I warned you I was going to rant about MTR on this blog and this post is evidence. 
I was *watching a video earlier today and in the video a representative of the coal association justified mountaintop removal by saying flat land is in short supply in West Virginia.
I’ve heard it so much. West Virginia has always been about mountains. Montani Semper Liberi “Mountaineers Are Always Free”, West Virginia Mountaineers, The Mountain State - anybody else notice a pattern developing here?
I keep hearing airports and shopping malls but everybody seems to forget rural West Virginia doesn’t even have a road system good enough to accommodate local traffic. Maybe a shopping mall in three hundred years.
One reason, in my opinion, West Virginia can’t and won’t be able to attract developers to our beautiful reclaimed mountaintops is because of the lack of convenient access. In order for West Virginia to make their pipe dream come true they would have to be totally committed to a major highway renovation project specifically designed to target easy access to reclaimed sites. Otherwise - they are just piles of dirt in the middle of nowhere.
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*I won’t display the video do to ADULT CONTENT. The video is informative in that it deals with the reclamation process.
February 7th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
this argument is one of the most absurd things i hear coming out of MTR proponents mouth. why do you live in the mountains if you want flat land? our ancestors came here because of th beauty of the mountains. these mountains are the second most biologically diverse in the world, only next to the rainforests. we have so many treasures like ginseng, bloodroot, medicinal herbs, etc. growing in these mountains that are now being threatened.
it angers me so much! they say, ‘if you don’t like coal mining then move away’. well, i say, if you want flat land, move to the plains. and leave the mountains here for those that appreciate them for what they are… not ones that just see them as a means to their ends, something to rape for all they are worth and destroy them in the process.
February 7th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
oh, and i just put up my post for ‘blogging for appalachia’ week….
February 7th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
February 7th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
that video makes me want to start ranting again…
February 7th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Blessed
I had to really tone down my reaction.