Treesitters put a stop to blasting in Raleigh County MTR site

Why reinvent the wheel? (4.00 / 5)

I think this action represents a very smart approach to a very dangerous practice that is wiping out Appalachian forests and ecosystems in the mountain state.  I applaud the courage of these two brave women who have risked life and limb for the publicizing of MTR mining as it is practiced in the region.  This should get much attention from the MSM but one never knows when another icon will suddenly pass on leaving all the real news for another day.

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by: JBdem4usa @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 15:28:16 PM UTC

ok stevewvu, you got your wish (4.00 / 2)

Army veteran and lifelong West Virginian, Zoe Beavers states "I am on this mountain because I believe that every single West Virginian who is proud of being from 'Almost Heaven' should take a stand against mountaintop removal.  

Hell has no fury like a hillbilly woman . . .

NFTT: Support My Team or I Will Dance

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by: CA Berkeley WV @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 16:39:24 PM UTC

that (0.00 / 1)

she is an army veteran is on no relevance to the issue...and i never said there werent west virginia folks opposed to moutaintop rearrangement...the are misguided but i admit they are out there..

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by: stevewvu @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:10:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

srsly? (4.00 / 1)

i never said there werent west virginia folks

really? you want me to look this up, your complaining about out of state people telling southern west virginians what to do. you really want me to do that? srsly?

and stop with the facetious "rearrangement" term. when the streams are dead due to valley fill, and the coal is gone, how are you going to stay hydrated? isn't the latest kerfluffle about huffman's "misguided", generous term, testimony in front of the us senate enough for you? flat tops and dead streams do not a cattle ranch make, not even in your wildest dreams.

higher energy efficiency standards, like what started in calif., all over the country would eliminate the need for all coal taken by mountain top removal. i went to the school board presentation on the next phase of building and they are going green for that reason. natural light, building orientation. everything they can do without paying for leed certification. the solution will come from within these hills, not from outside, you are right about that, but your dismissal others smacks of the out-of-state snobbery you decry.

NFTT: Support My Team or I Will Dance

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by: CA Berkeley WV @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:25:56 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

i absolutely (0.00 / 1)

complained about the mermaid and other from out of staters sticking their nose where it doesnt belong (in fact i really question whether panhandle residents even have a dog in the fight) but i never denied there werent some west virginians engaged in this misguided effort...

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by: stevewvu @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:49:58 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

let's see... (4.00 / 1)

Sitting in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia...

Where does the electricity that powers my lights come from (much to my own consternation)?

What is burning below the smokestacks West of us, putting toxins in our air?

What severance tax does my county government receive?

What industry captured the most attention from my state legislature last session?

What is in that freight train that rolls by every day, often catching me at the crossing on Route 901? (... as I ponder its destination to the coal terminus in tidewater Virginia eventually, perhaps, to be exported overseas...)

What is a major human contributor to green-house gas emissions, changing the local climate?

Those are just some of the more immediate connections. Really now, it doesn't matter if I'm in the Potomac watershed or in Coal River Valley, We All Live Downstream.

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by: Clem Guttata @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 18:10:58 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

so really (0.00 / 0)

while you have an issue with moutain top rearrangment your real beef is with the entire coal industry...you'd like to see the complete elimination of coal from the nations energy equation...correct

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by: stevewvu @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 19:04:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

stop MTR and diversify W.Va. economy (4.00 / 1)

You've been reading this site long enough to know I have problems with both but have only ever called for the elimination of MTR.

Coal is going to remove itself from the nations energy equation no matter what I think. If the actuarial tables are right we'll be largely out of coal to burn in the US within my lifetime. (I predict coal will provide less than 10% of US energy in 2050.)

I have heard no argument for mountaintop removal other than it makes coal companies more money. The jobs argument doesn't hold water--everyone involved agrees there are more jobs in mining coal other ways.

If I had a magic wand, I would stop all MTR operations today and employ all of those same "re-arrangers" (your favorite term) in reclamation efforts. Here in W.Va. we've got decades of work keeping people busy with cleaning up closed and suspended mining operations.

I agree we're still going to be extracting and burning coal for a while. I would like to see a halt on any new coal burning plants or expansion of existing ones (including to power CCS). By any measure--purely economic, and  environmental or societal--I think there are much better alternatives in both the short and long-term.

Coal is a boom and bust industry. The West Virginia economy will be much better off once we diversify our economy so coal miners (and everyone else) can find jobs in other industries whenever there is a downturn in coal.

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by: Clem Guttata @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 19:34:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

the eastern panhandle (4.00 / 1)

 is just like the blue states of the u.s.: a net donor to the treasury.

kanawah is happy to take the revenue from there and then tells them to shut up. what a way to run a railroad. maybe those counties that wanted to stay in virginia one hundred and forty years ago knew attitudes like your were coming down the pike.

NFTT: Support My Team or I Will Dance

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by: CA Berkeley WV @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 19:03:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That "mermaid" to which you referred walks the walk, pal (4.00 / 2)

Do you?

My point is that when Daryl Hannah came to protest what is easily one of the most foul and despicable sins man has ever committed against his own existence, you started talking the talk.

Are you a hypocrite or will you walk the walk?

After all, you recently claimed that slurry hasn't killed anyone in the last 37 years, didn't you?

It has come time for you to either CHUG-A-LUG or else STFU, my friend.

Man Up steve-a-reeno

C'MON! Don't let that blonde make a wuss of ya.  DOWN THE HATCH!

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by: One Citizen @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 20:52:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Stevedubya obviously owns stock in Tyler Mountain Water Co. (4.00 / 1)

The shame of it is, that the original owner was a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, but unfortunately she and her hubby's heirs are ultra conservative.

That's how it goes when life is handed to you on a silver platter.

Regarding SteveDubya's assertion that his fellow mountaineers should just keep their collective nose out of his bidness,

The poll found that 53 percent of respondents opposed mountain removal mining, 29 percent favored it, and 18 percent did not know or had no opinion. That compares to 52 percent opposed, 32 percent in favor and 16 percent with no opinion in the May poll.

Note that the survey was conducted by the right-leaning Charleston Daily Mail. I only point this out because the results are remarkable, considering that rightwingers generally want the government to let businesses do whatever they please.  Particularly the coal industry.

In other words, if they slanted the poll at all, it would have been in favor of the coal industry. And if you don't think the Daily Flail would tilt a poll to the hard right, then try finding that Byrd/ Capito survey where they front-page reported the "results" at Byrd 46% and Capito 43%.

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by: One Citizen @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 18:00:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Take a look at Massey's stock price (4.00 / 2)

http://www.google.com/finance?...

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by: JAWVMM @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:40:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Proof is in the stock prices...down, down, down (0.00 / 0)

Great post JAWVMM, this shows the proof of the action is actually working in real time, coal is going down, down, down and for good reason, their gig is up I'm afraid....

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by: JBdem4usa @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:49:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

another judge just had to reuse himself (4.00 / 1)

from a case. don is batting about .123 in the courts.

NFTT: Support My Team or I Will Dance

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by: CA Berkeley WV @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 18:41:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]