But maybe the TPP and other Citizens United Style Corporate Instruments will help ensure that no corporation is ever held responsible for these ACTS OF GOD.

Very educational.

not one word about how this happened.

You'll see that most folks live about 10-20 feet elevation above a creek or river. There is no natural flat land that isn't flood plain.

All it takes is a really bad rain to start another flood. (Hurley was almost wiped off the map in 2002.)

Grundy, the next town over, was flooded nine times since 1929. They eventually tore down most of the town and blasted a mountain to make flat land.

I was appalled at the destruction evident up almost every small canyon and valley. Felt like I was in Mordor.

That is why I posted this. The real reasons are covered up ..... and guess what? We tax payers have to pay to clean up the mess using FEMA etc. I am not saying that we should not help out our fellow citizens because we always should but don't you think the coal companies should be liable for some of the costs to help rebuild? I do.

The sad thing is that folks living there actually like these mountain top removals, because they generate flat land.

I don't think most folks understand how little flat land there is in most of Appalachia. Roads are scraped into the side of steep mountains, and natural flat land is flood plain (see e.g. the recent flooding.)

Mountain top mining requires about 1/4 of the manpower as underground mining and can get all of a coal seam. With traditional underground mining, about half of the coal is left to hold up the ground above it. More coal=more profit. Less manpower=more profit.

Vote Trump because he'll keep you safe from global warming and other Liberal plots.

I've been following this for years. It's heartbreaking, the destruction of one of America's most beautiful states, all for greed.

"West Virginia is a very rich state", JFK said when campaigning there in Spring, 1960 for the Democratic presidential primary nomination which the Mountain State gave him.

- Winning West Virginia—JFK's Primary Campaign 1960 -



"I would not be where I now am, I would not have some of the responsibilities which I now bear, if it had not been for the people of West Virginia." President John F. Kennedy, June 20, 1963.

More, http://www.jfklibrary.org/Exhibits/Past-Exhibits/Winning-West-Virginia.aspx

The abundant natural resources of central Appalachia have been extracted and plundered with nominal benefit to coal workers and residents for more than a century although the industry has brought great wealth to corporations, many out of state, and their allies including politicians while causing major pollution and damage to the land, people and wildlife.

The practice of mountaintop coal removal described in this article has deformed and altered the terrain and communities enabling even more environmental destruction from events like this recent heavy rainfall flooding, and increasing weather disturbances from climate change. The continued tragedy of reckless and thoughtless exploitation of fossil fuel resources and life for profit at all costs has long been neglected and needs to end.

Critical assistance and urgent efforts are clearly needed to address decades of deteriorating conditions in coal mining areas of West Virginia and Central Appalachia, made even more evident by the current loss of life, property and state of emergency in 45 counties in West Virginia. Actions for remediation in distressed American communities, and calls for economic, social and environmental justice will only happen when major changes begin with our political, economic and social systems and that time appears to be coming.



Destruction from mountaintop coal removal at Kayford Mountain, Kanawha County, West Virginia, 2006.



Severe flooding damage in Wyoming County, West Virginia, 2004.




"The Last Mountain" film, (2010). In the valleys of Appalachia, a battle is being fought over a mountain. It is a battle with severe consequences that affect every American, regardless of their social status, economic background or where they live. It is a battle that has taken many lives and continues to do so the longer it is waged. It is a battle over protecting our health and environment from the destructive power of Big Coal.
The mining and burning of coal is at the epicenter of America’s struggle to balance its energy needs with environmental concerns. Nowhere is that concern greater than in Coal River Valley, West Virginia, where a small but passionate group of ordinary citizens are trying to stop Big Coal corporations, like Massey Energy, from continuing the devastating practice of Mountain Top Removal.



- Maria Gunnoe, awarded community activist and environmental spokesperson from Boone County, WV.

-

- Joe Lovett, founder and exec. director, the Appalachian Center for the Economy and Environment, fights for citizens and communities across West Virginia that have been damaged and polluted by coal companies.

The Last Mountain, 2010 movie.
http://thelastmountainmovie.com/film/

in the Appalachia group?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017388096

?utm_source=Visit%20Southern%20West%20Virginia&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=Company%20Directory

Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory, on top of Potts Mt., in the far SE corner of the state

those rocks you see thrusting skyward are the top of the ridge. the building used to be a fire tower, which it was always called, until they stopped using it.

friends of mine have a farm at the bottom of the mountain, in the valley.
been climbing up there for forty years. you can see a series of ridges and valleys on either side of this spot, ridge after ridge, fading into the distance. I've counted five or six on the clearest days. Hawks, falcons, and eagles simply float by, barely gliding, some so close you feel you could touch them. they ride the currents down these ridge chutes several times a year. simply amazing

here's an OK site that gives some details, even though they got the name of the mountain wrong (it's really just a long long ridge, with names changing along the way.)

http://www.discoverspas.com/West_Virginia/artwvhangingrock.shtml

this is the way it used to look, before some drunken aholes burned it down! they caught them and made them help rebuild it, hauling all the materials up by hand, and it's a VERY steep climb:



this is the way it looks today, after reconstruction:



the website, with a section with lots of pictures of birds and vistas:

http://www.hangingrocktower.org/index.html

and a quick click will yield these very nice shots:

https://www.google.com/search?q=raptor+migration+routes+west+virginia&biw=1093&bih=470&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiowYTt7cbNAhUD7IMKHT2EAmoQ_AUICCgB#tbm=isch&q=Hanging+Rock+Raptor+Observatory&imgrc=_

a nice change of pace for all the anger inducing material one slogs through at DU......