blasting on Coal River Mountain. I had the opportunity to speak with several miners there
including a friendly Massey Employee from Mingo county. He told me that without coal mining there
would be nothing- no jobs, no money. Without coal mining he would have to leave his home to look
for work elsewhere. He supports MTR because it supports him and his family. At least in the
short term. And while we disagreed on MTR, we could agree that politicians are worthless.
But it got me thinking because I hear the same points over and over - There is no
alternative, without mining we'd have nothing. Many say they would love to get out of
mining, if only there were something else.
Do I need to point out that there are people living in rural areas all over this country that
aren't dependent on coal mining to survive? You miners complain about the lack of options,
of alternatives but you've got to make it happen. You complain endlessly about the "outsiders" interfering in your business but you want the same "outsiders" to give you another job. Stop waiting for someone else to do it for you. YOU make it happen, Take responsibility for diversifying the economy of southern West
Virginia. Start farming (all that flat land down there now, right!), start sustainable
forestry operations, fight for federal funds for mine and stream reclamation work, make
furniture, whatever. Why not? All of our ancestors had to make their own way in these
hills before mining and if there's any clean water left our descendants will have to make
their own way after the mining stops. With those fat miner paychecks you ought to be able to put aside something to help start a business with.
The miner's I've talked with (the ones that haven't tried to shout me out anyway) seem to be
decent people. When it comes down to it I think that most all of us want the same basic
things. We want the ability to provide for our families, we want to be free and healthy, we
want good food to eat, clean water to drink, and clear air to breath. These are things we
all want because they are necessary for our survival. The issue is that some people believe
that they can have these things and have coal mining too. I disagree. The coal mining areas
of our state tend to be the sickest, they have the dirtiest air, the foulest water. I've
personally walked through the playground at Marsh Fork elementary and had my feet blackened
with coal dust. I've seen the bags and bags of coal dust samples taken from the sides of
homes in the coal river valley. I've seen the blackwater spills that poison the streams.
Sure, several thousand miners are making a good paycheck, but we all suffer for it with our
health.
To be fair, coal mining isn't the only problem we face. Many miners told me that they feel
that mining is being unfairly targeted. Why aren't we going after the gas companies that are
wrecking people's wells, or the raw sewage going into so many streams, or the chemical
companies in the Kanawha valley? It's a good point, and I hope we are able to deal with all
of these issues in turn, but we have to start somewhere, and that somewhere is with coal.
