Massey Energy sets the standard for the kind of reckless, union-busting, corner-cutting mentality that has put workers and communities in Central Appalachia at constant risk of danger and death. Singularly, as bad as his leadership was, Don Blankenship was never the only problem. He was the product of an entire coal culture that puts executive profits and cost-cutting ahead of worker safety, economic diversification, human health, Appalachian culture, ecologic integrity, and America’s energy future. We’re not sad to see Don Blankenship go, but his example of corruption and community endangerment should be a clear example of why the Appalachian people need the help of Congress and the President to end practices like mountaintop removal immediately.
Lowell Feld has a great piece up at Blue Virginia, and Ken Ward has more at Coal Tattoo.
Last night saw the United States Congress go through its 3rd straight “change” election, this time in favor of the Republicans. As bad as last night was for many incumbent Democrats, most pundits and pollsters had seen it coming for a long time. Almost all of the folks who lost their races were predicted to lose, with Republicans perhaps very marginally over-preforming expectations. Many folks have asked what this means for Congressional efforts to stop the destructive practice of mountaintop removal, so I thought I’d put up a quick summary.
One of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd’s last public statements was that a 
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency took a historic step to protect Appalachian communities from the devastating effects of a mountaintop removal coal mine. After months of consideration, EPA’s Region 3 office announced its recommendation to 
The great folks at 
Great news on the legislative front! Last week, by 
The “Rural Star” program will allow rural electric cooperatives to offer low-interest micro-loans to residential and small business customers who undertake energy-saving retrofit and structural improvements. Because efficiency products are primarily manufactured in the United States, and installation work requires local labor, the bill is expected to significantly bolster American manufacturing and construction industries. 
One of my favorite people to see quoted in the news is the ever-dour NMA mouthpiece Luke Popovich. This guy has a simple job description which reads “Say whatever the coal industry tells you to say.” They even make up the numbers and statistics for him. Easy as pie! However, while we expect that Popovich will happily put on his blinders, collect his check in DC, and spout the nonsense of the day about Appalachia, the incredible thing his how he continually manages to screw up his message. Popovich would be hilarious if he wasn’t using his words to support something as reckless and deadly as mountaintop removal. 
“The effect [of passing the Appalachia Restoration Act] would be fairly devastating because you would see the loss of up to 17,000 jobs…And with those jobs, of course, would be a terrific impact on the communities that coal supports: the candlestick makers, the dry cleaners who all depend on the coal payroll. Then you would have a corresponding impact on the state and local budgets.”
