Coal miners boycotting Tennessee tourist sites over Alexander's opposition to mountaintop removal

AP - via Knoxville News Sentinel ^ | July 18, 2009

[don-o]

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Angry Appalachian coal miners are refusing to vacation in Tennessee because they say one of that state’s political leaders wants to eliminate needed jobs by banning mountaintop removal.

Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is sponsoring legislation that would bar coal companies from the controversial mining practice that involves blasting away mountaintops to unearth coal and dumping dirt, rock and trees into the valleys beneath. Such a ban would effectively halt the destructive form of mining.

Miners in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia are taking part in the protest, said Roger Horton, director of Citizens for Coal, the pro-coal advocacy group that organized the boycott.

Horton, a miner on a mountaintop-removal operation in West Virginia, said some 5,000 coal miners already have joined the week-old boycott, which he hopes will spread to involve all of the nation’s 81,000 coal miners.

The boycott will continue, Horton said, until Alexander relents.

“He needs to mind his own business,” Horton said. “Why fool with us? We have good congressmen and senators here who know what’s best for West Virginia. We don’t need his interference.”

But Alexander said Appalachia’s mountaintops should be preserved, not destroyed.

[don-o]

I am conflicted on this. I am all in for energy extraction. But blasting off mountain tops is repugnant to me.

[cmj328]

How is the exploitation of natural resources a matter for federal legislation?

[Repeal The 17th]

Quite a few Mountain tops in your own state of Tennessee have been
‘blasted off’ for construction of airports, condos, and other development.
West Virginia has a bazillion tons of coal waiting for removal.
Can’t they decide what they want without permission from some other state’s senator?

[Tax-chick]

Why aren’t they protesting the people who want to ban the use of coal completely?

In other news, is it too late to plan a vacation to Tennesee this year? I guess it won’t be as crowded as it might otherwise have been. (/s)

[Red Dog #1]

Mountain top blasting is peanuts compared to what Cap and Exploit will do to the miners...if they had only got half as worked up during Obama’s campaign as they are now...

[don-o]

How is the exploitation of natural resources a matter for federal legislation?

Wasn't that settled in 1865? At least the principle of supremacy was. It's just the implementation that has taken some time.

[doosee]

The UMW was in the tank for BO and helped to get him elected in the coal states. May they all enjoy their time in the unemployment lines waiting for BO handouts.

[wally_bert]

Gets my vote. Let the 0 worshipers suffer the longest and most.

[WVKayaker]

But blasting off mountain tops is repugnant to me.

I would substitute the word ignorant as being more appropriate to your statement. While you say it is "repugnant", I have sold many acres of reclaimed land, and have made lots of friends, as a result. The flat land is much better suited to human life, than a vertical one. My friends like their new homes. But, as prior noted, there are lots of reasons to "smooth out the mountains" and "fill the holes".

The article tries to paint the picture of tons of stuff being "dumped" into the valleys. It is editorializing, rather than reporting facts. People are much more important than thoughts of Xanadu. Besides, it's fun to watch them blasting!

The pics below are a couple of examples of "mountaintop removal"...

Corridor H (AKA Robert Byrd Highway), in Hardy County, WV

[don-o]

I have sold many acres of reclaimed land, and have made lots of friends, as a result.

Good of you to expose your personal stake in one side of the situation.

For me, the pragmatic argument of touting all the benefits from large scale destruction of the topography still conflicts with my conservative impulse to "leave things as they are." And this especially applies to the mountains, since I don't see any new ones being created. Once they are gone, they are gone.

[cmj328]

The legislators still swear the same oath regarding more or less the same document.

[WVKayaker]

Good of you to expose your personal stake in one side of the situation.

I didn't "expose" anything. I have repeated it before on this board, many, many times. You are trying to make it sound like I may have done something wrong. You also misstate a fact, by saying "since I don't see any new ones being created." There are new mountains being born yearly. Volcanic explosions have done more to change the landscape than anything man will do to extricate the things we need for life, like coal.

If you think that we are making much difference in the landscape, you are much in error. I live in West Virginia. I can look out my window and see mountains, extending beyond other mountains.

One of my brothers lives in Denver, CO. His home is at 5077 feet above sea level. On my visits, I've seen lots of mountains. I went to Alaska, and saw mountains greeting the sea. It is universal along the coasts of the world. Some fall in.

Mt St Helens exploding... and after! As a home builder, I bought lots of CHEAP fir 2x4's for quite a while, instead of SYP!

[WVKayaker]

Mt St Helens (and environs) today!

[xsmommy]

that was my first thought on reading this. they are having a hissy fit over Alexander’s opposition to this form of mining, but stand mute with respect to Obams and Co. wanting to shut down ALL MINING of any sort?

