Patrick Kenney

I am a recent graduate of William and Mary with a double major in environmental science and policy and public policy. I will be an energy blogger. How can the U.S. reduce its dependence on foreign oil? Is green technology going to happen sooner than we think? What kind of message is needed to sell individuals on the need to stop drill baby drill? These are some of the questions I'd like to ex...

Coal Industry: Prefer the Mountain Top Development Term

Mountaintop Removal and Development One in the Same.

The coal industry is big business in the U.S., given the relatively large amount of coal reserves in the U.S.. It has been said before that we are the Saudi Arabia of coal. Recent news reports, however, show that now the coal industry wants to change what they view as a derogatory name "Mountain Top Removal" to one of Mountain Top Development "to reflect some of this economic development" that occurs during this coal mining process. Clearly, what "Big Coal" is engaging in is a game of semantics to try to deflect the fact that their surface mining activities do not destroy mountains and their ecosystem.

Whether the coal industry likes it or not, there is "little development" that takes place due to mountain top removal "if you take a flyover." The development they are hoping takes place is one of revitalizing communities economically, yet mountain top removal is anything but because where mountain top removal has taken place "All the communities around these areas have been driven away." As such, it appears by all accounts that the coal industry especially in states where it is big such as West Virginia, is trying to put a new face on its activities. Mountain Top removal has a negative connotation of destroyed mountains, ecosystems, communities, etc. By changing it to Mountain Top Development, the industry appears to hope that individuals will come to understand that their activities are not necessarily detrimental to the environment. However, if the goal is to improve their image with the average citizens, changing a term from Mountain Top Removal to Mountain Top Development is not going to have any effect.

Mountain top development is still the same process of mountain top removal by all accounts given that reports indicate ecosystems are being destroyed and the communities where "mountain top" development or removal have occurred have been effectively destroyed. What the coal industry should do to improve their image is to practice safe mining techniques if that is at all possible when it comes to ensuring the environment is not destroyed irreparably by their activities. Coal mining and protecting environmental quality may not go in the same sentence very well-together and whether they desire to have their activities called mountain top development or removal, is really not the core issue. No matter what the name is, it does destroy mountains and cause damage to entire communities and their natural resources. What the coal industry should instead be doing is investing in ways to make coal clean if at all possible, which as of right now is highly doubtful.

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Tags: Fossil Fuels