Mountain State Matters

I originally started Mountain State Matters as a blog for my Interactive Storytelling class at Medill. Now, the class is over. I’m going to keep trying to maintain and update the site, but posts will likely be more sporadic than they used to be. Keep checking back, though! Also, check out the geo-tagging tab at the top, as I’ll be trying to geo-tag each post. If you’re looking for posts about a certain area of the state, you might be able to find them on the map.

I’m also looking for other contributors. If you’re from or interested in West Virginia and think writing a post or two a week about the state sounds like a good time, let me know! You can comment on this post, or e-mail me at erica DOT m DOT peterson AT gmail DOT com with your contact information. Submissions of WV-related photos and stories are also appreciated and encouraged.

Let’s just say that hypothetically a small mountain community is able to choose between two different types of energy production. Both will put their town in a place of providing energy for a good chunk of the country. Both will provide jobs. One will be sustainable. The other will ruin the town’s mountains and streams and be used up in 14 years.

This is the quandary in which the folks of Coal River Mountain find themselves. An article today in the Register-Herald outlined the community’s proposal to the Raleigh County Commission to support a wind farm, rather than strip mining, on the mountain’s ridges.

A study was conducted that found the mountain’s ridges had strong Class 4 to Class 7 average annual wind speeds.

“It was found that Coal River Mountain has enough wind potential and land area to accommodate 220 two-megawatt wind turbines. Calculations showed that this was enough energy to power over 150,000 homes or over 90,000 total electricity customers, including residential, commercial and industrial units,” [Rory Mcilmoil of Coal River Mountain Watch said.]

Mcilmoil claims production estimates in the strip mining permits show that mining operations will last for only 14 years.

“Once the coal is gone, there will be no more jobs available, the water will be contaminated, many of the residents will have moved out or been bought out, and the forest, another source of potential jobs and revenue, will be gone for decades to come, as will the possibility of producing clean wind energy on the scale that is currently available,” he said.

The project also has the support of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club.

A fact that’s key is that mining permits haven’t yet been issued for the land, so there could be time to get a wind farm in. Let’s hope the Raleigh County Commission realizes a great opportunity for Southern West Virginia to begin cultivating more sustainable, environmentally-friendly energy sources.

Photo by: Lost Bob

Hey all,

Mountain State Matters has now grown to over 40 (40!) posts, and I’m conducting a bit of readership research. No matter who you are or why you’re here, if you wouldn’t mind answering the following questions I’ll be forever grateful. You can post the responses as a comment (no need to leave your full name) or e-mail me at erica DOT m DOT peterson AT gmail DOT com.

1. Tell me about yourself. Where do you live? What do you do? How old are you?

2. Why are you reading this blog? Did you happen upon it during a Google search? Are you interested in West Virginia news and issues? Do you know me and feel obligated to read my blog?

3. What online groups and communities do you belong to? Do you use Facebook, Myspace or Flickr?

4. How do you prefer to read blogs: via online, e-mail digest, RSS feed, etc.?

5. Which posts/categories on Mountain State Matters have you enjoyed the most?

6. What can I improve about the website that would make it more interesting/prettier/easier to navigate?

7. Anything else?

Thanks for your time!

–Erica

The Associated Press reported today that Dick Cheney took a shot (pun intended) at West Virginia. It turns out there are Cheneys on both sides of his family.

“And we don’t even live in West Virginia,” Cheney quipped.

“You can say those things when you’re not running for re-election.”

Haha. Hilarious. I hope someone takes the liberty of adding Vice President Cheney to the definition of “inbred” at Urban Dictionary.

UPDATE: Cheney has apologized. Here’s the Huffington Post’s coverage of his monumental gaffe. My favorite West Virginia politician response to the whole debacle is definitely Rep. Nick Rahall’s, as reported in The Washington Post’s blog:

“We may owe the vice president a debt of gratitude for yet another great West Virginia slogan: Dick Cheney is not from here,” Rahall told us.

Photo by: World Economic Forum