DN! Massey Energy Begins Blasting Coal River Mountain

Massey Energy Begins Blasting Coal River Mountain

In West Virginia, Massey Energy has begun blasting operations on Coal River Mountain despite deep opposition from environmental groups and critics of mountaintop removal mining. Coal River Mountain is the last intact mountain on the historic Coal River Mountain range. All of the other mountains have been blown up by coal companies. Jeff Biggers, author of the book The United States of Appalachia: Residents in the Coal River Valley in West Virginia were shocked last Friday to hear the rattle of explosives and see plumes of smoke rise above Coal River Mountain. According to news reports on Monday, Massey Energy has clearcut the lush forest and blasted part of the historic ridge in the first leg of a 6,000-acre mountaintop removal mine. For advocates across Appalachia and citizens group across the nation, the impending mountaintop removal operation on Coal River Mountain amounts to a final showdown between out-of-state coal companies and the state of coalfield residents.

Activists had proposed to save the mountaintop and turn it into a wind farm, a proposal which was seen by many as a model for sustainable green economic development. Anti-mountaintop removal activists are now calling on President Obama to halt the mining operation and save Coal River Mountain.

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[Smartassawhip]

What sucks is that once things like this are done they can never be undone.

[StartLoving2]

Yup. What sucks is, we didn't stop them; again; and again....

[angelialvares]

How STUPID!. These coal mining people could easily switch to renewables and make a decent living and be liked by society and blessed by Mother Nature instead of earning her curses and the hate of all nature lovers and the general population

[ebhock101]

Stop destroying our Earth! If you retards in WV can't find other jobs...GO to SCHOOL or move like other human beings! Stop blowing our country to bits! Coal miners make pennies compared to the crooked CEO's who feed them the BS, anyway!

[CvilleTigers11]

fuck it blow it all to hell and get that coal so we can have our power

[Craddock350]

People shouldn't have been shocked, Massey Energy put it in the newspaper like they were supposed to weeks before it happened.

:)

[WV24985]

I think if people put half the energy into developing new forms of energy, that they put into trying to force our WV miners out of work...we would've already moved on by now. The fact is...West Virginia has nothing else to go to at the present, so these (us...me included) miners should be left alone to work, support our family, and pay our taxes to support a big percentage of the people trying to put us out of work.

[4MacSake]

This is really a shame, I signed the original petition advocating for a wind power solution. The timing of this is interesting considering the recent publicity on the 8 billion dollar solar solution in Florida-