The BackWoods Drifter

I have been known to use song titles for posts before. This title is from an old Led Zeppelin song and I think it fits rather well with the photos in this post.

The picture in this post has it all. Horses, meadows, a barn, a creek, trees, mountains, a valley fill, and the accused culprit of the valley fill - power lines.

The active valley fill is in Clear Fork, WV. The site is actually a part of the Kayford Mountain MTR site. Believe me when I tell you the photo does not do the size of this fill justice. It is huge. The whole face of the site is nothing but gravel - large and small. When they are finished filling this valley they will come back and spray hydro-seed on it and call it reclaimed. They can get by with that particular atrocity because the hydro-seed would flourish just as well on the power pole or the horse for that matter.

Without getting into a big description of hydro-seed, suffice it to say - it has been termed grass seed on steroids.

This is the new face of West Virginia. It is definitely - Almost Heaven, West Virginia.

Yesterday I wrote a post describing my plans to back off in my battle against mountaintop removal coal mining. Today I am recanting that statement.

There will be no threat you can make that will cause me to back off. I feel like a weakling for even considering it. You can email me all you want, put as many signs in front of my house as you want and for every one of each of those, you will cause me to only work harder.

The coal industry can run helter skelter through this state thinking they can do whatever the hell they want. This is my house and my property, if you come here looking for trouble I can guarantee you will find it. As far as the grassroots and environmental organizations around here, I can create a big enough stir without their help - thank you very much.

The BackWoods Drifter is officially declaring war on the coal industry with the prime targets being Massey Energy, the friends of coal, and their ignorant leader - Don Blankenship. Donny boy - you have made an enemy here that will not rest until I see you broken. I would seriously suggest you keep your flunkies at bay or we will make national news, that much I promise. I didn’t name this blog the BackWoods Drifter for nothing - you don’t have to come to me because from now on I am coming to you. If you were trying to push my buttons you have succeeded. The mistake on your part was pushing the button that says IGNITION.

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If you are in favor of mountaintop removal coal mining no matter where you live, you are my enemy and I would just as soon not be affiliated with you. For anybody to condone mountaintop removal coal mining, in my book - you are the scum of the Earth.

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If you are reading this post and thinking damn he’s pissed - believe me, you have no idea. So think about that before you email me again.

btw - Have A Great Day!

First I have to apologize for dropping the ball. Last week on the Outdoor Bloggers Summit blog, Kristine issued a challenge entitled Write About The Good. I committed to writing a post for the challenge.

From the OBS - “… encouraging all bloggers to find one local, grassroots program that is supported by people who hunt or fish and write about that program on your blog.”

I couldn’t have committed to something at a worse time. To be downright honest - mountaintop removal has taken over my life at the moment. I’m reading the book Coal River, I’m three quarters of the way through the dissertation mentioned in the last post, and I have just started reading the FPEIS (Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement) for MTR.

I do still plan to write a post concerning area Hunters Helping The Hungry. But I’m just going to miss the challenge week by a bit. In the meantime please go to the OBS blog and check out posts generated by its members for the challenge.

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The second thing - I may be moving out of Blogger. The past week has been a nightmare on this blog as far as things crashing or just going insane. Before I joined the battle to stop MTR this blog was nothing more than a hobby. It wasn’t a big deal before but now I use the blog as a tool as well as being a hobby.

I think the problems last week just highlighted my reason for wanting to move the blog. This blog is not mine - it belongs to Blogspot and as such is subject to issues with Blogger. I’ve been wanting to put the blog on it’s own domain for a while but haven’t for a few reasons. There are quite a few blogs linking here, the blog has a Google pagerank of 3, and Technorati authority at 250.

You might think - So what? - That is what I thought to. I’m not trying to sale anything here so all the ranking counts for squat in the big picture. Except that now I have taken on Ol’ King Coal, all of the sudden the ranking really matters to me. People that come here reading a post about ginseng are exposed to MTR. Awareness is the key.

Right now I’m stuck in the middle of trying to make the decision. To move or not to move? That is the question.

Bringing Down the Mountains:
The Impact of Mountaintop Removal Surface Coal Mining on Southern West Virginia Communities, 1970-2004

by Shirley L. Stewart Burns

Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History.

“In 1970, 45,261 West Virginia jobs were supplied due to coal mining and 143,132,284 tons of coal were produced. Thirty-two years later, in 2002, 15,377 people were employed by the coal companies and together they produced 163,896,890 tons of coal.“

“Surface mines destroyed people’s lives on a whole different level, and left them virtually helpless to stop it. Mountaintop removal mines polluted streams and filled in valleys. Some of these valley fills are among the largest man-made earthen structures in the world.“

“The massive machines on mountaintop removal sites have ensured that more coal can be obtained with less human labor and greatly increased productivity.The expansion of mountaintop removal in West Virginia since its inception in the 1970s has grown at an accelerated pace from forty-four permits covering 9,800 acres throughout the 1980s to the granting of permits covering 12,540 acres in a nine-month period in 2002 alone.“

http://kitkat.wvu.edu:8080/files/4047/Stewart_Burns_Shirley_dissertation.pdf

The above three passages copied with permission.

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I’m bringing this information to you for a couple of reasons. One of those is although I talk a lot on the subject of mountaintop removal rant style on this blog - everything I say is based in fact.

Something I have mentioned here before - one reason I feel so comfortable talking and ranting about mountaintop removal is because the reader doesn’t have to take my word for anything. The facts are there - all you have to do is look. The dissertation is full of facts with sources. If you are serious about learning the facts about mountaintop removal coal mining - the dissertation is a must read.

