A scene right out of ‘Atlas Shrugged’ in Birmingham, Alabama

[MillCreek]

Oh no - all of mine comes from bird-killing windmills     

I am proud to say that mine comes from salmon-grinding hydroelectric dams!

[Monkeyleg]

Mine comes from a nuclear reactor that turns sparrows into pterodactyls, and allows me to use a glass of tap water as a flashlight.

[erictank]

Mine comes from a nuclear reactor that turns sparrows into pterodactyls, and allows me to use a glass of tap water as a flashlight.

I used to get my power from one of those - when I worked at such a place - but I moved and now I'm pretty sure my local power purveyor burns dirty black rocks to push electrons through the wires.

I could be wrong, though, they might be burning petroleum derivatives of some kind.

[mtnbkr]

When it comes to mines and mining companies, it does behoove one to give their requests the ol' hairy eyeball.  I did a bit of digging using links from Rooster's article and kept following links from there.  It looks like they want to operate a strip mine.

The EPA and the mining company say it can be done safely.  Saying it can and actually doing it are two different things.  Mining companies have a history of acting in their own best interests to the detriment of the communities they operate within.  Even when they do things right, their mines can be detrimental to the locale. 

Not an exhaustive list, but just a couple examples I found with a quick google search:
Slurry impoundment flood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Creek_Flood

Revisting The Appalachian Coalfield: http://www.deepdownfilm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=86%3Arevisiting-the-appalachian-coalfield&catid=43%3Ageneral&Itemid=87

There are more than 713 coal refuse impoundments in the United States, most in West Virginia and Kentucky. In 1972 the bulkhead of one such coal waste lake broke, releasing millions of gallons of black, poisonous slurry down Buffalo Creek Hollow, killing 125 people, injuring more than 1,000, and leaving 4,000 homeless. On October 11, 2000, in Inez, Martin County, Kentucky, a Massey Energy coal impoundment broke through the ground, flooding a worked-out mine below and pouring 250 million gallons of slurry into the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River. The river flooded over its banks, covering backyards and local roads, ruining property, killing the fish, and contaminating community water supplies for 30 miles. More than 900 feet in height and permitted to hold more than 8 billion gallons of coal slurry, the Brushy Fork impoundment near the town of Whitesville has been listed as a "high hazard potential" by the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

I'm not saying they shouldn't be allowed to mine or that the protesters don't have ulterior motives, but I'm not sure I'd side with the Mine based on what I saw in that article. 

Chris

[makattak]

I grew up in Illinois across the Illinois river from an area that had been strip mined.

You should see it, hundreds of duck ponds/lakes full of hunting and fishing. Boy, they RAVAGED that land.

[mtnbkr]

I grew up in Illinois across the Illinois river from an area that had been strip mined.

You should see it, hundreds of duck ponds/lakes full of hunting and fishing. Boy, they RAVAGED that land.

You're lucky.  I've seen places that didn't get that treatment.  The point is, folks should be wary of mining operations.  The jobs are needed, the coal is needed, but the damage done *can* be permanent.  A little money isn't much solace if your house is washed away or sinks into the ground or your drinking water is poisoned by chemicals leaching from impoundment ponds.  It never hurts to ask questions and make sure the appropriate controls (with negative feedback mechanisms if said controls aren't utilized) are in place.

But I'm just a patchouli-smelling tree hugger that way.

Chris

[MechAg94]

First, I am not saying we should not be wary.  I was thinking of raft of people mentioned in the OP who were universally blaming the mine for every bad thing their lives with no proof and everyone in the room who isn't an idiot knows it is BS.  Those people should be told to sit down and shut up until they have something useful to say.  Stuff like that wastes time which should be spent dealing with the actual pollution issues.


I work in chemical plants.  I do think the environmental enforcement and permitting process is a good thing.  I do think people should pay attention.  In this industry at least, things have improved a very great deal in the last 30 or 40 years as air permitting and spill control and clean up have improved a great deal. 

[roo_ster]

I am proud to say that mine comes from salmon-grinding hydroelectric dams!

At least you don;t have to eat your salmon paste raw.