This study found that after controlling for covariates (other influences), residents in coal mining areas of West Virginia still had a higher risk of having a baby with a low birth weight. The authors state that the “persistence of a mining effect on low birth weight outcomes suggests an environmental effect resulting from pollution from mining activities,” and that air and water quality assessments are needed for mining communities.
Ahern, M., M. Mullett, K. MacKay and C. Hamilton. (2010) “Residence in Coal-Mining Areas and Low Birth Weight Outcomes.” Maternal Child Health, Jan 2010.
This study uses two geographical information system (GIS) techniques to find that the activities of the coal mining industry contribute to cancer mortality. This study uses a new measure to look at the distance of populations to components of the coal mining industry such as mines, processing plants, slurry impoundments, and underground slurry injections. The results add to the body of evidence that coal mining poses environmental risks to residents of coal mining communities in West Virginia.
Hendryx, M., E. Fedorko, and A. Anesetti-Rotherme. (2010) “A Geographical Information System-Based Analysis of Cancer Mortality and Population Exposure to Coal Mining Activities in West Virginia.” Geospatial Health 4(2), 2010
The authors show that residents of coal mining counties both inside and outside of Appalachia had fewer healthy days for both physical and mental reasons. The disparities were greatest for people residing in Appalachian coal mining areas. The authors conclude that residents living in coal mining areas are “characterized by greater socioeconomic disadvantage, riskier health behaviors, and environmental degradation” which are all associated with a lower health-related quality of life.
Zullig, K., and M. Hendryx. (2010) “A Comparative Analysis of Health-Related Quality of Life for Residents of U.S.Counties with and without Coal Mining.” Public Health Reports, Volume 125
In this study, the authors examined the associations between coal mining and learning outcomes among students in West Virginia public schools 2005-2008. The authors found that “disparities in educational performance in mining areas” reflected many different “environmental riskscape” disadvantages for students living in coal mining areas. The authors recommend further research on the linkages between mining pollution and learning outcomes in children.
Cain, L., and M. Hendryx. (2010) “Learning Outcomes among Students in relation to West Virginia Coal Mining: an Environmental Riskscape Approach.” Environmental Justice, Volume 3, Number 2, 2010.
Today, President Obama took questions from the House Republican Caucus, including one from Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito (WV-02) about coal jobs in West Virginia. The exchange begins around minute 19.
CONGRESSWOMAN CAPITO: Thank you, Mr. President, for joining us here today. As you said in the State of the Union address on Wednesday, jobs and the economy are number one. And I think everyone in this room, certainly I, agree with you on that.
I represent the state of West Virginia. We’re resource-rich. We have a lot of coal and a lot of natural gas. But our — my miners and the folks who are working and those who are unemployed are very concerned about some of your policies in these areas: cap and trade, an aggressive EPA, and the looming prospect of higher taxes. In our minds, these are job-killing policies. So I’m asking you if you would be willing to re-look at some of these policies, with a high unemployment and the unsure economy that we have now, to assure West Virginians that you’re listening.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Look, I listen all the time, including to your governor, who’s somebody who I enjoyed working with a lot before the campaign and now that I’m President. And I know that West Virginia struggles with unemployment, and I know how important coal is to West Virginia and a lot of the natural resources there. That’s part of the reason why I’ve said that we need a comprehensive energy policy that sets us up for a long-term future.
For example, nobody has been a bigger promoter of clean coal technology than I am. Testament to that, I ended up being in a whole bunch of advertisements that you guys saw all the time about investing in ways for us to burn coal more cleanly.
I’ve said that I’m a promoter of nuclear energy, something that I think over the last three decades has been subject to a lot of partisan wrangling and ideological wrangling. I don’t think it makes sense. I think that that has to be part of our energy mix. I’ve said that I am supportive — and I said this two nights ago at the State of the Union — that I am in favor of increased production.
So if you look at the ideas that this caucus has, again with respect to energy, I’m for a lot of what you said you are for.
The one thing that I’ve also said, though, and here we have a serious disagreement and my hope is we can work through these disagreements — there’s going to be an effort on the Senate side to do so on a bipartisan basis — is that we have to plan for the future.
And the future is that clean energy — cleaner forms of energy are going to be increasingly important, because even if folks are still skeptical in some cases about climate change in our politics and in Congress, the world is not skeptical about it. If we’re going to be after some of these big markets, they’re going to be looking to see, is the United States the one that’s developing clean coal technology? Is the United States developing our natural gas resources in the most effective way? Is the United States the one that is going to lead in electric cars? Because if we’re not leading, those other countries are going to be leading.
So what I want to do is work with West Virginia to figure out how we can seize that future. But to do that, that means there’s going to have to be some transition. We can’t operate the coal industry in the United States as if we’re still in the 1920s or the 1930s or the 1950s. We’ve got to be thinking what does that industry look like in the next hundred years. And it’s going to be different. And that means there’s going to be some transition. And that’s where I think a well-thought-through policy of incentivizing the new while recognizing that there’s going to be a transition process — and we’re not just suddenly putting the old out of business right away — that has to be something that both Republicans and Democrats should be able to embrace.
A much publicized tree-sit at the Bee Tree mine on Coal River Mountain has come to an end after nine days. Eric Blevins, 28, and Amber Nitchman, 19, descended from their trees this morning citing concerns from cold temperatures. Read the full press release by Climate Ground Zero.
This blog post takes its title from a recent ABC report on a debate between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Don Blankenship.
No matter who you think “WON” the debate, it was a great opportunity for mountaintop removal opponents and supporters to get together in the same room. There were no fights, name calling, and little vocalization in the debate room itself. Everyone was respectful of their long time adversaries… we were certainly impressed.
Ken Ward Jr. reports on his Coal Tattoo blog about a new study reviewing trends in Appalachian coal production. Prospects dont look good.
Given the numerous challenges working against any substantial recovery of the region’s coal industry, and that production is projected to decline significantly in the coming decades, diversification of Central Appalachian economies is now more critical than ever. State and local leaders should support new economic development across the region, especially in the rural areas set to be the most impacted by a sharp decline in the region’s coal economy.
Authors Rory McIlmoil and Evan Hansen make the case that a host of factors — competition from other coal-producing regions, rising interest in natural gas and renewable energy, and the depletion of Central Appalachia’s best reserves — has prompted a decline in regional coal production that is unlikely to be reversed.
Education and Jobs, Jobs and Education: A proposal for funding economic redevelopment in Central Appalachia
To date, both the economic strength of the region and the education of its people have fallen far short of ideal. Our challenge is to find ways to redress these shortcomings. This essay will describe the educational and economic disadvantages experienced in Central Appalachia, and show how those disadvantages originate from the region’s overdependence on coal. The essay will also show that these disadvantages result in pervasive and severe health problems for the population. Then, the essay will propose a specific policy initiative based on redirecting funds from the coal severance tax to provide the financial and operational resources necessary to overcome these disadvantages and create a healthy, educated, productive population that will serve as the foundation for a renewed and sustainable economy for Central Appalachia.
Authors Rory McIlmoil and Evan Hansen make the case that a host of factors — competition from other coal-producing regions, rising interest in natural gas and renewable energy, and the depletion of Central Appalachia’s best reserves — has prompted a decline in regional coal production that is unlikely to be reversed. 