Somebody Famous Who WAS in Appalachia
Ria Misra
Contributor
Posted:
07/3/09
Most of the attention on the Appalachian Trail recently has focused on the man who was famously not there -- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. But actress Daryl Hannah, NASA climate scientist James Hansen, and former Rep. Ken Hechler (D-W.Va.) would like you to know that they actually were in the Appalachian Mountains -- and they have the arrest records to prove it.
They were among more than 30 people arrested last week as they protested mountaintop-removal coal mining at a mine in West Virginia. As the name suggests, mountaintop-removal mining uses explosives to level off the top of a mountain and get to the coal below.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. weighed in on the practice in Friday's Washington Post, calling it "the worst environmental tragedy in American history" and seeking action from the president. Hansen, one of the earliest to warn of the link between climate change and increased greenhouse emissions, has also called for political action, pointing out that the coal produced from mountaintop-removal mining isn't a significant amount -- less than eight percent of coal in the United States.
They were among more than 30 people arrested last week as they protested mountaintop-removal coal mining at a mine in West Virginia. As the name suggests, mountaintop-removal mining uses explosives to level off the top of a mountain and get to the coal below.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. weighed in on the practice in Friday's Washington Post, calling it "the worst environmental tragedy in American history" and seeking action from the president. Hansen, one of the earliest to warn of the link between climate change and increased greenhouse emissions, has also called for political action, pointing out that the coal produced from mountaintop-removal mining isn't a significant amount -- less than eight percent of coal in the United States.
Coal is still a major source of energy in the United States, but the environmental cost of mountaintop removal mining doesn't seem to be justified -- particularly since returning the mountain to its original state isn't a possibility. Nor is there a compelling economic rationale for continuing. Once a major employer in the area, the mining industry has become increasingly automated. Kennedy points out that today only 2 percent of jobs in Central Appalachia are related to mining.