TedfordWhy+Worry?


 * “ Appalachia has higher morbidity and mortality compared to the nation, and suffers greater socioeconomic disadvantages… Counties in Appalachia where coal mining is heaviest had significantly higher age-adjusted mortality compared to other Appalachian counties and to other areas of the country.” (Hendryx)
 * “Based on the 2000 US Census, the population of Appalachian counties where mining exceeded 4 million tons was 3,883,143. The age-adjusted death rate in coal mining areas compared to non-Appalachian, non-mining counties before covariate adjustment translates to 5,048 excess annual deaths in Appalachian coal mining areas for the years 1999–2004.” (Hendryx)
 *  “The people of Appalachia have sacrificed everything including their lives for energy in America. We must put a stop to mountaintop removal coal mining and transition to renewable energy to allow us our homeland security and to preserve our rightful place and culture in the mountains.” –Maria Gunnoe, Resident of Southern West Virginia and recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize

Would you like a glass of water?
It is apparent that mountain top removal is environmentally degrading. The disruption of ecological systems thousands of years in the making is doing irreversible damage to the landscape of West Virginia. The damage isn’t limited to vegetation disruption. As the soil is freed from root systems it no longer absorbs the precipitation as it falls and significant runoff ensues. Deep within the earth’s crust and subsequently within mountains, naturally occurring lead and arsenic can be found. Through the extraction of coal, these minerals are brought to the surface. The runoff draws these minerals down to the tributary and stream level, where they can easily be pulled into water supplies.

Apart from direct run off, waste slurry containing many similar harmful constituents is produced as a byproduct to coal mining preparation processes within the plant (other constituents include: mercury, chromium, cadmium, boron, selenium and nickel). Often times, the corporations behind the mining inject this slurry into voids generated from mining or in old unused mine shafts. There is sufficient evidence in one particular region (Mingo County, West Virginia), that coal slurry has made its way into the aquifer through natural processes of transport underground.

There have also been cases of “fly rock” posing dangers. A three year old boy was killed after a loosened boulder rolled down a nearby mountainside and into the side of his home, crushing him. (Burning) The people of this region also suffer from extreme anxiety over their physical ailments and fear of rock blasts damaging their homes or in the worst cases such as the above situation causing fatalities.

Although access to proper nutrition and health care are difficult for this region, even with those factors taken into consideration the areas most heavily mined still have skewed mortality rates. “Discrepancies [in rates] in mortality from cancer, diabetes, and ischemic heart disease are related solely to coal mining areas; other areas of Appalachia are not statistically different from the rest of the nation.” (Ahern)

Hope at the end of the trickle.
By ignoring the health detriments of this region, the environmental injustices that these people are facing will only continue into the future. Political awareness of this situation is critical. Challenging politicians about tough issues such as mountain top removal is an important step in helping this region, both environmentally and health wise. Supporting organizations such as [|OHVEC] (Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition) will to help end both the human and environmental detriments to this region. On a more grassroots level, individual conscientious energy usage is important and support of alternative research and use of energy sources will help to change our addiction to coal, and stop the slow infringement on the lives in West Virginians.

Information Leaks

 * Burning the Future Preview
 * Preview for an exposing documentary and commentary on the effects of mountain top removal on a community in West Virginia. More basic information about the film found [|here]. This film offers some solutions or implied solutions to the problem.

>>
 * National Geographic: When Mountains Move
 * Further information on the history of the region and its deep legacy with coal mining. Also provides modern insights into the new methods of mountain top removal on citizens of Appalachia.
 * Activist Site
 * "iLoveMountains.org" is a hub for activists and resources on mountain top removal.

Collage References:  Upper three mountain photos:  "Mountaintop Removal Mining - High Resolution Photos." Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining and the "Clean Coal" Myth - Ohio Valley  Environmental Coalition. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. .

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Middle Black River Photo: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> "The Flood." West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Web. 09 Sept. 2010. <http://www.wvculture.org/history/buffcreek <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> /buff1.html>.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Lower middle, man by mountain: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"Coal Company Settles Lawsuit Regarding Toxic Mine Waste – Planetsave." Planetsave. Web. 09 Sept. 2010. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <http://planetsave.com/2009/03/24/coal-company-settles-lawsuit-regarding-toxic-mine-waste/>.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Lower left, tap with water: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Burning the Future: Coal in America. Web. 09 Sept. 2010. <http://cig.burningthefuture.org/healthenviro/index.html>.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Upper Right, Boy’s teeth: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Web. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> 09 Sept. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/13water.html?_r=1>.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Young Boy with Father and Dirty Sink: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"What Is Underground Coal Slurry Injection?" Sludge Safety Project for Coal Sludge Impoundments. Web. 09 Sept. 2010. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <http://www.sludgesafety.org/coal_slurry_inj.html>.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Other References: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Ahern, Melissa M., and Michael Hendryx. "Health Disparities and Environmental Competence: A Case Study of Appalachian Coal <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Mining." Environmental Justice 1.2 (2008). Print.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Burning the Future: Coal in America. Web. 09 Sept. 2010. <http://cig.burningthefuture.org/healthenviro/c_mtrhealth.html>.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Hendryx, Michael. "Mortality Rates in Appalachian Coal Mining Counties: 24 Years Behind the Nation." Environmental Justice 1.1 <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> (2008). Print.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"Maria Gunnoe | Goldman Prize." Goldman Prize | For Excellence in Protecting the Environment - 2010. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <http://www.goldmanprize.org/2009/northamerica>.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">West Virginia University Health Sciences Center (2008, March 27). Chronic Illness Linked To Coal-mining Pollution, Study Shows.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"What Is Underground Coal Slurry Injection?" Sludge Safety Project for Coal Sludge Impoundments. Web. 09 Sept. 2010. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <http://www.sludgesafety.org/coal_slurry_inj.html>.