[Coach_Owens87]

I don't know where to really jump in here because you guys seem to be far enough down each others throats to take care of this matter. But I must admit that you are doing a good job and it has been fun to read. I have way too much work over the next week and a half to throw all my thought into this but I will let you know some of the things that are on my mind.

Little information about myself. I am a Republican and my family history is in the coal industry (not currently). Bias, probably, but I wouldn't be where I am today without it so I will not badmouth it.

I'll go ahead and agree that the coal tax needs to come back to the areas that mine the coal. We (EKY) were lucky with Patton in office, because he tried his hardest to do just that. When you get people in office that do not understand the region. they will do what they want with the money. Sad, but true.

Buying carbon offsets is a JOKE. If Gore was so keen on lowering greenhouse gases, why doesn't he just lower his emissions instead of buying an "offset". Heck, why doesn't he do both. Money is not a problem for him, he could 'Go Green' in his life and still purchase offsets. Maybe it is too late for him to change his house, wait, no, he just finished it. He was building it while Inconvenient Truth was being filmed. If he had such a care for the environment then why didn't he make the needed adjustments before he started on the house? So I do not see how you can not call him a hypocrite.

I agree with Old School. Sure the land has changed, but it has increased in value for the better. No industry is going to want to come in and buy a piece of hillside only to have to pay for it to be leveled so that they can build. Then you bring up the point about being poor regions. This is because all that we have is coal. Why not more? I blame it on transportation. Companies that require a lot of freight do not want to move into our region due to the lack of roads and/or suitable airports. This goes back to the Coal Tax though and the need for the government to help the region with the money that it deserves.

So we are destroying our land to feed the power needs of the rest of the country.
What do you really want us to do? This is the only source of major income for the region. If we stopped mining coal for the rest of the country and only for our states (KY, VA, WVA), I would be willing to guess that 75% of mines would have to shut down cause the region to become even more impoverished. Not to mention the chaos that it would cause around the country. As OS said, what would replace coal as the energy source tomorrow if we stopped producing today? Talk about rolling blackouts. It would cause almost a national blackout. Think of the troubles that would start: Stocks crash, people panic, and/or depression.

The land here is not as valuable as you all think it is. If it was wouldn't we have more business? The coal companies want you to think the land is needed, but only 1% has been developed, so why do we need more land when what we have is not being used? I too have a family history in the coal industry, I currently have 5 uncles and numerous cousins who work in the mines. My great grandpa and grandfather both worked in the mines. That makes it difficult to speak out about, But I want my home to be protected for future generations to enjoy. What will I tell my grandkids when appalachia is nothing but a barren wasteland, I guess I can just say "Thats what we had to do"
Today's coal industry isn't the same. as it used to be It's not made up of unions and honest hard workers. It's multi-national, billion dollar energy corporations.

The notion that all we have is coal is what is keeping this region down. We have a limitless amount of natural bueaty, why not invest in tourism, which brings in more money than coal does in West Virginia. As long as the un-educated keep thinking we have no life but coal, we will never prosper. Companies dont want to come to this region not becuase of the hills, but becuase of the lack of qualified workers for high skilled jobs. I just wish people would study the issue, then talk. All this opinion crap means nothing. Stop being baised for one day, and just look at the facts, Im sure it will open your eyes to the truth. You can start by downloading google earth, it's free, and look at the current landscape of Appalachia. Look at the reclamation for yourself.



All that crap about the economy crashing is just bull made up by political parties. Both democrats and republicans lie, and neither are better than the other on environmental issues. Our former Governor Paul Patton was deeply involved in mining (no pun intended). Our present governer is also tied up in the industry.

To really get a grasp on the story,I really think everyone should read LOST MOUNTAIN by Erik Reece. He is a professor at UK and can give way more insight into the issue than I can. He done a three year study on strip mining in eastern Kentucky. His main topic is Lost Mountain in Perry County, he observes the mining covertly for 3 years, this is where I got the notion that most companies dont give a crap about reclamation. He visits many sites and talks to people on both side of the issue. Most of the sites he visits have had little to no attempt at renovation.
One of the biggest concerns I had from the book was the way the coal slurry break in Inez was handled. It was the largest environmental tragedy ever east of the Mississippi, but no one ever heard about it. and the company that built the slurry didn't get into any legal trouble. The clean up was a joke, the epa just came in and basically tilled up the land to hide the sludge. The sludge is still sitting in the big sandy today. And all those people have polluted drinking water, but no once cares. Where just "Dumb hillbillies" and no one gives a crap about our land. We aren't doing anything to change our national image, and give a better future for our next generation. The stats he gives are staggering. I knew damage has been done but I couldn't have imagined the extent that this area has been ravished.