets - or, rather, along narrow, two-lane roads that wind through Boone, Logan and Raleigh counties. Given that the issue has been on the front burner for more than a decade, with little movement toward resolution, it's probably understandable that both sides have reached this point.
Woe unto us if West Virginians are left to settle these matters with our own blood, sweat and tears. Despite Gov. Manchin saying this week, "this country was built on protests... I like protests," we can only hope that's not a total abdication of political leadership.
The Devil We Know
Public opinion in West Virginia is against mountain top removal. I think even most people who mine coal know that mountain top removal is a horrible way to make a living. It is a Faustian bargain.
What we need are viable economic alternatives for the individuals, families, and communities dependent on mountain top removal operations. When safer, more sustainable, employers offer jobs in the coal fields there will be thousands and thousands of applicants.
The problem is, until those alternatives arrive, there is a stronger and stronger commitment to the only economic security many West Virginians have ever known. Until something changes, each side will just be yelling louder at each other.
The Change We Need
The reason I'm writing this post this morning is bloggers all across the country are joining the call for President Obama to visit a mountain top removal site. (See also: Jeff Biggers).
I want Obama to come visit when the time is right--when he can help deliver the change that West Virginia and the rest of Appalachia needs.
The most positive force President Obama can deliver to reassure everyone who lives in Appalachia we will not be forgotten in the post-carbon economy.
What Appalachia is still waiting for, after the record stimulus bill and the impeding ACES 2009 bill, is for new jobs in the coal fields. A few less layoffs in the south, restarting some steel mill lines in the north, those are both nice but are not the change we need. What we really need are new major employers to build a vibrant diversified economy.
The Appalachian Vitalization and Empowerment Authority
We've mentioned several times on this blog the need for targeted investment in Appalachia--we already suffer the most to deliver cheap coal to the rest of the country. We are going to suffer even more in the transition to a new energy economy. The people of Appalachia deserve better.
In the Bush administration there was no movement in targeted investment. Thankfully, the Obama administration is pushing policies regarding post-mining land use. Unfortunately, here in West Virginia, our state leadership is failing to pick up the baton.
My dream is for President Obama to come to West Virginia to announce the formation of an Appalachian Vitalization and Empowerment Authority (AVEA). I'd picture him sharing the stage with Govs. of W.Va. and KY, Sens. Byrd and Rockefeller, to announce:
* an end to any new mountain top removal mining,
* no new valley fills at existing MTR sites
* strict enforcement of safety and environment regulations for auger and underground mining
* rebuilding Marsh Fork Elementary school in a safe location
* a public-private partnership to develop wind power atop Coal River Mountain, underground mining below, and regional economic development (update: a potential model)
* the appointment of an Appalachian job czar to direct stimulus and ACES jobs to the Appalachian region
* a comprehensive program for post-mining land clean-up and reclamation (a la Superfund)
This is one way forward with a win-win for West Virginia and a model for the rest of Appalachia. Not only would these programs put thousands (and thousands!) of West Virginians to work but also West Virginian natives would return to the state to work. |
