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The view from above
Posted On:Feb 13, 2008
I am not passing judgment on this mine or others like it, but even proponents cannot claim that they are not making unalterable changes to creation. In the past, proponents have argued that strip-mined land can be put to beneficial use in a region with too little flat land for development. But how many golf courses and strip malls does Southwest Virginia need.
If this practice accelerates, it will change the landscape permanently. I’m not certain the change will be for the better. Some people will become very wealthy, but will the community as a whole benefit?
Posted by Andrea Hopkins Back to the blog »
Reader Reactions
Posted by ( Lewis Loflin ) on February 14, 2008 at 1:54 am
I grew up around that in Norton. Strip mining in general is the last stage of mining when they go after low-grade deposits.
It’s very destructive. It destroys groundwater, has been responsible for massive flooding in the area in years past, etc. There slat-dump dams that break, mining waste from cleaning the coal even if from underground.
I dislike the environmental movement for several reasons, but here is a real environmental issue. I know Andrea doesn’t like coal and that new power plant, I don’t either. The environmental damage is really worse than the power plant itself.
They have used some of these near town for new commercial property such as strip malls and a hospital in Norton.
It does provide some temporary, but high paying employment. I hate the industry myself, but what alternative is there in that area? Government economic development is an overall failure.
But it will grow back if properly done and that’s the problem. It costs big money to fix and we know how that story goes.
Posted by ( Andrea Hopkins ) on February 14, 2008 at 9:18 am
Lewis:
To clarify, I don’t have a problem with coal or coal mining, per se. I do have a problem with mountaintop removal and some of the more destructive ways of retrieving the remaining coal deposits.
And, I have a problem with locating a power plant in Southwest Va. that adds to the cumulative pollution problems, particularly since the electricity will not serve the region.
In a perfect world, the U.S. would be shifting to cleaner alternatives than coal, but we’re not there yet. In the meantime, it seems we should try to do as little harm as possible to the environment. Mountains, once removed, cannot be replaced.
I am not an environmentalist. Rather, I believe in conserving what God has entrusted to us.
Posted by ( Lewis Loflin ) on February 16, 2008 at 5:47 am
As per your comment above, I’m with you 100%.
I agree with alternatives, but here there is only one working alternative, and that’s nuclear.
We also need to separate the differing problems. Nuclear can replace coal, oil, and gas burning for electricity, but we still have a big transportation problem.
Mass transit would work if they can deal with crime, etc. and it’s only viable in urban areas. Replacing trucks with rail would also help.
It will take a combination of things, and it will cost a lot of money. With a looming recession or even depression, there will be little of that.
Posted by ( Ken ) on February 19, 2008 at 9:41 pm
There are many more uses for level land than golf courses and strip malls. I worked throughout the coal fields for over 25 years and most people worked in the mines of didn’t work. There was nowhere else to work. Companies wouldn’t locate there because there was no place that was level enough to build factories, the remoteness of the area and inadequate roads. The only way to improve employment for the people remaining is to provide a place for factories or other businesses to locate, improve the educational level and skills of the people and provide better roads/railroads for affordable access to the rest of the world.
Mountaintop removal is not the problem. It depends on how and how well the land is reclaimed. The roads and railroads won’t come until they have something to come to. The education and training of the people won’t draw business until there is a place to build factories and buildings to house employees.
Posted by ( Amica ) on March 03, 2008 at 1:37 pm
There are relevant problems with the mining that is going on. The envirionment suffers the most. If we don’t think about it, then who will? I do not have a problem with the use of the natural resources, but to deprive the wilderness from thriving....that’s a MAJOR issue. The obstacles that the people of the community will face are quite apparent. There will be a greater pollution problem, which nobody seems to notice anymore...that is unless one is a part of the Green Party. The lack of other natural resources are also seen. The trees have been removed for this project which could cause erosion. Oxygen levels may not have dramatically decreased, but still have. The deforestation is an outrage.