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