Both the book and the session at the conference talked about the questions "Whose side are you on?" This is in relation to the perceived "War On Coal." There is a pro-Coal attitude that exists throughout Central Appalachia. And the advertising (promoted by the coal companies) is everywhere. Just down the road from my house is an office of Coal Mining Our Future. And bumper stickers and signs in shop windows advertise the sentiment as well: Friends of Coal, If you don't like coal then don't use electricity, and more proclaim the opinions of the residents of Eastern Kentucky. And driving through Virginia before the election last fall, the political billboards were out of control. I think the ones I saw the most simply said YES COAL, NO OBAMA. The issue of coal has become a very polarized issue- if you aren't FOR coal, then obviously you are AGAINST it. They mentioned in the session how the term "tree-hugger" is one of the most offensive labels you can put on someone.
One of the points they made in the session was how in order to be a successful organization here in the Coalfields of Eastern Kentucky, you have to try to maintain a position of neutrality on the issue of coal. They talked about their respective organizations- all of which are located in Whitesburg, the next town East of Hazard on Hwy 15.
( And this is where I left off... over 2 months ago. *sorry* Now I will attempt to resume that train of thought )
As a semi-conclusion to above I have decided to adopt the philosophy I saw somewhere- maybe on a bumper sticker or T-shirt? Who knows. But it said something like I (heart) Miners and Mountains.
Since I wrote the first half of this post, I have gained even more perspective on life in the coalfields. Part of this came from 2 days that I spent on mountain top removal sites planting trees. The way that mountain tops are "reclaimed" after they have been strip mined leaves the soil extremely compacted. And the seed mixture that they spread, once it starts to grow, ends up looking like a meadow or a savannah. Nothing like the rich diverse mountain ecology that existed previously. So the group that organizes the plantings has a dozer come in and dig up the soil prior to the planting. Then volunteers plant hundreds of sapling hardwoods, and hope that most of them grow! One of the places that the HDA builds houses is a old MTR (mountain top removal) site that was reclaimed for the purpose of affordable housing. So we have been able to build about 20-25 homes so far on that flat stretch of land. Unfortunately, the wind can get very strong up there since there aren't any trees to slow it down.
Also, I finished reading Lost Mountain (by, Erik Reece). This, by the way, is a book I would highly recommend! Coincidentally, just as I finished reading in the book about Elaine Chao, former Secretary of Labor under President Bush and wife of our Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, she came to be the keynote speaker at our local Civic Night in Hazard! Both Mitch and Elaine are very pro-coal, and the book sheds some interesting light on some of their political happenings... but I won't spoil the surprise. And Civic Night turned interesting when the five AmeriCorps in Hazard (or AmeriFive, if you will) were all given awards for their "Caring Spirit and Outstanding Service" to Hazard and Perry County. It was a great honor and very accepting and gracious of our local community to acknowledge us in that way. So if any of you are reading this- Thank You!
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