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Letter from Europe: Foreign Disbelief of Topless America
Spoleto, Umbria--When President Barack Obama trundled into the bel paese of Italy for the G8 gathering last month, some of my neighbors in the verdant hills of Umbria were surprised to learn about their country's small but lingering dependence on coal-fired plants. Draping banners down five coal-fired towers of carbon emissions that week, Greenpeace reminded the European gathering--and President Obama--of the inconvenient reality of coal.
Coal mining in Italy is considered a relic of yesteryear. Only a few miles from this Umbrian hilltown, the last smoldering lignite mine closed a couple of decades ago after a series of fatal accidents, and with it went the haze of sulfuric acid, mercury, lead and fly ash that cloaked much of Europe.
But, the greatest surprise--sheer disbelief--for my neighbors in Italy's protected Umbrian range was reserved for our own American style of Big Coal-gone-wild--that federally sanctioned process of mountaintop removal mining that has laid waste to over a million acres of our nation's most diverse and ancient mountains in Appalachia, in order to produce less than 5-7 percent of national coal production.
Blowing up your mountains? The Italian asked again. How is that possible under President Obama?
It's hard for any foreigner to believe that President Obama has quietly acquiesced to the marketing and machinations of Big Coal, and allows millions of pounds of ammonium nitrate/fuel oil explosives to rip across our nation's first frontier, topple hundreds of mountains, and ruin and displace historic mountain communities--that would have easily been granted regional protection by the United Nations or the European Community.
In fact, when I describe the process of mountaintop removal, and its 38-year reign of terror in Appalachia, no one believes me, so I am compelled to pull out my laptop and show them pictures and videos, including the creative work from Chicago's environmental-artist collective called Topless America (http://www.toplessamerica.org/). Here's their latest journey to Appalachia:
Here is an incredible list of the scores of films on mountaintop removal documented by film critic and historian Steve Fesenmaier:
http://thegazz.com/gblogs/wvfilm/2009/07/21/the-new-coal-mine-wars-films...
And here's a trailer for the forthcoming film documentary, On Coal River, that expertly details the human costs of "minimizing adverse environmental impacts," as the Obama administration likes to say, of mountaintop removal:
Last month in the west country of Ireland, I chatted in a pub with a shopkeeper from County Roscommon. We shared stories of our grandfathers, both of whom were coal miners. After telling me about Ireland's plans for off-shore wind turbines and other renewable energy projects outside Galway, the shopkeeper urged me to go and visit the Arigna Coal Mine in Derreenavoggy, County Roscommon. His grandfather had worked in the underground mine there; my grandfather worked in various underground mines in southern Illinois.
The Arigna mine is part of the Miners Way Historical Trail, which treks along the gorgeous hills and valleys of Arigna. Closed in 1990, after being mined underground for 400 years, the Arigna mine--the last working coal mine in Ireland--has been turned into a heritage site. The shopkeeper raved about the natural beauty of the area--his own "little Appalachia," he claimed. He told me to take a hike after I visited the museum. As the coal mine brochure hailed, "Arigna is situated in a picturesque valley with breathtaking scenery and unspoiled landscape."
Unspoiled landscape.
My grandparent's 150-year-old ancestral homestead in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois was stripmined ten years ago this month and has been turned into a leveled graveyard of foreign grasslands.
Over 1.5 million acres of hardwood deciduous forests, and over 500 mountains that would have been celebrated as a national park in any other region in the world, have been wiped out in Appalachia from mountaintop removal, the devastated ruins flatted into monuments of destruction.
I told the Irish shopkeeper he needed to visit Appalachia to believe it.
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14 Comments so far
Show AllDear Foreigners-
Don't let Obama's carefully groomed image delude you into thinking that things are different in any meaningful way as to how the amerikkkan empire works.
Sincerely,
Resident of North America
(I refuse to call myself a "citizen" of such a FU&%ED UP place anymore.)
