Year: 2018
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Some Things Worth Remembering on National Miner’s Day
While it is certainly important to lift up those who provide the energy and materials necessary for others to enjoy their comforts and conveniences, we must be careful not to allow specific organizations to use this holiday as a way to spread good PR about their . I am speaking of course, about mining companies,…
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A Letter to J.D. Vance
Dear Mr. Vance, I read your book Hillbilly Elegy last year. Actually, my family and I listened to it as a free trial on Audible while traveling back and forth to visit my grandfather in the hospital. He was a career coal miner by the way. Several friends and colleagues had advised me not to…
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The Love-Hate Relationship of Exporting Appalachian Coal
Since the fall of the steel industry in this country, the majority of Appalachia’s metallurgical coal reserves have been going overseas. Some goes to Europe to foundries producing highly engineered, high quality products. Most ends up in China and India where companies can get by with minimal pollution controls and low wages among people with…
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The Only Way Out for Appalachia’s Coalfields
The boom and bust cycles of coal markets have always worked to the advantage of coal companies more than Appalachian communities. In some of Central Appalachia’s coal-producing counties, over 90% of the mineral rights are owned by absentee owners—owners who manipulate local and state governments to keep property taxes low on their holdings. When markets…
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Exploiting Appalachia’s Heroes
Since I left the mines and joined the ranks of people fighting for justice in our world, I’ve met many people who I consider to be honest-to-God heroes. They are the local organizers who rose up in their own communities and sacrificed nearly everything to do what was right. They are the faces of truth,…