"It's like we're living in a war zone"

Mine wars come in different forms. In the late 19th and early 20th century they were often shooting wars. But as Jeff Biggers in The Nation reports, coal operators are now waging an environmental war against West Virginians. Mountaintop removal mining is often the preferred method for coal operators because it's cheaper to perform than underground mining. That is until one calculates the health and environmental costs.

Mountaintop Removal Mining - Hardly a benign practice.

Biggers writes on a recent study by West Virginia University researcher Michael Hendryx: "'The coal industry generates a little more than $8 billion a year in economic benefits for the Appalachian region,' but the researchers also estimated the cost of premature mining-related deaths across the Appalachian coalfields at a yearly average of $42 billion.'"

The all too common corporate practice of privatizing profits while socializing cost is quite apparent here. Biggers also underscores the odious and cozy relationship between the coal industry and government officials. Even in the face of the overwhelming evidence of the harmful effects of this mountaintop removal, state and federal government officials have been slow to protect the public, and others, like West Virginia Democratic Representative Nick Rahall have worked aggressively to protect the coal operators' interests.

The Charleston Gazette's Ken Ward is also cited in Bigger's article and I encourage you follow his blog, Coal Tatoo for excellent reporting on this issue.

Finally, Jeff Biggers is the author of a new book, Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland, forthcoming from Nation Books and available for pre-order. I look forward to reviewing that book here soon.