peaceful turmoil: The heart of the current political mess summarized in WV: Coal, mountaintops, and the future of "God's green Earth"

Image by The Sierra Club via Flickr

For those not familiar with mountain top removal, it is a cheap and extremely destructive way of mining coal in which hundreds of thousands of acres of forest, streams, wildlife, etc, are literally blown and scraped away. Even where efforts are promised to partially restore areas, such promises are met with reasonable skepticism given the history of the corporations who have long treated West Virginia like some distant colony or remote province useful only for its mineral wealth. The damage to the ecosystems, the water quality, the air quality, and the water quality, to name but a few concerns, is apparently outweighed by the potential for profit.

For those unfamiliar with West Virginia, it is (for a little while longer at least) a beautiful state which, were it named something else, would have quadruple the tourism trade for people wanting to see stunning natural beauty and the preservation of centuries old cultures. Hiking, biking, walking trails, rafting and kayaking, visiting festivals, finding amazing craftspeople and musicians who still make what others only find in old recordings or antique stores (yet make it fresh and contemporary not stale or static), meeting friendly people, and much more is a part of the state's legacy. But so is exploitation, manipulation, structural poverty and under-education, mockery, and misunderstanding. Both the good and the bad stem largely from the isolation fostered by the mountains which give the state its nickname.

A state born during the Civil War, the area that became West Virgnia had been considered a backwater of contentious citizens who were tired of decisions in Richmond always favoring the rest of Virginia at their inconvenience or expense. After all, these folks had immigrated from their countries of origin to make a go at life on the mountainside, in the steep and wooded hills, in the remote valleys and hollers, not in the cities or the wide-open spaces. They and their descendants weren't the kind to quickly take offense but they also wouldn't be trampled on.

To keep the history lesson to a minimum, just keep in mind that if you are only considering productivity and profit it pays to keep your workforce, especially one with little power and ineffective or corrupt political representation and which is mostly used for physical labor, poor and under-educated. Land was often owned by out of state families or companies who often resembled feudal lords more than company owners in their dealing with the local populations, which is why some were dubbed "coal barons". This pattern of course was not unique to WV - it is a familiar history across Appalachia. And not all of these owners were bad people - in fact, many were fairly benevolent and saw the mining communities as their family. Of course, that didn't stop them from paying their families in scrip or, when push came to shove, using armed guards to keep order at the mines.

Land would be sold from one company to another and companies would reorganize and alter some practices like scrip, but the larger pattern stayed the same. Out of state or trans-state concerns would get the mineral wealth and West Virginia would (literally) get the shaft. Politicians from both parties were only too happy to make sure to preach that what was best for coal (lower taxes on the wealth being extracted from the state, fewer regulations on how the coal was mined, etc) was best for West Virginia. Anything that "threatened" coal or made it less profitable for these companies (actually getting a fair share of the profits from the state's own resources, requiring equipment and tests and other things which would make mining safer) was bad for West Virginia. You might wonder then, other than fat cats in politics making deals with fat cats in industry (Gee, there's a new one), how did they keep the people in line? Why did the miners keep working and voting in a way that appears to often be against their own best interest?

A big part of the explanation has already been mentioned - keep your workforce poor and poorly educated. Note that this doesn't mean dumb, foolish, unable to learn, etc. By relying primarily on the coal industry for employment and tax revenue, the rest of the state's economic infrastructure (that not tangentially related to coal, timber, etc) was left underdeveloped. So even if these miners were to say "Hey, this is a raw deal", where else where they going to go? What other jobs could they do? What others jobs were available, especially ones that could compete with their mining salaries? When coal would run out (or more typically what was left was too difficult and expensive to mine), the coal companies would close up shop and towns would be devastated, some shrinking and some vanishing altogether, with an aging and underemployed population left behind to suffer in poverty. Even knowing this would be the future of all coal-boom towns and areas who didn't plan for a post-coal reality, the lack of options forced many to stay with the mines.

