Group Discussion Responses

Wendy Goldfarb, Brian Lachman, Maxx Blank

1. Nature acts as an economy where each aspect works as a team player to provide for something else. Our economy works the same, however, it’s based on monetary units, which causes greed to become part of the picture. Yes, the coal industries are adding infrastructure, but do it’s negative effects outweigh it’s positive? Nature has an unwritten, but set plan. It seems that our species, with our focus on our own economy, has disrupted nature’s economy, which is inevitably causing disruption in nature’s plan. Coal mining has gone in and stripped areas of Appalachia of it’s own natural economies in order to focus on the monetary value of their land. They attempt to justify themselves by “reclaiming” the land, and replacing it with foreign ecosystems that don’t necessarily mesh into the natural economy surrounding them. Nature has managed just fine without the help of humans through the past five extinctions. It’s seems that we’re more dependent on the natural economy than it is dependent on us. Thinking logically, everything on earth is interconnected and when we disrupt the natural order of things it can have a negative impact.

2. Reece’s strategy of alternating chapters between visits and discussing personal issues allows the reader to relate to the mountain top removal on a more personal level. It brings the situation more to life with the knowledge of the people and issues surrounding the area. The story of Debra Burke, a woman who killed herself after her land and garden had gotten repeatedly destroyed due to fly rock, is a heart-wrenching story. After hearing of such devastation, reading about the strip mining occurring on Lost Mountain hits home even more.

3. Educating the people of Louisville about the cost of clean tap water in their homes could potentially help fight against mountain top removal. Louisville is a big city, full of educated, well-respected people. If the citizens of Louisville became aware of the filtration necessary for them to receive clean drinking water, it could cause an uproar that the coal companies couldn’t ignore. Just reading this book has most definitely affected our beliefs about the coal industry and mountain top removal. It’s not something we had previously thought about on a regular basis. While reading this book, we’ve learned quite a bit of information that has made us more environmentally aware.

4. It seems Reece really knows how to make you feel awful through his style of writing. He personifies the issues by bringing in the stories of real people that we can relate to. This makes the issues come alive. This is definitely a useful characteristic to use in our own persuasive writing without assuming to be a one sided argument. His use soft news makes the hard news even more emotionally appealing to the audience. He also uses hard facts to back up his statements, making them hard to not believe. Something we might not want to emulate is Reece’s tendency to be very one-sided. In order to be fully educated on the coal industry and mountain top removal, Reece should really include the positive aspects of coal. The book is obviously biased, but if the reader was able to view both sides than they could make a decision for themselves. Reece tries to make the decision for the reader and almost guilt them into an anti-coal state of mind.

5. Olson’s quote is entirely right. We ARE the people destroying the mountains. We support the coal industry simply by paying our electric bills every month. It’s partially the responsibility of the consumer to look into alternative forms of energy, such as installing solar panels. Reece may or may not agree with this statement, because it is true that most of America is blind to the corruption of the coal industry. We think it’s not entirely the coal industry’s fault because a lot of the employees working for such companies are simply trying to support their families. It’s not entirely anyone’s fault, for that matter. It’s just the way the entire system works. The main thing that needs to happen to change the system is education and government regulation. Students need to become aware of the corruption and devastation happening around them, and the elected government officials need to protect the people, not just their wallets.