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Hi there! I currently live in the Mid-Ohio Valley, in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Had a thread called Appalachia Crew -- title was changed to 'West Virginia' as part of the reorganization.
I'm not happy about that.
The project I'm about to embark upon involves the settlement of sites left behind by mountaintop removal mining, a practice which has been perpetrated by coal companies in at least 4 States within the Appalachian range.
What is left behind? The sites end up having a lot of flat land, where before everything was steep and untenable. These are wastelands -- but in the middle of forested, low mountains. Some of these sites are more remote than others, but mountaintop removal isn't usually done where it can be seen from the highway.
My intention is to to transform at least one of these sites from a wasteland into a sustainable and prosperous community.
Coal, as I see it, will fairly soon be unwanted. In the future, no one will be burning it to produce electricity. Thence, the practice of removing mountaintops to get at coal seams will be halted. It is only the lack of demand that will stop mountaintop removal -- not any amount of public protest. Such is the perceived importance of coal, in this day and age.
Should the former mining sites be simply left as reminders of an horrible practice, or should they be taken advantage of?
I invite any and all to join in the project. Beyond the idea of being 'safe', we have to look at sustainability -- and prosperity. I personally just want to get away from all the consumerism and, for one thing, know where all my food comes from...
If any of you are looking to relocate, Appalachia is not that far from Ohio. Think about it.
-fil
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