But this isn't just the past - it is also part of West Virginia's present. For every argument about physically raping and destroying the countryside, poisoning the air and the water, and permanently scarring the wild and wonderful landscape that has been a part of the state's identity and heritage for generations, those working in or dependent on the coal industry will argue that they need their jobs to feed their families, or offer up the coal industry propaganda that the damage can be reversed or that it is no worse than other forms of development going on in other parts of the state. But we aren't just talking about the old deep mining, we're talking about MTR - mountain top removal. Its devastation is impossible to express in mere words and it tends to employ fewer people who are more about large-scale demolition and clearing than traditional mining.

Still, the drumbeat goes on. There can be a "clean coal". There are "safe and responsible ways" to get at these deposits. There is a bright future for coal. And if you are against that, you are not just against a dishonest, reckless industry driven by short-sighted greed and a disregard for the environment. You are against West Virginia, its heritage, and its people. You are an outsider or a traitor. You are against families and against tradition. You must be liberal, which explains why you are against "Big Coal". It may be that there are more people on board with opposing MTR who are left of center on the political scale, but it is not a liberal-conservative issue. In fact, a 2008 survey revealed that a sizable majority of West Virginians oppose MTR!

Many people involved in opposing MTR are "good ole boys" and "good ole girls" who love the mountains, rivers, hollers, and streams of West Virginia and who are horrified at what is being done to God's wild and wonderful creation. Many are indeed respectful of tradition and prize family, and actually want the landscape, the air, the soil, and the water to be preserved so it can be appreciated by their own children, grand-children, and so on. Even with a view of the abuses and exploitation of the past and the current devastation of the present giving a pretty clear signal about the future that will come to pass after the destruction is done and the profits have been funneled out of the state, many are still left needing to believe the corporate line because they don't see any other options.

The fact that even if MTR and similar operations continue these people or their children or grandchildren will see the closing of these mining operations and still be left unemployed, only now with landslides of brown, red, and gray mud surrounding their dying towns, is something many just cannot face. Those who really care about them, their neighbors, and a sustainable economy along with preserving tradition and nature need to stop using this issue as a political football. Sober and mature voices need to take the lead in finding solutions to the problems which enable and promote these kinds of practices. This isn't some minor regional issue - it affects other Americans in ways they don't realize.

And so it goes. These outdated industries, which are taking down whole communities with them as they die and which are polluting and destroying the environment along the way, are using the politicians they keep in their pockets to cloud the issue and claim it is their opponents who are against free enterprise, the welfare of working families, etc. True innovation which could allow entrepreneurs to create newer greener industries are opposed, and somehow all of this is then connected with issues like gay marriage and gun rights. Sound like a familiar pattern? The problems facing WV and the political rhetoric and maneuvering surrounding them are like a microcosm reflecting the larger issues facing our society.

If we can't overcome corruption, corporate "lobbying", ineffective unions and watchdog organizations, extreme environmental challenges, political impotence and cronyism, and economic frailty in a small state in the center of the mid-Atlantic region with a hardworking population, abundant natural resources and beauty, an affordable cost of living, and proud "can-do" spirit, what hope should we have for the future of the rest of the nation? West Virginia and the surrounding region could and should become the example of how to move forward into a new economy and renewed government/civil participation while preserving the environment and respecting the local history and culture.

This isn't the 17th, 18th, 19th, or even 20th century. Information doesn't slow at the borders of the mountains anymore. This is the digital age. These heinous catastrophes cannot be reversed and the damage already inflicted is done - the land will never be the same. But you can help prevent more damage. There is a growing momentum to raise awareness. More people need to be made aware of what is going on (so spread the word, please - this is my home state and even though I don't live there now it pains me greatly to see what is happening). Below I've included some recent media content concerning this tragedy. How ironic that we see and hear about (and protest!) disasters and exploitation all over the world, but most Americans have no idea what is happening so close to home.

Here is an an article (dated July 7, 2009) about an upcoming documentary on the issue - I would encourage you to read the comments as well. Note that the showing is being canceled/moved because of threats of protests, and then watch this video taken at an annual rally by folks who are against MTR (posted July 6, 2009). You might get an impression of why there was concern...

Even some prominent political blogs have been getting involved -

- so join in. There can't be enough exposure! You can also write or call:

U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20585, 1-800-342-5363

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Office, 304 Dirksen Senate Building, Washington, DC 20510, Attn: Sen. Bingaman, (202) 224-4971

The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, 202-456-1111

Want other options? Visit ilovemountains.org to see how you can get involved.