Author: Nick Mullins
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Coalfield Gentrification Brings New Challenges and Hope
Gentrification can make life harder for locals already facing adversity in Appalachia’s coalfields. It could also bring new hope.
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TECO Coal
Chances are, if you live in the coal producing counties of East Kentucky and Southwest Virginia, you’ve heard of TECO Coal. Most folks around here pronounce it Teek-Oh. TECO stands for Tampa Electric Company, a major utility/electrical supplier to the Tampa Bay area and central Florida. TECO operated in the region since the the 1970s…
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Thoughts of a Coal Miner Returns
Some folks may have noticed I took the blog down last year. Given the site stats, I’m guessing not many did. Site analytics showed that it was averaging one or two visits per week. The same was true with social media with Facebook posts averaging only five or six interactions at most. It appeared, for…
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Can We Change? Will We Change?
It’s no secret that I’ve become a bit of a cynic. Read some of my previous posts, and you’ll see I have a lot to say about the failures of environmental organizations, academics, and, well…the whole socioeconomic system we live in. I’ve stated many times that it’s become hard for me to find hope. After…
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It’s Not a Left or Right Thing. It’s a Money Thing.
I believe that most people in this nation agree there is too much money in politics. Robin Williams once said that “Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like Nascar drivers. Then we know who owns them.” So why aren’t people doing something about it? The U.S. government is supposed to be a government for the people,…
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Thoughts on writing, privilege, scholarly activism, and the future of Appalachia
I popped over to Ken Ward’s blog Coal Tattoo and noticed he hadn’t written anything in almost a year and a half. I know the feeling. My last post broke a nearly one-year dry spell, and even then, I hadn’t posted more than maybe five times in a few years. While I can’t speak for…
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Dear Trump Supporters…
I wanted to take a moment to speak with everyone regarding Trump. Life’s been tough in rural America. It always has been. We’ve been the ones who built this country. The food that was put on the plates of our founding fathers was grown by the hands of the working people (or slaves when thinking…
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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,…
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Appalachia’s Coalfields Weren’t Always Red
Since the last presidential election, I’ve witnessed a near constant stream of ridicule against Appalachian people who voted for Trump, “They are getting what they deserve,” “They had a choice and they chose a lying bigot,” “They screwed us all.” I have even been told “We don’t have time to deal with them (Trump voters).…
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Stereotyping Appalachians Feeds Only the Coal Industry
Trump won the vote in Appalachia because people are tired of being looked down upon. Considering the work of powerful industry interests, a century’s worth of negative stereotyping, and culturally insensitive protests against coal—a source of people’s pride, heritage, and income—it’s not difficult to understand how.
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A Few Thoughts on Climate Change
Let’s face it…climate change has become so heavily politicized in coal country that it’s nearly impossible to have an intelligent conversation about it. If people even get so much as a whiff that someone is an “environmentalist” they might as well save their breath. I myself have been accused of being a liberal environmentalist, a…