More on Boucher’s Energy Plan
Brian January 4th, 2007
The Kingsport Times is reporting here on Congressman Boucher’s energy plan and his new position as chairman of a House Energy Subcommittee.
Specifically, the article addresses the Congressman’s plan to push legislation that would decrease America’s reliance on oil and increase our need for coal (especially coal from Southwest Virginia).
Other bloggers on the right, not surprisingly from areas outside the Coalfields, have continuously criticized Congressman Boucher’s plans to boost the economy in the Coalfields and help break our addiction to Middle East oil. This issue should not be about Republican vs. Democrat.
Attacking Congressman Boucher on this issue is like saying dependence on foreign oil and poverty in the Coalfields are good things.
In the article, the Congressman said, “[w]e have a 250-year reserve of coal, and coal is very important to the economy of this region. It can be converted into a liquid fuel with a technology that is well-known to power cars and trucks[.]”
I sincerely hope that those on the right - bloggers, legislators, and voters - will put aside partisanship to unite behind Congressman Boucher’s effort to make America a little more dependent on Southwest Virginia and a little less on the Middle East.
What a joke Brian. Boucher is no particular friend of the coal industry. Never has been. It has taken him how many years in office to now say he wants to support the mining of coal? I don’t buy it. I am not holding my breath for him to change.
Amusing. You cite yourself when referring to those webloggers on the right - and we know which one you mean - who find Boucher’s energy plan detrimental to Southwest Virginia’s interests. Especially its poor and disadvantaged.
You are certainly entitled to that opinion, but I would just encourage you to give his plan the benefit of the doubt. I think it will be very good for the Coalfields.
Actually I am citing to a post in which I say one specific blogger on the right is completely wrong in his criticism of the Congressman.
Its one thing to have a differing opinion, but when faced with evidence to the contrary - such as reports from economists and other elected officials - one must then proffer further evidence which rebuts the prior.
Nothing, to my knowledge, has been produced to prove the incorrect assertions which were rebutted in that post.
Making our nation more dependent on Appalachia’s Coal is no joke, Kilo. On the contrary, pushing to make the United States even more dependent on exploitative energy sources (particularly our own) is both cruel and disgraceful. Boucher should not be supporting the continue destruction of Southwestern Virginia, but instead move to aid the region to pull out of its long history of poverty and exploitation by decreasing our dependence on the coal mining industry. Which, by the way, will not last 25 years, much less 250, with modern strip mining practices that are destined to completely tear up the region within a decade.
Brian - I love reading your blog, and generally agree with you on many of the issues. As a former SWVA gal who still has family there, I like to hear about things happening there. However, this time I can’t totally agree with you, nor with Mr. Boucher. I dearly wish we as a nation *could* stop depending on foreign oil, but I wish just as much that the Appalachian region could stop depending on King Coal for jobs and money. Coal is not long-term thinking. No way should anyone who really cares about the long-term future of SWVA support increased coal production so long as practices like mountaintop removal mining are still legal. Huge areas in southern West Virgina and Kentucky are being rendered permanently useless and even outright dangerous to the people living there. Is this what we want to happen to Virgina, too? I remember when strip mining started happening when I was a kid - and places like Grundy started just washing away when the rain came, ‘cos there was no dirt on the strip cuts to hold the rain. They moved Grundy, but they can’t move every place, and even if they did, would we want what was left? At least shaft mines can be cleaned up and the hills over them are still pretty and even can be used for logging or farming. I know this ‘cos I grew up on top of a SWVA mountain with a shaft mine underneath it. But if you whack the tops off down to the rock, what can anyone do for money then? This is just another way for King Coal to exploit people. Shame on Boucher. Isn’t it time to start thinking a different way? What about putting up wind farms on those mountain tops? And contrary to Mr. Fuhrman’s blog post, trails like the Creeper Trail have brought a TON of economic growth to the places where they have gone in. Why not put in a nice big park and trail system near Norton, or Dante, or Clintwood, or Richlands?
If anybody reading this blog is interested in working on strip-mining issues–namely stopping the harmful means of extraction in favor of less destructive mining and more sustainable economic options, please contact me at hannah(at)mountainlinksappalachia.org or SAMS@riseup.net
A group called the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards is taking a definitive stance against strip-mining in Southwestern Virginia and always welcomes new members and support.
Wish they’d put a park in where the 2nd JennMar is now (Wardell IP). Ruins my view and will drop my property value like a rock (pun barely intended)
While the Board of Supv. & IDA and Econ. folks were shopping for a final (?) business there, residential occupancy was growing rapidly in the area; something the Board etc seemed not to notice as they gave away our quality of life for 70 jobs. Of course, Jennmar is heavily dependent on underground mining. Has anyone noticed how cozy Jennmar is with China? Their new project manager here denied that they imported Chinese steel. Now! What’s a girl to believe? hmmmmm….not much.