Trying to promote dialogue between people against MTR mining and people for it part 1

[fatboydwayne]

These people dont have a freaking clue about what miners are all about!!!! If it were not for COAL MINERS a huge part of this nation depends on coal to give them the electricity to power their lights and factories that they depend on for everything. Without coal to burn for power this country would go to waste in a matter of 2 years at most. MTR mining is the safest way to mine and build new communities and grow the state.

[jaknife99]

the reporter is nervous

[philbusa]

good for you greerphoto,so in my eyes you are a hyprocrite. and hey its not unrealstic to shut your power off if you are so much against coal and mtr ,why you can go solar,its out there. but you and your treehugging buddies have made a major mistake pissing off us working people in coal all the daryll hannahs and ashley judds in the world wont help this. and as for your remarks about others figures they are just as accurate as your sides. thats a lame ass arguement.

[GreerPhoto]

Philbusa,

First, it's not a matter of just turning it off. That's just a bit stupid and a phrase that all pro-coal people like to use. The fact of the matter is, I'm lucky to have the ability to choose my source of energy with TVA using the Green Power Switch. I do get my power from renewable resources! Sure, it costs a bit more but I walk the walk as much as I can!

[fuckyamountains]

Ok, you get your power from a renewable source, good for you! What about the coal used to melt the steel in your vehicle, bike, PC, or CAMERA??? Let's see what kinda bullshit you can come up with now to "walk the walk!!!"

[GreerPhoto]

For all of you that dispute my figures, (fuckyamountains and indaWVstix) they're real easy to find. They come straight from the EIA. These statistics are government figures with trends and are real easy to research. Maybe you guys should do a little research and maybe just maybe you will see what the likes of Massey Energy is doing to WV people and the mountains. They coal industry is feeding lies and deception to its followers and big money to the WV politicians and judicial system.

[fuckyamountains]

WE LIVE HERE!!! COAL DOESN"T HURT US IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM!!!

In your statistics, how many underground mines are there in WV?? Then look at how many surface mines there are...

Massey Energy helps the community ALOT!!

Speaking of lies, ENVIRONMENTALISTS are the most full of bullshit liers I have ever seen. Why don't you take some photos of a reclaimed site??? I'll answer that for ya, you don't want people to see the WHOLE story!!!

[JeffFurrowCountry]

I sure wish I had the statistics for the number of miners "killed" in underground mines as apposed to the number killed on surface mines.

[GreerPhoto]

MTR miners have NO idea what is happening to them as they work for corps like Massey Energy and other MTR mining companies. The Massey employee that is interviewed at the end of this piece is clueless. He states that there are more MTR miners employed than underground. Here's the real figures, total number of miners employed in Appalachia is 46,507, number of surface miners 15,763, and number of underground is 30,744. Underground mining employs nearly 2x the number as MTR/surface mining.

[GreerPhoto]

In 1983 there were more than 175,000 miners working in the US. by 1993 the numbers dropped almost 75,000 to around 100,000 miners. By 2003 the numbers continued to drop to 71,000 miners. even today those numbers continue to drop as miners are replaced by machines and surface mines continue to increase.

[GreerPhoto]

Also, IT DOESN"T MATTER WHERE WE ARE FROM! Coal mining affects us all! Take a look at Google Maps and you can see the damage done by MTR mining. The Clean Water Act clearly makes this form of mining illegal but politicians keep bending the rules due to the almighty dollar of KING COAL. Do we continue to sacrifice the people that lived in the remote mountains of Appalachia for 100's of year to make the powerful KING COAL more powerful? I say not!

[fuckyamountains]

Hmmm, like to see where you get your numbers from.... Fact is, of the 30,744 'underground' people, not all of them work underground. They are above ground support, coal haulers, coal loaders, and prep plant people.

[fuckyamountains]

Also, if you would listen closely, he said that an MTR site has more workers than an Underground mine... 1 MTR site 1 underground mind... Sounds like he knows what he's talking about because that is completely true.

[philbusa]

where does your electric come from greerphoto? COAL dont like it shut it off. get a solar panel or windmill and show you are serious, untill your arguement is mute. and your figures are horeshit. IF coal ever went it will affect more than people in mining,businesses, peoples electric bill, gas,etc... and eventually your yellow check. think about it no money in, no money out. WAKE UP.

[indaWVstix]

Do you have documented proof of all of this? We have yet to see proof, we just hear the complaints.

[alchea]

See "Mortality in Appalachian Coal Mining Regions: The Value of Statistical Life Lost" (Hendryx, Ahern 2009). Published in 'Public Health Reports' July-August 2009. The PDF is available online if you search the title. The study analyzes 25 years of economic and health data of Appalachia, and compares coal-producing areas of the region to non coal-producing areas.

[indaWVstix]

Dear cameraman, WV people are not mean hatefull people. We are kind and generous with everything we have. We are just good hearted down home people. But when someone trys to take our jobs and bad mouths our people. Then yes, we tend to get a little angry.

[alchea]

And some WV people get a little angry when they live with constant blasting, property damage, declining property values, undrinkable water, destroyed family cemeteries, threats of sludge spills (or real ones such as in martin county ky), breathing in coal dust and silica, and sick kids.