Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
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118 connections<br />
forests <strong>to</strong> absorb rainwater, fl ash fl oods are a normal occurrence.<br />
A three-inch rain can become a ten-foot wall <strong>of</strong> water cascading<br />
<strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> fl attened mountains and down <strong>the</strong> hollows. The mining<br />
industry calls <strong>the</strong>se “acts <strong>of</strong> God” and public <strong>of</strong>fi cials—thoroughly<br />
bought or intimidated or both—agree, leaving <strong>the</strong> victims with<br />
no recourse. Groundwater is contaminated by coal slurry and <strong>the</strong><br />
chemicals used <strong>to</strong> make coal suitable for utilities. Well water is so<br />
acidic that it dissolves pipes and plumbing fi xtures. Cancer rates<br />
are <strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> charts, but few <strong>of</strong>fi cials in Charles<strong>to</strong>n or Washing<strong>to</strong>n<br />
notice. Coal companies are major buyers <strong>of</strong> politicians, and <strong>the</strong><br />
head <strong>of</strong> Massey Energy, Donald Blankenship, has been known <strong>to</strong><br />
spend lots <strong>of</strong> money <strong>to</strong> buy precisely <strong>the</strong> kind <strong>of</strong> representatives<br />
he likes—<strong>the</strong> sort who can accommodate <strong>the</strong>mselves <strong>to</strong> exploitation<br />
<strong>of</strong> land and people and <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>i ts <strong>to</strong> be made from it. His<br />
campaign <strong>to</strong> ravage <strong>the</strong> rest <strong>of</strong> West Virginia has <strong>the</strong> Rovian title<br />
“For <strong>the</strong> Sake <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Kids.”<br />
Pauline and Carol from <strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>wn <strong>of</strong> Sylvester, both in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
seventies, are known as <strong>the</strong> “dust busters” because <strong>the</strong>y go around<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>wn wiping down fl at surfaces with white cloths that are covered<br />
with coal dust from a nearby loading facility. These are presented<br />
at open hearings as evidence <strong>of</strong> foul air <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> irritated and<br />
unmovable servants <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> people. Black lung and silicosis disease<br />
are now common among young and old alike who are exposed<br />
<strong>to</strong> dust from surface operations but who have never set foot in a<br />
mine. They have little or no voice in government; <strong>the</strong>y are considered<br />
<strong>to</strong> be expendable. Pauline, a fi ercely eloquent woman, whose<br />
husband was wounded and captured by <strong>the</strong> Germans in <strong>the</strong> Battle<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bulge in 1944, rhe<strong>to</strong>rically asks, “Is this what he fought<br />
for?” The clock reads 9:30 p.m., and we quit for <strong>the</strong> day.<br />
To permanently destroy millions <strong>of</strong> acres <strong>of</strong> Appalachia in order<br />
<strong>to</strong> extract maybe 20 years’ worth <strong>of</strong> coal representing perhaps<br />
3 percent <strong>of</strong> our national coal use is a form <strong>of</strong> insanity at a scale<br />
that I cannot adequately describe. As a nation we have so far lacked<br />
<strong>the</strong> compassion and good sense <strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p it, and all <strong>the</strong> talk about