There is no stimulus money to move Marsh Fork Elementary?
Shame on the USA shame on Senator Byrd, Shame on Obama,
Sacrificing it's citizens once again to bloat the already bloated rich corporistas.
MTR would indeed be out of the questions in comparable areas of Europe like the Black Forest and the Harz Mts, or even the coal-rich Welsh highlands.
But this is because Europeans also allow aesthetic, cultural and ecological considerations in permitting such activity. In the US, as long as the mine can show they meet the standards for a handful of pollutants in the runoff from their mine, and put in "best management practices" for sediment control, that can dig to hell if thay want.
I don't even think a law allowing aesthetic and cultural considerations is even allowed in the US - it would be considering an illegal "taking" of private property (or in this case, a private resource under someone else's property). Oddly though, such "private property rights" seem to not prevent ordnances agaist a homeowner growing a vegatable garden in their front yard. I guess these "taking's" rulings only apply if your are rich or a big corporation.
Shame that Europeans don't mention the Chinese that are about to surpass us in coal produced power or Russia or a number of other countries.
Just more American bashing from folks that need to look to their own dirty laundry.
Europeans seem to indulge in it as a sport to divert themselves from thioer own problems. Surprising how many people fall for it.
Europeans, unlike the USA, China, & Russia, have learned painfully what a polluted folly coal power is (try walking through a black cloud caused by burning coal, which were ubiquitous in European cities a generation ago). They are also quite aware of the global warming damage the Chinese (India too) will do in their headlong rush towards modernization, as well as Russia's almost constant environmental mishaps (which directly affect the European continent). That you incorrectly draw from this article (and perhaps others) that Europeans only bash America's polluting ways suggest you really should expand your reading (The Guardian & The Economist, while politically opposed, are good starting points).
Chinese coal mining is European dirty laundry?
If it were, how would that help Appalachia?
I grew up in Southern Illinois too and have family members who are still coal miners, as well as many friends. While SI coal mining took a hit many years ago it's building itself back up again, and that area is highly dependent on those jobs with West Virginians being in the same predicament.
I do support coal mining for the jobs that it creates because I've been surrounded by it my entire life, but I cannot see a point for mountaintop removal mining other than the fact that it may be cheaper to mine (I really don't know, it's nothing that I've ever looked into), which if it were true then it would make since why industry has taken that turn (in WV). Those methods are horribly destroying their surrounding areas and creating large amounts of pollution for their surrounding areas, not to mention creating problems that will last for many years. It's just completely ridiculous that it is still happening.
With most Illinois mining now being done underground, huge longwall mining operations are now going on under the best farmland in the world. The flat land above the mined-out longwall panels subsides like a shallow bathtub, ruining the drainage and the productivity of the land. For a few years worth of electricity from a single power plant, and some jobs, the productivity of thousands of acres of farmland is severely diminished for a long time. Not a good trade off.
our current (no pun intended) electrical life must end at some point...careers are no substitute for life...jobs kill the living world, and must be sacrificed in the name of environmental sanctity...while this opinion is not popular, the survival of all life on this planet is dependent upon choices we make as a species...we have the ability to save or destroy this place, and creating and using electricity, and the infinite number of non-living products that run on it (on their way to the toxic dump), is not working to save the planet...it is destroying the planet...ready to grab the big switch, and turn things off?
Global Start Date: September 22, 2012...let's get those gardens growing!
The absolute difference between the 'Old Europe' and 'Capitalists Paradise' is Culture.
Europe has Culture. Wherever You turn around, there is some remainder of the past.
Culture in Europe means good food, good company and an intact environment.
The US culture is capitalism and militarism, exported to the even most remote areas on the planet.
The argument about 'jobs' is as old as slavery itself. My grampa always said "It is not important WHAT You do, but HOW You do it."
Employees of the MTR industry are as responsible for its devastating impact as the lawmakers who decided that monetary considerations always top considerations of a clean environment and a healthy populace.