Shirley also wrote a book with the same title. (clicking the photo will take you to Amazon)

The other reason for bringing all this up - I want to introduce two new co-authors to the Stop MTR blog - Matthew Burns, a Wildlife Management Specialist, and his wife Shirley Stewart Burns who has her PhD in history.

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I love the way the Stop MTR blog is taking on a personality and a presence of its own. From its creation, I have been a little worried about the blog being directly connected to this blog. When I say that I mean most traffic to it was coming either from here or just a couple of other blogs. Although I am very fond of voicing my opinion - my opinions are not enough no matter how many blogs I author.

The Stop MTR blog now has five authors. It is ranking high in Google for MTR related search info and has been referred to a few times already as the best new source for mountaintop removal related info out there. Although that is a wonderful thing to hear from someone - being the best was not my intention. The intention was to supply the reader with all of the proof available. Nothing myself or anyone else tells you has to be taken at face value - it is easy research and we supply the research material. That was my intention. We are there to make the reader aware of all the devastating aspects of mountaintop removal coal mining and we have proof of what we tell you.

I hope you stop by and welcome two new co-authors to the Stop MTR blog and new to the blogging community but definitely not new in the battle against mountaintop removal coal mining.

Imagine having to put dust masks on your weekly shopping list.

What do you think caused this cloud of dust? Maybe it was an explosion on a nearby mountaintop removal site. Or, maybe there is a strong wind coming up the valley. Maybe it is just a fluke or anomaly.

None of the above. This cloud was created from the passing of one coal truck. The trucks pass by here day and night non-stop. Wouldn’t it be fun living here?

This is just another example of the coal industry not caring about the communities in which they took over to get rich (mine coal). The coal industry spreads their waste laden water everywhere else - why not put some on this road?

For some reason, anybody high up in the food chain at Walker Machinery voicing their ridiculous opinions on mountaintop removal can bring the rant right out of me.

I’ve said it in the past, I’m all for one’s own opinion. The difference here is the opinions of Walker Machinery are motivated strictly by the bottom line. A person would have to be a fool to think otherwise. Maybe Walker Machinery is actually a bunch of well educated scientists that decided to drop everything and go into the heavy equipment business. They may very well be scientists - not sure about the well educated part though.

Roger Lilly is the marketing manager for Walker/Cat Machinery. Walker is a major supplier and service dealer for heavy equipment to mountaintop removal sites. That is it - they have no other function. They are like the little fish I told you about in an earlier post. You know the ones you see swimming with killer whales and sharks. They are there only for whatever scraps the whale (coal industry) decides to send their way. Scavengers - in other words.

Roger Lilly - Going green is beginning to make me see red
The Charleston Gazette - March 13, 2008

I highly suggest reading the story from the gazette. It is probably one of the worst pieces I have ever read.

There are a couple of things I want to point out in particular about the article although the whole thing shows how well educated this man is.

“I don’t recycle plastic because the government and the chemical industry don’t want me to. If they did, they would make it worth my time and gas to go out of my way to take them to the recycling center. (I live rurally.)” - Lilly

He wants to be paid to do his part.

From time to time I have said how the friends of coal would be quite happy if coalfield residents didn’t exist -

“Forgive me for worrying more about vacation homes on the rim of the New River Gorge than a mountaintop removal site 26 hard miles south of nowhere. America needs the energy. Desperately. West Virginia needs the jobs. Desperately. I’ve done the math. Win-win.” - Lilly

Phone call for Mr. Lilly - you know who it is.

The people in the coalfields couldn’t care less about vacation homes on the New River Gorge. Why? Because we live 26 hard miles south of nowhere. And as far as your math - I think you need to do it again. If you can’t do math - it is real easy research and available everywhere. Matter of fact a lot of people have already done the research for you. All you have to do is read. 125,000 jobs - 1950 / 20,000 jobs - 2005. Unless you were talking about the math that adds up your bottom line. In that case - I’m quite sure it is win-win, for you and the coal industry.

“Seventy cents of every dollar Walker Machinery makes comes from the coal industry,” said Roger Lilly, marketing manager for company in Belle.

“Lilly says the coal industry is under fire from extreme environmentalists, uncertainty in the courts and the shifting marketplace.”

Last two quotes from - The Register Herald - Feb 13, 2008

Why do I persist with this crusade against mountaintop removal?

The tree covered hilltop is the location of Larry Gibson’s family cemetery - the island in the madness. To have to get permission from a coal operator to visit ones deceased relatives is too far over the line for me. This is another reason I post about cemeteries. I’ve got a pretty good idea how far a blast concussion can travel above ground. I wonder how far it can travel underground? I can guarantee you Larry’s relatives are not resting in the peace intended.

If we will go to this length now for cheap energy - just imagine the lengths we will go to in the not too distant future. One good reason to wait for renewable energy resources is because as coal and other non-renewables are used up, the price of energy will rise. Since we are waiting to switch to renewable resources - then when we get into the have to now or else part of the future, the energy prices will be outrageous and will form a basis for new renewable energy prices. I’m not so sure waiting is what we should be doing.

I think we should be investing in renewable energy resources now instead of - oh, I don’t know - crashing billion dollar rockets into the moon - for example. Nothing against space exploration but I believe we have our priorities a little screwed up. I think if we worried about the planet, we wouldn’t need to be hellbent on going to the moon. We have some pretty smart people in this country. The problem is - the smart people aren’t thinking about it. Why? Because coal keeps the lights on - a non-renewable resource.