Positive Aspects of Mountaintop Removal Mining

                Mountaintop removal is a very controversial issue, especially in the Appalachia regions. Even though disputed, mountaintop removal can be beneficial for several reasons.

                For starters, mountaintop removal mining is safer and more efficient than other underground mining techniques. Instead of sending miners inside of mountains that can collapse, explode from the inside or even suffocate miners, mountaintop removal mining stays on the outside of the mountain and retrieves it from the outside. It’s also more efficient because it’s easier to transport the coal from outside of the mine than extracting it underground and then moving it out. This requires more time, equipment and ultimately, money.

                It seems that the biggest problem with mountaintop removal is the environmental damage that is done to the mountain’s ecosystem. However, nature has been able to adapt to any situation it’s been given and it happens every day. After the operation, the companies in charge are required to restore the site as close to its former state as possible. The illusion that coal companies care nothing for the environment is not true. By law, they are supposed to do their best to restore the mountain to its former glory and most of the companies make a very conscious effort to do so.

                For the people who live in Appalachia, coal is their way of life. Without it, their lives and communities would experience more unemployment and some towns may even start to become abandoned as they have for the past fifty to sixty years. Coal mining is essential for the prosperity of these people by providing funds and making room for public buildings like libraries and schools. It also provides tax revenue for businesses to come in and improve the area economically.  

                Even though the mountaintop removal process may be hard to look at and endure at the beginning and middle stages, the results and effects of mountaintop removal mining benefit many people throughout the region over long periods of time. The mountaintops are restored to their former glory and the local communities benefit economically from it.

Golf course on top of mountaintop removal site.

 

 

http://www.williamsondailynews.com/view/full_story/2466633/article-Officials--Mountain-top-land-useful-after-mining

Support for Miners Essay

Around the turn of the 20^th century, the Industrial Revolution and influx of immigration were dramatically changing the lives of all Americans. The nation was growing and it demanded more power. That’s where coal comes in. During this time, monopolies began to sprout up and take any advantages possible to get ahead. The behavior and reactions of the owners and miners exemplifies the tension the two groups had with each other during this time period. The miners, in this situation, are who I sympathize with because of the dangerous work conditions, poor treatment by owners, and the lack of benefits they deserve in a very dangerous field of work.

                To begin with, the safety and health conditions related to the average coal mine in the early 20^th century were inadequate at best. Perhaps the technology wasn’t all there, but regardless, gas leaks, explosions and roof falls were not unheard of in mining communities. One statistic claims that 1,000 miners died every year around the turn of the century. Coal mining also has dangerous long-term effects. Black lung, a disease caused by long exposure to coal dust, affected scores of miners and still does to this day.

                Next, owners did not treat their workers well, especially for the job miners had to do every day for most of their lives. It’s even been said that donkeys were more valuable than miners because donkeys cost more to replace than human beings! Furthermore, owners did not lend an ear to the miners, unless force was used. This is why strikes like the Anthracite coal strike in Pennsylvania and the Ludlow Massacre in Colorado happened. Federal troops had to be called into Pennsylvania to help calm things down and get a deal settled before the huge demand for coal arrived with winter. The strike at Ludlow turned into more than a peaceful demonstration: company guards, armed with machine guns, and miners fought fiercely. In the end, when President Woodrow Wilson sent troops to the scene, 40 people were dead, including women and children, and many others wounded. Even though miners would win in the end of both strikes, they did not come easily.

                Finally, miners received nothing besides their normal wages in any situation, including worker’s compensation, sick days or vacation days. Benefits were not around then. If a miner were to get injured on the job, which was common, he didn’t receive extra money or time off to have medical treatment or recovery time. The situation is the same if he was to fall ill and couldn’t work. If you didn’t work, you didn’t get paid, no matter what the reason. The miners, who had one of the most dangerous jobs in America at the time, had to start from square one to be eligible for the benefits they deserved.

                If someone were to look back at the history of coal mining in the United States, he or she would be very appreciative of the rights that workers in all fields can appreciate today. Even though owners were in charge of their own company, the workers were, and still are today, the force behind its business. This is something that the monopolies and millionaires learned the hard way through strikes and worsening public opinion. In the end, miners have played a huge role in achieving the average worker in America the rights and liberties he or she deserves.

Coal Camp Blog Post

Location/Coalfield

 

The site is located in the Winding Gulf coal field in Wyoming County in southern West Virginia.

 

Demographics

 

As of the 2010 census, 1,559 people live in town. The town has a good balance between older and younger residents, with the median age being about 42 years old, but it leans more on the side of being an older community.

 

Coal Companies in Town

 

-Whitesville A&S Coal Company

- Elite Consulting Company

 

Important Dates

-          1912: Mullens founded

-          1929: W.V. State Legislature grants a charter to Mullens

-          Turn of the Century: Railroads are constructed (Virginia Railway in 1909)

-          Virginia Railway merges with Norfolk and Western Railway (later to be renamed Norfolk Southern)

-          1993: National Register of Historic Places lists the Mullens Historic District.

-          2001: A flash flood devastates the community, forcing many residents and business to leave the struggling town.

JFK on the campaign trail in Mullens, W.V.