Over the Labor Day weekend, my partner and I visited areas around Fancy Gap and Hillsville, Virginia. The rolling Appalachian mountains and their beauty always stir a deep ache and longing in my heart. I grew up not that far away, and visiting the mountains was always a favorite way to spend time. I was happy to see that the main road into these communities is still 2 lanes and provides plenty of great views--no interstates yet!
While meditating on the beauty of these mountains as well as my recent shamanic workshop in a local state park, I was reminded of a friend's email about mountaintop removal.
To save money and time, many electricity companies are simply removing the tops of entire mountains to get at the coal. Basically they strip it of all vegetation, blast the hell out of it and then dump the waste in the valleys. No, there isn't any mountaintop removal in that part of Virginia as far as I'm aware, but it disturbs me nonetheless.
Our insatiable appetite for coal and energy leads us to do irreversible things to our planet. Not only are we exhausting irreplaceable resources but we are damaging its beauty. Maybe Fancy Gap and Hillsville are safe now but for how long? If we keep on this current track, is anything off limits?
Check out ILoveMountains.org to learn more on moutaintop removal. You can enter your ZIP code to see the closest coal-fired power plant to where you live ("What's My Connection?") and whether it receives coal taken by moutaintop removal. You can educate yourself about how this process works and its environmental effects, plus legislation that hopes to end this damaging practice.
Image of mountaintop removal in West Virginia.
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