coal country

Misty mountains, grazing cattle, golden fall colors, and rocky streams. I'm in West Virginia today on a field trip with the Society of Environmental Journalists to learn more about mountain top coal mining. We're getting a somewhat lopsided perspective on the issue from local academics and others, namely that mountain top mining and maybe even coal mining altogether needs to stop. I say lopsided because of the real value of the mining jobs and the overwhelming local political support for coal mining. That said, it's not hard to see the destruction of landscapes as a huge loss and real lack of vision.