normally, i don't do much posting here since i prefer using spaces, but this one is important enough to cross post. for related pictures, go here: ecogyrl.spaces.live.com/photos.
on wednesday, 18 october 2006, while the rest of berea college celebrated mountain day, two dozen concerned citizens, led by kftc "mountain man," kevin pentz, headed off into the hills of eastern kentucky to bear witness to the war on mountains & learned first-hand the effects of unbridled electricity consumption. why do i call it a "war on mountains?" 2500 tons of explosives are used every day in the hills of appalachia to blow off the mountains and scrape out the coal. these explosions damage or destroy nearby houses, pollute wells, and create unbearable noise & dust. 24 million tons of earth are moved to retrieve 4 million tons of coal. this earth is pushed off into valleys, destroying streams and delicate habitats below. more than 1500 miles of streams have been buried and the barren hills create excessive runoff and flooding. a 1972 flood in buffalo creek, wv killed 125, injured 1100, and left 4000 homeless.
another example of flooding occurred in martin county, ky in fall of 2000, but it wasn't water that poured into the town; it was 300 million gallons of coal slurry (30 times the amount of oil spilled in the exxon-valdez disaster!). when coal is cleaned, a black sludge is left over and stored in containment ponds. it was one such pond that gave way and blackened more than 100 miles of the big sandy river. there are 225 of these ponds in kentucky and more than 650 in all of appalachia. these ponds cannot be found on any public map and very few of them have the required emergency plans on file.
other atrocities associated with mountain top removal:
*forests are clear-cut and burned. usable timber is not harvested beforehand because "permitting and removal takes too much time and paperwork." in the last decade, over 1,000,000 acres of the most diverse forest system in the world has been permanently altered, 450 mountains lost.
*mountain top removal uses bigger machines and fewer workers, increasing unemployment in the most poverty stricken areas of the u.s. from 1987-1997, coal production rose 32%, but mining jobs dropped 29%.
*coal companies are required to pay a bond before mining which they can recoup after the land has been reclaimed. most forfeit the bond because it's cheaper than actually replanting the vegetation.
*removal sites are touted as promoting economic development since the flat, deforested land can be used for business and industry. however, even though there is now enough flattened land to rebuild lexington and louisville, only 2% of the reclaimed land has been put to use, one area for a prison and one for a golf course.
the damage doesn't stop once the coal is removed, though. overloaded coal trucks damage roads and 14 people in west virginia were killed by these trucks in an 18 month period. that's almost 1 person/month in just one of the many coal producing states. asthma and cancer rates have skyrocketing in areas that produce and burn coal. it is estimated that 24,000 people die prematurely due to air pollution from coal-fired power plants. mercury released when coal is burned contaminates fish and one in six women of child-bearing age have mercury levels high enough to cause autism, blindness, kidney, liver, & heart disease, and cognitive impairment in an unborn child.
there's plenty more bad news when speaking of mountain top removal, but what's even more important than the problem, are the solutions. first and foremost, the one that's most easily forgotten: CONSERVATION. turn off the lights, turn off the t.v. (heck, why not get rid of it entirely?), lower the temperature on your hot water heater and heating system, find your phantom loads and outsmart them (phantom loads are the sneaky devices that use electricity even when turned off), seal air leaks in your house to prevent loss of heating and cooling.
next, focus on EFFICIENCY. as bulbs burn out, replace them with compact fluorescents or LEDs. compact fluorescents use 75% less energy than incandescents and LEDs are 90% more efficient. when replacing old appliances, look for the energy star label, (refrigerators are 40% more efficient than they were just 2 years ago; front loading washers use 50% less energy and 40% less water), speaking of laundry, why not hang your clothes out to dry? you can almost hear your utility bills plummeting.
for those who really want to get serious, renewable energy offers a whole new door to open. solar panels and solar hot water systems allow the user to detach from coal entirely if desired. in our house, we can spend up to $40/month just to heat our water (currently a gas system). if we invested $4000 in a solar hot water system, it would pay for itself in just over 8 years, leaving 22 mortgage paying years to collect on that return (saving us over $10,500 during the life of the mortgage!). If you aren't able to invest in solar technologies, ask your utility company if they offer an option to purchase green power. if not, there are many other companies that offer services to offset you energy usage.
needless to say, these are just a few of the problems and just a few of the solutions. as we approach midterm elections, don't forget to ask candidates and currently serving officials what they plan to do about policies concerning coal and other polluting industries. tell them to create incentives for people and businesses that choose to make the necessary changes to promote clean air, clean water, and clean energy. if we don't let our desires be known, representatives will continue on with business as usual and people and mountains will continue to perish. create the world you want to live in~ put an end to mountain top removal.
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