Perhaps those NIMBY guys were on to something after all...

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/alternative_energy_revolution.jpg

Coal and radioactivity

I was poking around for information for one of my other classes and happened across this article about exposure to nuclear radiation from coal combustion. I haven't read the whole thing, but since it was a new idea to me about the overall impact of coal, I thought I'd share.

http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html

See you all this evening!

So here's another link for you guys. Nothing new in the video, but it's cool to see that it was published on BBC in December.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7770979.stm

Cool map

Hey Guys,
So this doesn't necessarily relate per se, but it reminded me of when we played the game where we had to name oil/coal/natural gas countries and its a kinda cool visualization.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/12/oilmap.jpg

Interesting Reading on the future of Coal

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/9/1201/93022/473/657536

Helen's Next Blog Post

Feedback/Suggestions:
I am learning a lot about the area, which is good, but I'm not really clear on how I am going to be applying this knowledge. For example, last class (and the reading) made "King Coal" seem sinister and also pretty impossible to defeat, like in the court cases. So how can people like me apply what they know if such an obstacle is in the way? Even if King Coal was dying out, how could wind power (for example) step in to take his place? Are people even thinking about that as an option for real? I suppose everything will become more clear on the actual trip or in later classes, but right now it feels like insurmountable forces of History/Economy are shaping events in Appalachia. Maybe I shouldn't think about this right after reading about Communist theories of History...

I think Suejung's suggestions are great, especially snacks! But seriously, one thing we did in a class I took was each week someone singed up to bring in a snack and also a "self box" which was just a bag/box of stuff that represented them or their life experiences. We could do something similar where people sign up to do a really quick presentation on themselves in some way (and also bring snacks?).

Reaction to MTR class, Suggestions for future classes/Feedback on class so far

Hi everyone,

Hope the weekend is going well. We learned a lot about mountaintop removal the last class. I think everyone knows it's terrible, but for some reason it continues... Have you guys ever seen the movie Ferngully? Massey Energy kind of reminds me of the villain in that, lol. I'd be interested to see if the guys in charge of that are really as one-dimensional and outright evil as they're portrayed. 

For future classes, it'd be nice to have more discussions around the table about opinions or debatable topics with insight from people's varied backgrounds. I think that'd help us not only get to know each other better, but also help us learn about what's going on in the world and how that compares to what's going on in Appalachia. 

Also, snacks would be nice! :P Maybe we could have a sign-up system heheh

Cheers,

Suejung