For the planet it will be a blessing if Humankind extinguish itself. Therefor it is likely that Earth will support any effort for extinction.
Believe hat You Can Change Your Beliefs.
Obama is just another big-eared neo-con, corporate owned frontman like his immediate predecessor who happens to speak in empty sentences rather than garbled baby talk.
Mr. Biggers.
You should worry about a brainless America.
A question I've never seen answered: How much electricity could be generated using the same energy that is needed to remove a mountaintop?
IOW, what is the net energy gain/loss?
That calculation would have to include the Total Energy Cost of mining the coal, disposing of the "waste" rock, hauling the coal to the power plant, etc.
If you used all the energy from the explosives, fuel, etc. to generate Electricity directly, how much would you Gain/Lose?
the following may help.
Good Morning Kindred Spirits, (for those of you that are not Kindred Spirits ((if any exist)) and would like to become one, the door is always open.
A Kindred Spirit is Love ,Compassion, Justice.
Those of you that posted a comment to this article should go to this previous article (many of you have been there).
article appears in commondreams.org
Title of article: “When Will The Recovery Begin ? Never.
Author: Robert Reich
dated : Friday July 10 2009
In my opinion Mr. Reich’s article describes the existing economic reality.
Sioux Rose, did you miss this article ?
Citizen Central is no longer inert, the momentum has begun.
Here are some answers to the comments directed to Citizen Central by posters (I am not aware of all of them sorry).
yours truly’s post July 11 2009 to Mr. Reich’s article is the approach Citizen Central is taking.
Is Citizen Central a forum? No Citizen Central is a direction action citizens lobby.
Will Citizen Central be a web creation? That would be great if C.C. manifests through the internet.
Why don’t you just create a web site or have someone do it ?. That’s a great idea , we need a web site, I don’t know how to do it, nor do I have the resources. That has to come from one of you .I can explain what the web site needs to do.
C.C. needs an administrator, who’s going to be the administrator, you? No the site will need an administrator, one of you.
Who will design the site, and choose the topics for consideration, you ? As of today I am the project manager, if someone wants to be project manager,
make your case. I am the current project manager someone had to do it, the way C.C. works, the members choose a project manager. When C.C. is created if a new project manager is desired we get one . There are no ego’s involved here.
What is the objective of c.c. ? Okay, within our current political system the only way to manifest our collective desires is to have the numbers.
Congress, the senate and the administration is elected by us the citizens. What we need is a majority of votes in each congresspersons, and senators district. That’s what c.c. does, bring together all the like-minded citizens ,but instead of electing a person to represent us, we elect a person to create laws and policy that we the citizens want . If they do not want to do the citizens business then we have an immediate recall and replace that person with a person that will.
If the elected official always did what the majority wanted then there would be no civil rights etc. I understand your point . However considering the situation at hand ,our elected officials are not representing our best interests, we have to change that , THE ONLY WAY TO CHANGE THAT WITHIN OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM IS TO HAVE A MAJORITY OF VOTERS IN EACH DISTRICT.
What we need right now is a way for the people interested in c.c.to be able to communicate with each other. I am going to post c.c. activity in the post section of the first article that appears on commondreams each day . Hopefully we can come up with an alternative soon.
Sioux Rose , you had mentioned that the administrator of commondreams might help us out, any way of checking on that.
Later on today :
We need to get a web site operational .Until that’s done we are limited.
We need to get every progressive site on board, as well as the general population.
If this statistic is correct , forty percent of American citizens are functionally illiterate, we need to energize that segment of society, by appealing to individuals that these people might trust for their endorsement i.e. actors, athletes, members of specific ethnic groups, religious leaders etc.
Once the opposition becomes aware of c.c. it will definitely turn into a numbers game. Mainstream media will not be very helpful to our cause, the internet and a field organization is probably the most effective way to go.
See you later today.