Letters to the editor

Dear Editor,
Every article is different, stimulating, provocative, and something you won’t find anyplace else. Thanks.
Su Clauson-Wicher
Chilhowie, VA

Dear Appalachian Voices, Finally, my Economic Stimulus “Kicker” from the Federal Gov’t. came, and I was able to donate part of it to your fine organization. I would love to encourage others who received a kicker to join in channeling as much of it as possible to the causes that Appalachian Voices stand for. I’m just SURE that’s what all those in the Federal Government have been hoping Americans will do with it!
I was going back and forth wondering which great environmental organization to donate to, and I had narrowed my choices down to you and one or two others. One day while driving home, I was considering which to go with, when I was surprised to hear a story on NPR’s “All Things Considered” about App. Voices lobbyists campaigning for an end to mountain top removal on Congressional Hill! I tend to listen to synchronicities and serendipities like that….
I am particularly supportive of how you at Appalachian Voices combine environmental stewardship with the great cultural traditions of our Appalachian region. You are one of the few organizations that sees the interconnectedness between them. Sincerely,
Martin Anderson
Saluda, NC

Thank you for your newspaper! I picked up a copy at the Food City in Weber City, VA. I am a member of the Green Building Council, and buy my food from the people at Appalachian Sustainable Development’s farmer cooperative. I am concerned about mountaintop removal mining.
But I don’t understand why so-called environmentalists are against the new technology coal power plant in Wise County. This region doesn’t have a lot of alternatives. But let’s look at three:
A. Nuclear. Given the choice of a coal plant or a nuke plant in my backyard, I’ll take coal.
B. Hydro. I’m a whitewater paddler, and the TVA has already dammed up most of the good rivers in the Tennessee basin. How many rivers would we have to dam up to produce the same amount of power as this proposed coal plant?
C. Wind. You can’t generate wind power in a forest. You have to cut down the trees and make it all pasture. I like our forests in Appalachia. Do you want to cut them all down? Do you have any idea how low the power density in wind is? It will take freaking forests of windmills to replace coal.
If you are going to attack the major regional power source and source of employment, it would be helpful if you could also suggest a reasonable alternative.
I agree that big coal exploited a lot of people over the generations, and my grandfather and great grandfather were coal miners during those hard times. I don’t like big corporations and think it should be illegal for corporations to own land.
But today most of the coal is produced with automated equipment and the miners I know like their jobs. Shoot, if there was coal in my county, I’d sign up. My friends in Wise, Buchanon and West Virginia work underground running auto-miners on the face of the coal and it is one of the very few jobs in Appalachia that pays well today. (The alternative in this region being to get a job as a prison guard.)
Thanks,
Ken Griffith
Mendota, VA