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THE FACTS · West Virginia as a state is one of the largest coal exporters in the entire world. · In 2008, West Virginia mines produced over 165 millions tons of coal, 41 million tons coming directly from mountaintop removal. · More than half of the nation's electricity is generated from coal. · In West Virginia 99% of the generated electricity comes from coal. · Coal provides the majority of electric power in 32 states. [|West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training] THE PROBLEM
 * LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD** **mountaintop removal in west virginia** [[image:Mountaintop_Removal.jpg link="http://www.civilianism.com/futurism/?tag=appalachia"]]

Mountaintop Removal in West Virginia has been and continues to be a huge issue; creating health risks for residents and ecological issues for the grounds, air, and animal life of the area.

Since coal is such a large export for the state of West Virginia, companies have been forced to come up with new and more efficient ways of mining its coal. This is where mountaintop removal comes into play. Coal mining companies are beginning to acquire large pieces of machinery called Draglines. These mammoth machines standing at ten stories tall are able to excavate 53 cubic yards of soil and/or coal in a single scoop. Companies are using the machine to scalp the land and rid the region of its mountainous landscape once and for all.

It can dismantle mountains, carve valleys, and create whole new landforms at a scale that once took the forces of nature thousands of years to bring about. [|West Virginia Mountaintop Removal Homepage] The excavation merely “scratches the surface” of the larger issue involved here. By excavating the companies are  destroying all vegetation and exposing the bedrock and soil to erosion and runoff of heavy metals such as selenium and arsenic into the streams that then run into rivers. This creates a huge problem for residents, animals, and plants alike. [|John's Blog on the Environment and Ecology]  In many areas of the state drinking water has been rendered completely undrinkable and unable to even see through when poured into a drinking glass. This is damaging the wildlife as well as plant life in the state and Ohio River Valley. This is a huge blow to a state, which has been nicknamed “The Mother Forest” for its unbelievable capacity of over eighty woody species. It is also a huge exporter of ginseng, which is becoming increasingly endangered due to excavating and pollution.

THE SOLUTION?

It is hard to say whether or not this region will ever recover from the damages it is putting on itself. The main contributor is that the state is more or less run by the coal industry. Coal companies own the majority of the land and payoff government officials to get around regulations put in place to protect the remaining land. As long as these companies retain possession of the trump card of the state, West Virginia is doomed to lose all of its wildlife as well as its function for living. It seems that the only ones who are able to protect their land are the dead, being that it is outlawed to mine within 300 feet of any cemetery.

THE BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Clean Coal Myth Blown Away - Coal Kills." //Futurism Now//: (2010). Web. 7 February 2010. http://www.civilianism.com/futurism/?tag=appalachia

"Flattening Mountains in West Virginia." //The Christian Science Monitor:// (2006)//.// Web. 7 February 2010. http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0103/p02s01-ussc.html

"John's Blog on the Environment and Ecology." Web. (2007). 7 February 2010. http://www.chemical-ecology.net/blog/wv-coal.htm

"Mountain Justice." Web. 7 February 2010. http://www.mountainjusticesummer.org/facts/steps.php

"West Virginia Mountaintop Removal Homepage." Web. 7 February 2010. http://earthsaver77.tripod.com/index.html

"West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training." (2009). Web. 7 February 2010. http://www.wvminesafety.org/wvcoalfacts.htm