What Jeremy talked about in class tonight:
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/india-shopping-for-coal-mines-in-appalachia/?scp=1&sq=india%20coal%20west%20virginia&st=cse
and more about the US exporting
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/business/19coal.html?_r=1
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thoughts on Margot's lecture and on the movie
Thoughts on Margot’s lecture: it was very informative and inspiring. The figures she quoted gave me an excellent overview of the energy situation in America, and suggested how much we are still reliant on fossil fuels and unsustainable forms of development. Her observations on America’s untapped wind and solar potential also made me realize that there is much that can still be done to radically transform our energy situation. I’m definitely considering taking classes in this area in the future.
Thoughts on the movie: I have always enjoyed documentaries – but The Appalachians was without doubt one of the best ones I have watched. It was very well made and intrigued me with its vivid depiction of the Appalachian mountain people, their incredibly rich music, the social, political and economic problems and opportunities that define the region, the environmental problems associated with strip mining and worse, mountain top removal. I loved the country music.
The documentary helped me better appreciate the tensions among the coal industry, the landowners and the environmentalists. Mountain top removal is the perhaps the most cost-effective way to extract coal, but it devastates the mountains. Furthermore, the remedies proposed by the coal companies tend to be superficial – “Reclamation is like putting lip-stick on a corpse”.
At the same time, the coal industry employs many people who would otherwise have been out of work. But the solution should not be to yield to the unions and to expand the coal industry – doing so would only worsen the underlying problem of structural rigidity. With the rise of environmentalism and the development of alternative energy sources, coal has likely become an industry in long-term decline. Instead of hiring more coal workers to solve this unemployment problem, the government can explore several alternatives that instead reduce reliance on the coal industry. For example, emphasize education and vocational training. The less skilled workers may have to work in mines because they do not have the education or vocational background to work elsewhere. This goes hand-in-hand with the development of alternative energy industries in the region to create new kinds of jobs.
I was very touched by the Appalachian people’s attachment to their land – their lives are closely intertwined with the mountains and they deeply cherish the hills they call home. I can’t wait to see the Appalachian mountains for myself!
Thoughts on the movie: I have always enjoyed documentaries – but The Appalachians was without doubt one of the best ones I have watched. It was very well made and intrigued me with its vivid depiction of the Appalachian mountain people, their incredibly rich music, the social, political and economic problems and opportunities that define the region, the environmental problems associated with strip mining and worse, mountain top removal. I loved the country music.
The documentary helped me better appreciate the tensions among the coal industry, the landowners and the environmentalists. Mountain top removal is the perhaps the most cost-effective way to extract coal, but it devastates the mountains. Furthermore, the remedies proposed by the coal companies tend to be superficial – “Reclamation is like putting lip-stick on a corpse”.
At the same time, the coal industry employs many people who would otherwise have been out of work. But the solution should not be to yield to the unions and to expand the coal industry – doing so would only worsen the underlying problem of structural rigidity. With the rise of environmentalism and the development of alternative energy sources, coal has likely become an industry in long-term decline. Instead of hiring more coal workers to solve this unemployment problem, the government can explore several alternatives that instead reduce reliance on the coal industry. For example, emphasize education and vocational training. The less skilled workers may have to work in mines because they do not have the education or vocational background to work elsewhere. This goes hand-in-hand with the development of alternative energy industries in the region to create new kinds of jobs.
I was very touched by the Appalachian people’s attachment to their land – their lives are closely intertwined with the mountains and they deeply cherish the hills they call home. I can’t wait to see the Appalachian mountains for myself!
Tina's Third Post
I found the history of the Appalachian area really interesting. It was helpful to see pictures the old mining towns with the company store. I never really thought about the different racially segregated camps until the video. It was interesting that the companies would tell lies about each camp so that they would not necessarily get along. The coal companies knew that this would prevent unionizing. Overall, I appreciated a deeper look into the lives of these people in the past and how it has shaped our perception of them today. As I said in class, I still wonder how the young people feel about their hometown. It is easy for a documentary to portray the region in a good light in the sense that it is a much older, wilderness, place with country music and a great sense of home. However, I would like, for myself, to talk to these people to see how they think.
In addition, I wonder what people in this area think about the future of the region. Yes, coal will continue to be an important part of the electricity mix for years to come. However, unless carbon capture and sequestration takes off, coal is still an environmental concern and a climate change hazard. Some forward thinking governors, like in Arkansas, have thought about turning their states more into renewable energy. I wonder if there is any thought in the future about how to improve the region’s economy to eventually phase out coal.
-Tina
In addition, I wonder what people in this area think about the future of the region. Yes, coal will continue to be an important part of the electricity mix for years to come. However, unless carbon capture and sequestration takes off, coal is still an environmental concern and a climate change hazard. Some forward thinking governors, like in Arkansas, have thought about turning their states more into renewable energy. I wonder if there is any thought in the future about how to improve the region’s economy to eventually phase out coal.
-Tina
Environmental Service Opportunities in the Area?
Hey! We all like the environment! We all like service!
