Roy Carter hosts

press conference

on mountaintop removal
By Melanie Davis
Melanie@mountaintimes.com

Roy Carter, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress in North Carolina's 5th Congressional District, held a press conference Friday on the campus of Appalachian State University to discuss mountaintop removal coal mining.

Mountaintop removal coal mining is a practice that began in the 1970s which involves clear cutting the native forest and using dynamite to blast as much as 1,000 feet off the top of a mountain. The practice is used by large coal companies because an entire seam of coal can be accessed, while requiring fewer workers than traditional shaft mining and strip mining operations.

The waste from the blasting is dumped into nearly valleys and has covered more than 1,000 miles of headwater streams.

Mountaintop removal mining occurs in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. North Carolina is one of the largest importers of mountaintop removal coal. Duke Energy Corp. uses coal from the above regions, according to the Web site IloveMountains.org.

Carter referred to the mining practice as “obscene” and citing the more than 470 mountains that have been decapitated in the process.

“For those of us who love mountains and who recognize the relationship between our own economic future and the protection of our sensitive mountain environment, the destruction of the central Appalachian Mountains by mountaintop mining is both tragic and shortsighted,” he said. “In Congress, I will be vocal in my opposition to mountaintop removal, and I will be a passionate advocate for practical investments in environmentally and economically sustainable solutions, such as solar energy, hydrogen fuel and home energy efficiency.”

During the press conference, Carter invited Dr. Pat Beaver and Dr. Harvard Ayers to address the audience in reference to the social and environmental impact of mining practices.

Beaver is the director of Appalachian Studies at ASU. She presented several resources to audience members seeking more information on the mining industry, including several books. “Lost Mountain” by Erik Reece chronicles one year of a mountaintop removal site in Kentucky. “Missing Mountains: We went to the mountaintop but it wasn't there” by editors Kristin Johannsen, Bobbie Ann Mason and Mary Ann Taylor-Hall is a collection of essays, fiction, and poetry by 35 writers which explore all aspects of mountaintop removal mining.

“Bringing Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities” by Shirley Stewart Burns explores the long-term ecological and social consequences of mountaintop removal.

Beaver also recommended audience members visit IloveMountains.org for more information on the practice and research the sources of their own energy consumption by zip code.

Ayers spoke of his experiences with the Coal River Mountain Watch organization of southern West Virginia activists. Ayers takes the students of his ASU course the Human Ecology of Southern Appalachia to visit a mountaintop removal site and meet with CRMW annually.

“I encourage everyone to drive three hours to see for yourself the destruction of mountaintop removal,” he said.

He also stressed the importance of the “environment-people relationship” and the problems with a not-in-my-backyard, or NIMBY, attitude.

Ayers co-edited a book titled “An Appalachian Tragedy: Air Pollution and Tree Death in the Eastern Forests of North America.”

Along with photojournalist Jenny Hager, and conservationist Charles Little, Ayers presents sections covering basic forest ecology, tree death, the effect on communities, the effect on culture, and a call to action. The information centers on air pollution, caused largely by coal-fired power plants.

Following the presentations, Carter, Beaver and Ayers accepted questions from audience members.

Carter will face Iredell County commissioner Diane Hamby in the Democratic primary on May 6. The winner will then run against incumbent Republican Virginia Foxx for the congressional seat. Foxx has held the position since 2005.

The N.C. 5th Congressional District represents the northwestern corner of the state, including Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Davie, Stokes, Surry, Watauga, Wilkes and Yadkin counties and parts of Forsyth, Iredell and Rockingham counties.