West Virginia is coal. It has 30 billion tons
of coal reserves. It produced 158 million tons of coal in 2008. Half of the United States’ electricity is derived from
coal-fired power plants. The state has 20,000 coal-industry jobs.
Even though West Virginia sends Democrats to Congress, these Democrats typically vote down any environmental laws that would affect the coal industry. All politics is local.
In their eagerness to get at coal supplies more efficiently, coal companies have started taking down whole mountains, instead of their traditional burrowing underground.
Mountain Top Removal is clearly horrific for the environment and for quality of life, but people need jobs. It's a classic environmental policy trade off. The spotted owl vs. the loggers. The sea otters vs. the oil workers.
Environmental activists are trying to reshape that deadlock between cute animals and hard working Americans, but developing green careers. Have the coal workers make wind farms instead. I don't think they are there yet, but it's an interesting twist in this drama.