Does anyone know any opportunities in this area that are environmentally related? It can be as simple as planting trees (I really want to plant something) or teaching kids about recycling. I want to get involved, and I know lots of other people that would like to as well. Or we could do something as a group, or not if everyone's schedules are too out of whack.
If you all have any ideas please let me know! Either on here or in class
See y'all soon
Helen
Does anyone know any opportunities in this area that are environmentally related? It can be as simple as planting trees (I really want to plant something) or teaching kids about recycling. I want to get involved, and I know lots of other people that would like to as well. Or we could do something as a group, or not if everyone's schedules are too out of whack.
If you all have any ideas please let me know! Either on here or in class
See y'all soon
Helen
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Thoughts on the documentary
The movie was very informative and entertaining, not to mention, had an excellent soundtrack. The most fascinating things I found out from the movie were the demographics of Appalachia; I had no idea that it was ever an immigrant or black destination. One often hears about both groups in the context of urban migration and immigration, not mining company towns. I had also never heard about the racial tensions that existed in corporate mining towns, or that companies even promoted it, but it makes a lot of sense. I've read a bit about the same situations in factories in Chicago and other manufacturing cities across America around the same time. My question is how internal relations in former coal towns work now; whether much of the same population from the 19th and early 20th century remains, and whether they have integrated since the decline of the coal mining industry.
The second portion of the film I found interesting was the focus on music. I had no idea that "country" music originated in Appalachia; thinking about Appalachia in this context makes me think that what many Americans consider a backward part of the country has been one of the most artistically influential in American culture. So much of what is distinctively American in music can be attributed to Appalachia. However, as the documentary reminds us, perhaps nothing really is truly America. After all, country music arose out of Scottish, Irish, and African influences. That is a true wonder, how unexpectedly inclusive something like music can be.
The second portion of the film I found interesting was the focus on music. I had no idea that "country" music originated in Appalachia; thinking about Appalachia in this context makes me think that what many Americans consider a backward part of the country has been one of the most artistically influential in American culture. So much of what is distinctively American in music can be attributed to Appalachia. However, as the documentary reminds us, perhaps nothing really is truly America. After all, country music arose out of Scottish, Irish, and African influences. That is a true wonder, how unexpectedly inclusive something like music can be.
Two posts/No easy answers
Hey Guys!
I'm catching up on blog posts, too. I really enjoyed Margot's lecture last week; she was fun to listen to because she clearly really knew her stuff but also had interesting facts that I hadn't hought about before. (Like the Dakotas etc.)
I felt like watching the movie gave us a lot of new information about the Appalachian area to process. The most interesting part for me was learning about the way that the major coal mines succeeded in completely screwing over the local economies. The movie made it seem like the blame for poverty lay almost entirely in the hands of these companies, so I'd be interested to think more about this: did anything else contribute to it? Why is it that Appalachia didn't recover as easily as other areas faced with similar issues have? Is it because the economics of coals been such a roller coaster ride and the economy in the area has been tied almost solely to coal for so long? Another thing I found interesting was when the movie talked about how the people in Appalachia hated it when the public eye turned to the area with LBJ and JFK, and was thinking about how this adds to the complexity of the issue. The more we learn the more complex this issue seems to become. The biggest, glaring, and unsolvable question being how the economy in the area can be strengthened if the country is to transition away from coal--their major resource? What would be the best policies to help the area without seeming like it is out of pity and offending some?
In terms of preconceived notions, I'd say the thing I'd heard of most about Appalachia was the extreme poverty coupled with a lack of education, which makes it hard for the area to lift itself out of rural poverty.
Also, heres an article on coal you guys might be interested in:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/opinion/23fri3.html?emc=eta1
I'm catching up on blog posts, too. I really enjoyed Margot's lecture last week; she was fun to listen to because she clearly really knew her stuff but also had interesting facts that I hadn't hought about before. (Like the Dakotas etc.)
I felt like watching the movie gave us a lot of new information about the Appalachian area to process. The most interesting part for me was learning about the way that the major coal mines succeeded in completely screwing over the local economies. The movie made it seem like the blame for poverty lay almost entirely in the hands of these companies, so I'd be interested to think more about this: did anything else contribute to it? Why is it that Appalachia didn't recover as easily as other areas faced with similar issues have? Is it because the economics of coals been such a roller coaster ride and the economy in the area has been tied almost solely to coal for so long? Another thing I found interesting was when the movie talked about how the people in Appalachia hated it when the public eye turned to the area with LBJ and JFK, and was thinking about how this adds to the complexity of the issue. The more we learn the more complex this issue seems to become. The biggest, glaring, and unsolvable question being how the economy in the area can be strengthened if the country is to transition away from coal--their major resource? What would be the best policies to help the area without seeming like it is out of pity and offending some?
In terms of preconceived notions, I'd say the thing I'd heard of most about Appalachia was the extreme poverty coupled with a lack of education, which makes it hard for the area to lift itself out of rural poverty.
Also, heres an article on coal you guys might be interested in:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/opinion/23fri3.html?emc=eta1
A note on the readings
Just a note as you read the second reading: We will be visiting Pike County, KY and Boone County, WV - the areas where coal has the most economic impact.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)