'Mountain State' no more? Opponents of sur ... - News - The Charleston Gazette

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June 29, 2009

'Mountain State' no more? Opponents of surface mining hold naming contest

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Foes of surface mining say calling West Virginia the Mountain State is practically false advertising these days, and they're putting their money where their mouths are.

Environmentalists are sponsoring a contest to devise a new nickname for the state and for the West Virginia University mascot, the Mountaineer.

They say that with surface mines blasting the tops off mountains in the state, the old nicknames no longer apply.

The contest, with prizes of $100 for each winning entry, is the latest bid to draw attention to mountaintop-removal mines.

Already this summer, protesters and visiting celebrities have been arrested for trespassing while objecting to surface mining.

On June 23, the 31 people arrested included actress Daryl Hannah, NASA climate scientist James Hansen and former West Virginia Secretary of State and U.S. Rep. Ken Hechler.

The deadline for submissions is July 20. Submissions can be mailed to Nickname Contest, P.O. Box 20454, Charleston, WV 25362.

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105 Comments on "'Mountain State' no more? Opponents of surface mining hold naming contest"
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Posted By: rwc (1:47pm 07-12-2009)

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i know that , but before this documentary came out or was even announced, you could look up mtr on the internet and found out what you wanted to know.i have driven a coal truck and had to deal with a one sided opinions on that, so now i'm listening in on one sided comments about strip/mtr.i state my opinions based on the mine sites i've been on, not just looking from the basis that other comments have come from,and especially not from one sided articles written on them.i could probably read the same in the national enquirer.i just wonder if this article we are writing on is true.

Posted By: MU4WVU2 (1:30pm 07-12-2009)

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rwc, some of the "facts" used here are easily disproved if anyone wants to take time to research. Also, some of the editorials written for the Gazette quote "facts" that are dubious at best.

As long as computer names are used, I suppose anyone can make any asinine statement they want as the mood strikes them. If we had to use a verifiable name and address, some(most) of the exchanges would be limited, IMO. But.....I would like to see some of the coal commenter's state exactly where and how they were affected by coal. Some may have a legit complaint, but I do believe most are just taking up a cause from what they read in this paper. It is amazing how some can become sooooo adamant about something they have only read about.

Posted By: rwc (11:59am 07-12-2009)

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mu4wvu2 thing is they want to blame coal for it all. global warming, now called global climate change, education dropouts, teachers not being paid decently, all the flooding in west virginia(not affected by global climate change)and next it will be the economy.there are a lot more reasons behind all of this other than coal ,but everyone has to blame something. one citizen apparently reads a lot but couldn't form an opinion on his own, other than blaming coal for everything that has gone on this world.just wondering one citizen, were you a coal miner at one point or have you ever been on a mine site? if so ,did massey do something to you that makes you hate coal so much? you and a few others keep bringing massey into this, but no one else. and i know you can't believe that massey is the only one out their. consul energy, appalachian leasing, king coal, brooks run and their are others out their running strip mines amd mtr.i haven't heard a word on these others so why don't you fill us in

Posted By: MU4WVU2 (8:42am 07-12-2009)

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For information purposes only, the WV Dept. of Ed released the following dropout rates for 2007:

State of WV 2.7
Boone 3.1
Logan 2.4
Kanawha 4.1
Cabell 2.0
Jefferson 2.6
Monongalia 3.1
Mingo 2.5
Mercer 3.7
Lincoln 3.5
Braxton 3.8
Barbour 2.2
Roane 3.1
Upshur 2.1
Webster 1.6

Coal production does not seem to be a contributing factor to the drop out rate. Boone, the #1 producer, exceeded the state average, but Logan, #2, was below the state average. Surprisingly, Kanawha, the #3, was at 4.1 and far above the state average. Mingo, #5, below at 2.5.

Some of the non-producing or minor producers had above state average drop out while others in that group were low in drop out rates. There appears to be no relationship between drop out rate and coal production in WV.

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