Thursday, January 8, 2009

Hey everybody,

Like Anna, I've never written a blog post before (in English. We used to do them in Spanish class in high school sometimes).

My question is inspired by the State game we played in class. If Appalachia stretches over all that area, how do the energy resources vary? There must be a lot of variation between regions, right? How will that affect the ability to find alternative, green energy sources? Or, is there one specific region of Appalachia that represents what one typically thinks of as Appalachia? If not, are we just focusing on one region, and if so, why?

I really don't know very much about how coal specifically harms the environment, and how it specifically influences the community in Appalachia (I only have a general idea), so I definitely look forward to learning more about that. What I'm most excited about though, is learning how alternative energy sources in the area could help alleviate dependence on coal.

-Helen

1 comment:

  1. Helen-

    Great point. Appalachia is so huge that it is impossible to generalize about the entire region. Where we will be going--as you will see in the next couple weeks--is the heart of coal country, where coal is more important to the economy than anywhere else in the US. Though the ARC defines Appalachia broadly, the word Appalachia usually connotes the WV-KY-VA-TN-PA region we are visiting. There is a reason you all had some trouble figuring out just which states are in Appalachia. Think about it this way. The ARC was created by government mandate. It was in their interest to define Appalachia as broadly as possible, so as to receive the most funding. Therefore areas of the country, such as parts of AL and MS, are included that generally face very different development issues than the places we will be visiting.

    As to coal's environmental impact--we'll cover that plenty.

    Sam

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