Clean Coal, Flat Mountains and Ostriches

Mountain Top Mining in Appalachia

Yesterday evening, after seeing yet another friend post this, I went ahead and signed the petition to stop mountain top mining on Gauley Mountain.

Gauley Mountain In Relation to the New and Gauley Rivers.

As I was filling out the comments, it occurred to me that, while mountain top mining brings down mountains and fills headwater streams, you can’t lay all the blame at the feet of the energy companies.  The reality is that as long as there is demand for energy, someone is going to figure out a way to create it.  Better still if the infrastructure is already in place and shown to be effective.

It’s easy to rail against energy corporations like Massey Energy or Arch Coal, but they have an accomplice in the consumer.  As long as we continue our energy consumption habits that we’ve developed over the last several decades, i.e. the demand continues to increase, we can’t expect reliance on fossil fuels to decrease. At the same time, we can’t just jam our heads in the sand and hope it goes away.

The phrases that often enter my mind while thinking about energy issues are “think globally, act locally” and “walk the walk”.  I can’t make anyone change how they consume electricity, natural gas or oil, but I can take steps myself to reduce my use of these things.  The buzz…phrase is “reducing my carbon footprint” followed closely by “carbon neutral“.  I don’t know if I’ll achieve the latter, but I can at least try.

It would seem that the energy are capitalizing on the consumer’s reluctance to change with campaigns such as Clean Coal.  How nice for us if the companies took the lead on making their product less damaging.  Unfortunately the reality is a lot less attractive and the onus still falls on us to use less energy and demand renewable energies.

I decided to search YouTube to see what kind of objective information I could find on clean coal.  Let’s just say that propogandists from both sides of this argument would be pleased by these videos.

It’s easy to become disenchanted by the whole back and forth of who’s right and who’s wrong and who’s distorted the truth.  We become cynical that no one is presenting the whole story and it becomes easier to throw up our hands and say, “forget it. I’ve got my own problems.”

To that I respond:  Do just one thing – change from incandescent to fluorescent lightbulbs, turn off your lights, bike or walk when you can, trade in your gas guzzler for a more efficient car, etc.  Every little bit helps and, who knows, maybe the fact that you can do one thing will encourage you to do more.

There is a bit of hope on a grander scale.  In December, Bank of America made a statement that indicates large corporations may have a conscience after all.  It is possible/likely that other financial institutions will fill the void of financing mountain top mining, but what Bank of America is proposing is sure to open some eyes in the energy sector.

While we are not involved in the energy biz the way Bank of America is, we are looking to make some changes.   We figure that our reliance on the natural resources of southern West Virginia require that we take action to maintain its integrity.  Whitewater rafting in the New River Gorge and on the Gauley wouldn’t be the experience it is if the setting was decimated. Wildwater Expeditions is currently investigating a program that we can implement to do our part in walking the walk as well as educating those with an interest in doing the same.  With a little luck I’ll have the opportunity to walk with you for a little while.