This is not a photo of Coal River Mountain, but a beautiful mountain range never the less.
Generations of my family lived in the mountains and valleys of the Virginias, dating back on paperwork to the early 1770's. When the Civil War occurred, some of my ancestors remained in Virginia, while others remained in West Virginia and lived in the beautiful mountains in and around Nicholas County. My Grandparents had a farm there all their lives until their deaths. I have many relations who still reside in West Virginia and relations who also live in Virginia to this very day.
Several of my Uncles worked in the coal mines. It was a dangerous and dirty job, but they had to work to support their families and put food on the table and other necessities of life. Not all were able to provide for their families by farming, like my Grandparents did. As a result of working in the coal mines, several of them ended up with black lung later in life and other health problems, which are more than likely related to being exposed to the dangers that go along with mining.
West Virginia is a beautiful state. If you have never visited, I would urge you to make it a vacation destination. There is so much natural beauty to see and so many recreational things to do. Camping, fishing, white water rafting on the New River, and if you are a daring soul, there is always bungy jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge.
I lived in West Virginia as a small child, but my Mother preferred to return to her home state of Massachusetts, as that is where her family lived. If I had any say, I would have loved to have grown up in the mountains near the farm where my Grandparents lived. I'm a country girl at heart and have always loved living in the woods, near the rivers and streams and the beautiful mountains, but it wasn't mean to be for me. If I had my way - I'd be there, but I was able to get the next best thing to West Virginia, Maine, which in many ways reminds me so much of wild and wonderful West Virginia.
I have seen the horrors of strip mining and what it does to the land. Peabody Coal, one of the largest coal companies in the United States did a lot of damage in West Virginia and they have spent many years in Arizona, as many of us know, trying all they can, to force the Navajo - the Dine' and the Hopi Traditionals for their ancestral lands. John McCain has supported a bill which will cause the forced removal of the people from their lands and we can be assured, that if he is elected, that will happen.
I recently learned of the community's work to stop the coal company's - Massey Energy's plan to mine almost 10 square miles of mountain top - blasting it to nothing, so they can get coal from the mountain. Profits are bottom line for these companies. Corporate profits, especially. They don't care about the land and the horrific destruction that will occur if they are successful in their plan.
West Virginia is not my home presently, and may never be again, but it's my home in my heart and my ancestors lived, loved and died on this land. We all feel a very strong tie to the land, the mountains and everything that makes West Virginia the beautiful state that it is. We would like to keep it that way and if I can help, just a little, by providing information on my personal website, I am more than glad to do so.
Please read on to learn more about Coal River Mountain and the people who are fighting to save the mountain and the beautiful land. They are working to learn for alternative sources of power and I think they have an excellent idea, that will not be harmful to the land, that will protect the mountains and woods and yet, provide a dependable alternative source of power. There is also a video to view and a petition to sign. Please sign the petition and show your support in any way that you can. Thank you.
Coal River Mountain is one of the last mountains left intact in the beautiful Coal River Valley of West Virginia. However, Massey Energy has plans to mine 6,000+ acres of the mountain - or almost 10 square miles.
Fortunately, there is an alternative to mountaintop removal mining on Coal River Mountain – wind power. This is a unique opportunity to move our nation and the state of West Virginia toward the production of clean energy, and to preserve our nation’s mountains for generations to come.
But first, we need your help! Citizens from the Coal River Valley and across the United States are working together to create healthy jobs for Southern West Virginia, and clean, affordable energy for Appalachia. Let West Virginia officials know that we have a healthier choice for a diversified economy and safer communities in the Coal River Valley.
WIND POWER!Community Voices
This wind farm would:
· Create Jobs 200 local employment opportunities during construction, and 50 permanent jobs during the life of the wind farm. It takes only 27 years for a wind farm to provide a greater number of one-year jobs than the four surface mines combined.
· Create Energy – Provide 440MW of electricity - or enough energy for 150,000 homes – indefinitely, as well as a sustained tax income that could be used for the construction of new schools for the county.
· Create Economic Potential – Allow for concurrent uses of the mountain including harvesting of wild ginseng and valuable forest plants, sustainable forestry, and mountain tourism, as Coal River Mountain is one of West Virginia’s finest mountains.
· Preserve Heritage – Coal River Mountain has provided for the people of the Coal River Valley for generations. A mountaintop removal mine would block residents from the mountain and destroy the lands ancestors once lived on, as well as the family cemeteries they rest in.
· Protect the Land and Community – More than 500,000 acres in West Virginia alone have been destroyed by surface mining. Mountaintop Removal mining buries and poisons drinking water, increases flooding, damages homes and personal property, and devastates wildlife habitat.
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This is not a photo of Coal River Mountain, but a beautiful mountain range never the less.
