I have been known to use song titles for posts before. This title is from an old Led Zeppelin song and I think it fits rather well with the photos in this post.
When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
I could understand an area looking as devestated as that after an asteroid impact, but man has unleashed THIS cancer that is spreading at a rapid rate in West Virginia. That is really sad.
I remember years ago traveling south on I77 to West Virginia and the sign, on the bridge to cross the Ohio river, read “Welcome to Wild Wonderful West Virginia”. That was a true statement back then. When I was traveling down there a few months ago I noticed the sign had changed. Now it reads “Welcome to West Virginia, Open for Business”.
I hate to see what it reads in the next 20 years or so. Maybe something like “No One is Welcome in West Virginia, State is Closed Due to High Levels of Toxins”
I’m not from WV — I’ve never ever been there — but I read a book on MTR about a year ago and I’ve been following the issue ever since. To this day my brain cannot wrap itself around the arrogance of destroying a mountain in such a manner. To my horror I discovered they call it “Valley Fill” in my province. I’m still trying to find out if it’s still happening.
Your photos are heartbreaking. And effective.
Dennie – you are right, it is hard to tell what it will read in 20 years. Believe me, you don’t want to get me started on the Open For Business bs.
Michelle – thanks for commenting. Here in the Appalachia’s valley fills are created when the tops of the mountains are removed for the coal and everything besides the coal is dumped into nearby valleys. It is an environmental disaster from square one.