4 ms·

The Violent Remaking of Appalachia

60 points by samclemens 11y ago

molecule 11y ago
Vice's Toxic: West Virginia provides a great visualization of the effects of mountaintop removal, which, in Appalachia, turns lush mountains into industrial moonscapes. http://www.vice.com/video/toxic-west-virginia http://www.vice.com/video/toxic-west-virginia
- brandmeyer 11y ago
  Hmm. Noscript is flagging that this page's load of youtube is a potential XSS attack.
samstave 11y ago
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396227/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396227/
athenot 11y ago
To get an idea of scale, the mining operations can be seen on the satellite view of West Virginia on Apple Maps… even when the whole state fits in the window.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
unchocked 11y ago
Per the article, there's 36,000 coal mining jobs in Appalachia and the four largest mining companies have a combined market cap of $150M. We shouldn't call Appalachia "coal country": these are mediocre economic numbers. The landscape and health of Appalachia is worth more than that, never mind the grotesque global issues burning coal generates. With renewables basically at cost parity (even neglecting massive externalities), there is no economic, environmental or moral reason to oppose just shutting the whole damn industry down.
- mud_dauber 11y ago
  There's nothing - NOTHING - that would please me more than seeing Appalachia's coal industry go away. My family just buried an uncle with chronic black lung. His dying words to my aunt were "Get the autopsy done. Don't let Massey take away your death benefits." Thing is, there's nothing in the southern half of the state to replace $70K/year jobs. Nothing. I understand why the few remaining residents are hoping for a miracle.
  - unchocked 11y ago
    God damn - there's something in my eye... There's so much to be gained by just, stopping what's going on. Enough surplus benefit to take care of, if not the communities at least the people. And if we all drop the magical thinking, it's plainly doable. I'm sorry about your uncle, in so many ways.
    - mud_dauber 11y ago
      That's very much appreciated...
- ams6110 11y ago
  Coal in the USA is nearly a $50 billion industry, the vast majority of which is used for electrical energy generation. It's not something you can just shut down. If and when better economic alternatives are available, it will go away naturally.
  - yompers888 11y ago
    Streamlining the nuclear regulatory process would go a long way. Other countries make it work well and at far more competitive upfront costs.
RhysU 11y ago
Terrible stuff, yes. No mention of terrible problems created by the alternatives: Fukushima, Deepwater Horizon, and Oklahoma's sudden jump in seismic activity. One could write the same article for any energy source.

60 points by samclemens 11y ago

Vice's Toxic: West Virginia provides a great visualization of the effects of mountaintop removal, which, in Appalachia, turns lush mountains into industrial moonscapes. http://www.vice.com/video/toxic-west-virginia http://www.vice.com/video/toxic-west-virginia

brandmeyer 11y ago
Hmm. Noscript is flagging that this page's load of youtube is a potential XSS attack.

samstave 11y ago

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396227/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396227/

athenot 11y ago

To get an idea of scale, the mining operations can be seen on the satellite view of West Virginia on Apple Maps… even when the whole state fits in the window.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

unchocked 11y ago

Per the article, there's 36,000 coal mining jobs in Appalachia and the four largest mining companies have a combined market cap of $150M. We shouldn't call Appalachia "coal country": these are mediocre economic numbers. The landscape and health of Appalachia is worth more than that, never mind the grotesque global issues burning coal generates. With renewables basically at cost parity (even neglecting massive externalities), there is no economic, environmental or moral reason to oppose just shutting the whole damn industry down.

mud_dauber 11y ago
There's nothing - NOTHING - that would please me more than seeing Appalachia's coal industry go away. My family just buried an uncle with chronic black lung. His dying words to my aunt were "Get the autopsy done. Don't let Massey take away your death benefits." Thing is, there's nothing in the southern half of the state to replace $70K/year jobs. Nothing. I understand why the few remaining residents are hoping for a miracle.
- unchocked 11y ago
  God damn - there's something in my eye... There's so much to be gained by just, stopping what's going on. Enough surplus benefit to take care of, if not the communities at least the people. And if we all drop the magical thinking, it's plainly doable. I'm sorry about your uncle, in so many ways.
  - mud_dauber 11y ago
    That's very much appreciated...
ams6110 11y ago
Coal in the USA is nearly a $50 billion industry, the vast majority of which is used for electrical energy generation. It's not something you can just shut down. If and when better economic alternatives are available, it will go away naturally.
- yompers888 11y ago
  Streamlining the nuclear regulatory process would go a long way. Other countries make it work well and at far more competitive upfront costs.

RhysU 11y ago

Terrible stuff, yes. No mention of terrible problems created by the alternatives: Fukushima, Deepwater Horizon, and Oklahoma's sudden jump in seismic activity. One could write the same article for any energy source.