Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Lost Mountain Assignment #2
After reading this section of the book, Honestly I feel more interested. Not that I wasn't in the first part, just this time Reece does something different that sparks my interest more. This section seemed to be more political and money driven, where as the first was more on the introduction and the environmental side. After reading the first part of the book I was kind of indifferent on the idea of mining the coal, but after reading this section I feel more opposed. When Reece went into talking about how the mines would sign contracts to buy houses and land to mine and start mining some of it. Then, they would file bankruptcy and get out of paying the full amount for the land and homes. That part stuck out to me and really bothered me by how self-centered they were just wanting the money and not caring about other human beings and their well-being. The other main part of the reading that really stood out to me was where Reece talked about the woman and her child. He went on to talk about how she was in fear of her child getting polluted water in his mouth while bathing or playing outside, because she doesn't know what it would do to him. It's horrible to have to live in that fear just so some big wig 10 miles up the ridge can make some cheap dollars off the land. Like I said before I was kind of on the fence post leaning towards the oppose mining coal side, but not I am walking further and further to the opposing mining side.
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Kyle,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, this second part of the book really showed me how corrupt our government and corporations are. It is also crazy to think about being afraid of giving your child a bath because it will hurt their health one day. I am very interested in finishing the book to see what else Reece can inform us about.
I also agree with your blog. The second part really showed how evil these companies were. The thing that really shocked me was how they stopped using the filtering press and kept using the slurry ponds because it saved them a dollar per ton. I couldn't imagine raising children in an environment where we were scared of the water we drank and bathed in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the second part of the book provided a more persuasive and compelling argument to convince readers to side with Reece. I also thought when reading the book that as more and more destructive activity is occurring on the mountain, the stories that this author tells also become more intense and persuasive. I think it will be interesting to see where your stance on strip mining ends up once we have finished this book and even throughout this class since you said you were on the fence.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your comments about the coal companies filing bankruptcy to get out of paying off peoples houses. I was on the fence as well, but after this section of the book I was converted over to being against the mountain top removal.
ReplyDeleteI like what you had to say about the woman and her child...and I completely agree. No one should have to live in that sort of fear, especially when that fear is brought on by these sort of unethical practices that are completely unnecessary. Greed is the motivator behind a lot of the action these coal companies take, and I'm finding that it's a powerful force.
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