A reader argues that the mountaintop removal method of mining coal for power plants is one key reason why North Carolina needs commercial wind farms. I don't know of any coal mined in North Carolina by this method, but I do know that N.C. utilities buy a lot of coal mined this way in other states, so there is a clear connection. Here's what Roberta Dees of Charlotte has to say:
Concerning Jack Betts' column of July 19:
Why would anyone want windmills on top of our mountains? Because they would make electricity that would enable us to keep our mountains, instead of having them blown away.
Please take a look at http://www.ilovemountains.org/
Look at any of their videos to watch mountain tops being blasted away with dynamite, and to see what the scene looks like afterward. So far over 500 Appalachian mountaintops have been blown away.
After the coal has been removed, the dirt and debris is dumped over the side -- into the valleys -- into creeks and streams. So far, 2,000 miles of Appalachian streams have been buried under mining waste.
Take a look at What's My Connection? to see how we are involved.
http://www.ilovemountains.org/myconnection/
Now look at Coal River Mountain to see how residents have sacrificed and worked to get an alternative to having their mountain blasted away. How they have figured out to make a wind farm on top of their mountain. Ask them which view they would prefer to look at.
Coal River Wind
http://www.coalriverwind.org/
For decades, mountaintop removal and valley fills have had a devastating impact on local communities, the economy, and our environment. How will history look at this period in American history?
Roberta L Dees
Charlotte
Also, my colleague, Observer editorial cartoonist Kevin Siers, ran across this blogpost on wind farms and North Carolina's energy bite. It's worth a look.
