This weekend, I took a trip with a handful of faculty members and a gaggle of students to Coal River Mountain. Specifically, we stayed on Kayford Mountain. Kayford Mountain is a protected mountain owned by the late Larry Gibson. When we arrived, we were greeted by Elise who is currently running an amazing organization called Keeper of the Mountains Foundation. She warned us that the area was inherently dangerous. It is dangerous for several reasons. First, it sounds like a war zone. There are explosives going off every few days which is common practice as a means to blow the tops off of mountains. Second, there are big cracks in the mountains as a result of these practices that can be covered by leaves. It is easier than you think to disappear into one of these cracks. Finally, and this cannot be overstated, there is a literal war between the coal companies and their employees and the folks who are trying to save these mountains.
It is pretty easy to emerge from a weekend in these mountains and be deeply moved and incredibly troubled by what is happening there. The situation is complicated. It's complicated because while it makes absolute sense that we as a society need to 1. stop blowing the tops off of mountains and 2. need to stop burning fossil fuels, it is also the case that there are very impoverished people who rely on this industry to live. We have become accustomed to a lifestyle in which we take our electricity for granted. It is certainly the case that coal companies purposefully hold the West Virginian economy hostage to create desperate people who will endorse a practice that is literally killing them because there is LITERALLY no other economy in the region. And it is absolutely the case that city folks owe a great deal to everyone involved: pro- and anti-coal folks. The reality is, we need to consume less and transition to a renewable energy economy.
Here's the story: We went to learn about mountaintop removal coal mining. We learned of it from the perspective of local activists who are trying to stop it. These are local folks whose mountains (their homes) are being blown to bits. Local folks who are breathing coal-laced air. Local folks who are drinking contaminated water. Yet, in the course of our stay, we were also confronted by other locals who are feeling the crunch. You see, coal consumption is down in the US (though lots of Appalachian coal is now being exported to China and India). The overall decline in coal consumption is putting prominent coal companies in danger and is threatening the livelihoods of coal miners in the region. Coal miners are feeling this pinch (though it is rarely the case that CEOs take the hit). They are nervous and have no other skills. So, a bunch of coal folks called Friends and Families for Coal confronted us on the mountain. They escorted us to the interstate and threatened the life of the local activist hosting us.
What we have here is the "eternal" dilemma - pitting short-term survival against long-term survival. Why? Because our political leaders are thoroughly owned by energy companies. I believe, over time, that we can wrestle our economy back from these folks. But large social processes take years to change. And we don't have years. This is a social movement that can't afford to be patient and I'm worried we're already too late to reverse the practices that are threatening the capacity for humans to live on this earth. I'm deeply troubled and very sad. I'm trying to muddle through the complexity of this situation to figure out how to be a responsible ally to these frontline communities all the while understanding how to be supportive of folks who are trying to feed their families. There are no easy answers.
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