[randita]

I agree with you. If there are alternative ways to access the coal, I’d rather see them used. But the cost benefit may not be viable.

All in all, I’d rather see mountain tops blasted for coal than leveled for the purpose of building dozens upon dozens of McMansions, which has been done in many picturesque sections of western NC.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I don't understand why this is allowed after passage of the 1978 Federal surface mine law. What happened to reclamation back to approximate original contour, 95 percent of pre-mining productivity, etc ? When I was mining coal, if we put so much as a spoonful of spoil in a creek, the inspector would write a cessation order.

[WVKayaker]

One of my favorite places to hike with Spot is along the Tuscarora trail along the VA/WV border above Wardensville. It splits off from the Appalachian Trail in Shenadoah Co., VA. It is the border for a ways, and leads into the GW Nat Forest, hiking south from 55. If you hike north from 55, a mile in, you get to walk past cell antennas and old microwave phone repeaters, some of which have been there for years.

Three hundred years ago (and more), it was a migratory route for the Tuscarora. Many of the new settlers became intimately familiar with the trek, and used it to get to market. That was before roads were built.

We are 1-2 hours from DC and northern VA. People have been moving this way for years. But, the McMansions have come this way, too. Fortunately, most of ours have acreage, instead of density. Few blast for more than basements (if/where necessary), and most prefer to be out of sight.

While hiking along the Tuscarora, I can see forever on some clear days. I can see one of the largest PRIME $$$ developments from there, though it is 30 miles west. It gives you a better idea of what we do... and how we do it.

We mostly buy up timberlands. The big trees are gone, and new ones have grown. There are logging roads for access, which are expanded and sometimes even paved. Most are left with gravel. Some of the lands were mined and restored for livability. Topsoil additions, grading, and drainage ditches take care of needs and protect the resources. It is done to take care of PEOPLE, in all cases.

This is a development by a friend of mine in Hardy County, WV... Which I can see from the Virginia line.

Note: This aerial view shows clear brown where high power lines transit the land. It shows only 40% of the development (20 acre minimums)...

[Reeses]

Mountains influence wind, cloud formation, rain patterns, and therefore temperatures and water sources. Shaving off a mountain top will have unintended effects, some good, some bad. New robotic mining technologies could lower the cost of mining without having to alter the local climate.

[WVKayaker]

Mountains influence wind, cloud formation, rain patterns, and therefore temperatures and water sources. ...

Your statement seems reasonable. It seems like "does a bear..." type of thing to say, though. ANYTHING WE DO HAS EFFECTS. Have you ever been closeby under a jet when it is taking off or landing. Does the constant thrust of jet engines at an airport affect weather?

How about windmills? Does a solar collector, concentrating heat in the desert, change anything? How about that volcano in my previous post. What role does it play.

I am sorry, but I am not a greenie. I use what God has given us. While you can argue about aesthetics and weather, my argument goes back a little longer...

Genesis 3: 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return."

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

and ...

Isaiah 40; 3 A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.

5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken

[Verginius Rufus]

Tennessee is different. Davey Crockett was born on a mountaintop in Tennessee--you don't want them destroying his birthplace by mistake.

West Virginia is all mountains, so a few mountaintops will never be missed.

[randita]

Very tastefully done and not a scar on the landscape. It can be done that way, but so often the bulldozers just carve out a hillside and stick houses close together.

Western VA is our favorite “playground”. We motorhome, fish and kayak there as much as possible, but since we still work, can’t get down as much as we’d like. Hope to retire there in 5-10 years.

We just discovered Stonewall Jackson Lake in WV - LOVE IT! Catch and release only which thrilled DH. PA public lakes are fished so hard by meat fishermen. Going back in the fall or next spring, for sure. Campground is right on the water. Even though it’s a big lake, it’s great for kayaking because it’s a snake rather than a big bowl. Just have to go out on weekdays because weekend boat traffic can be intense. Wish it were closer for us. It’s about 350 miles from us.

Any other lakes in WV you’d recommend for camping/kayaking? Only concern is mountain roads and getting our 36’ gas motorhome up and down them.

Have you tried the James River? We camped and kayaked in the state park last week and had a great time. Water’s getting low, though, so from here on to the end of summer, kayaking might be dicey in that section.

DH has a Hobie fishing kayak with a Mirage Drive foot pedal system and he couldn’t use it for most of the trip because water was too shallow. I have a 14’ Hurricane sit on top-bright yellow. I love it.

Do you have a whitewater kayak?

[don-o]

More dynamite and earth movers to bring in the Kingdom!!

LOL!!

[don-o]

West Virginia is all mountains, so a few mountaintops will never be missed.

Word.