Group Answers to Questions

Chelsea Stoner
Erin Crane
Eric Eatan
Katey Mueller

1) We should care because some of the plants that are becoming extinct can be used to help cure cancer, the water that humans are drinking is contaminated with materials that can ultimately cause cancer, and lastly it creates lots of harmful waste that can't be used. In nature there is no such thing as waste.

2) As there is more destruction on the mountain, it seems like the stories that Reece is telling become more compelling and persuasive by sharing stories that are far more enlightening and depressing . We found the following stories to be much more compelling than the stories from the previous reading: The statistics on the rate of extinction among various species and how it has increased over time, the idea that most people won't be able to see the flying squirrel, the corruption of the coal companies, and the story about the sludge in Kentucky.

3) We have learned that strip mining is a bigger problem than what most people think. It lacks media coverage and leaves most citizens without the tools and information necessary to make a change. For the most part our group agreed that this book has changed our values and beliefs and caused to strive for the end of mountain top removal.

4) We would want to emulate Reece's writing strategy. Throughout the book, he starts each chapter with a powerful message and ends with a powerful message which leaves the reader with a clearer and more memorable message. Some things we would not want to emulate is his laid back manner of telling a story, the statistics he throws in throughout sometimes get a little long, and some of the information is hard to understand for first time readers of the coal mining issues.

5) Demand is driving the need for coal, but ultimately it is the coal companies that are getting the coal in the cheapest possible way. That cheapest possible way happens to be the most destructive. We can end the guilt by trying to find alternative sources of power.