Mountaintop Removal

Cory Maddocks

Samantha Mudd

English 151

22 November 2010

Mountaintop Makeover?

Boom! That’s the sounds of dynamite exploding on top of a beautiful mountaintop with debris going everywhere. Within seconds of eruption, beautiful mountains that have been there for thousands of years are leveled. This is what is happening all around Appalachia. Big companies have figured out that they get the most coal by blowing up the tops of mountains. The more coal they get the more money that goes into their pockets. That is all good for them, but they do not realize all the harm they are doing to everything that surrounds the mountain that they just blew up. According to Fraley, “By hiding behind stereotypes and going to great lengths to hide information, the coal industry and its supporters have embarked on an astonishing path of destruction” (368). When the dynamite erupts, its sends millions of tiny debris down to where people are living and they have to breathe that stuff in their lungs. According to Huffman, “ Many people living within these blow up zones for an extended period of time tend to have breathing problems in the future.” Big coal companies should stop using mountaintop removal as a way to get coal because it ruins the environment, goes against coal mining laws, and affects both humans and animals negatively.

The environment suffers the most from mountaintop removal. If the current rates continue, experts predict that within the next 10 years, over 2,000 square miles of Appalachian wilderness will be destroyed by coal companies. Mountains that have been standing for 290 million years will be gone (Fraley 368). This is almost unimaginable. Mountains that have been standing forever are being destroyed in minutes just for the coal in them. Also, Larry Gibson of West Virginia stated that mountaintop removal has destroyed over 3 million acres, 1.5 million in West Virginia alone (Ward Jr). 1.5 million acres of mountain in one state is a lot for the people of West Virginia to handle. Everyday people are seeing new mountaintops being destroyed by dynamite for the pleasure of the coal businesses. Most people in Appalachia disagree with the coal companies coming and ruining their land.

“Huge shovels and bulldozers have flattened the hills across from the graves. Dump trucks with 12-foot high tires haul out more rock and earth each day. Already, Arch Coal, Massey Energy, and the Princess Beverly Coal Company have mined more than 10,000 acres on all sides of the burial grounds”(Ward Jr.)… According to Gibson, ‘ This is the last 54 acres the coal companies don’t own. They own all the rest. I don’t think the coal companies have the right to take everything.’(Pg.3)

Since the coal companies are getting so close to the graveyard, I am sure that they have dug out some bodies that are buried their. To a family coming to pay their respects to their loved ones, imagine seeing their spot completely dug out by these companies. When these companies are done with the soil they have just dug it, they just push it to the side and leave it. What they do not realize is that those valley fills leak into streams around the area. According to the EPA, such valley fills have affected nearly 3,220 kilometers of Appalachian streams since 1992. Valley fills can pollute drinking water, accelerate storm runoff, and overrun toxic ponds, flooding downstream communities (World Watch). The companies directly affect the living of the citizens of the area by contaminating their water and possibly food. Then you have the other side of the argument. Mr. Huffman of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection explains “ West Virginia has gone above and beyond the EPA’s recommended water quality parameters for coal mining by assigning water-quality-based effluent limitations” (Huffman 153). OK, but how come streams around West Virginia have been getting worse? These companies do not follow the law put down by either the State or EPA and they get away with it.

There are, of course, regulations that coal mining companies have to abide by so they do not get in trouble by the government. There are so many laws that companies have to follow that there are not as many people to make sure they abide by every single law. That is how these companies go without punishment. They try and get away with things because there aren’t enough people to regulate them. The EPA, as of April, has warned companies that if they see an increase in the electrical conductivity of nearby streams that they company would not receive a permit to have valley fills thus not allowing them to mine there (World Watch). Ever since this law has been in effect, streams have continued to have 3 times the amount of conductivity in the water around Appalachia. Even with this law in place, companies are able to make bigger valley fills, which provides the streams with all the harmful chemicals.

Coal companies on the other hand believe that the government should not crack down on these laws. They believe that they do more good then they do bad. Mountaintop coal mining does in fact have some positives. According the Randy Huffman, Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, states,

“90 percent of the coal mined in the United States is used to generate electricity. Coal is the Nation’s most abundant and affordable domestic energy resource. There are more than 14,00 coal miners in Appalachia, and for every mining job an additional 3.6 jobs are created through the economic generated by mining for a total of more than 60,000 jobs. The average mining wage is more than $66,000/year, excluding overtime-57 percent higher than the average for industrial jobs.”

These are pretty good statistics. Even I have to admit that coal is an important part to energy production around the West Virginia area. Nearly 100 percent of the State’s energy needs are supplied by coal-fired power plants. (Huffman). Coal is a huge part in the energy department and electrical department of West Virginia. If they could do something healthier for the environment to get that coal then everyone would be happy. Even Mr. Huffman agrees that he wants to change the way they get coal, “ While nearly everyone agrees that moving to a more diversified energy portfolio is eminent, today coal remains a key component to gaining energy dependence.” I totally agree how important coal is with energy and electricity but I don’t agree with how these companies get the coal. The recent Bush Administration wrote out a plan for new regulations while in running for President of The United States. But when he arrived in office, he never addressed the problem like he said he would. Because of this, a lawsuit was filed called Bragg and Kentuckians, which stated they wanted action against the companies who keep blowing up mountains for coal. Companies have run under the radar of the government people who watch over them. They can pass as many laws as they can, but unless someone is there to enforce them the law is pointless.

When human beings getting sick and dying from the pollution and harmful things that mountaintop removal has to offer, then something needs to be done fast. Innocent people and animals who love where they live in Appalachia are getting more diseases then people and animals who live somewhere else. There was a study from 2000 to 2004 where the purpose was to test whether population mortality rates from heart, respiratory, and kidney disease were higher as a function of levels of Appalachian coal mining after control for other disease risk factors (Hendryx). Mr. Hendryx, who was the leader of the investigation, studied four groups of counties: Appalachian counties with more than 4 million tons of coal mined from 2000-2004, Appalachian counties with mining less than 4 million tons, non-Appalachian counties with coal mining, and other non-coal mining counties across the nation. So at the end of this 4-year experiment the results were as many people expected. “ For both males and females, mortality rates in Appalachian counties with mountaintop coal mining were significantly higher relative to non-mining areas for chronic heart, respiratory, and kidney disease (Hendryx). So basically just living in the area a person is putting himself at risk for all these diseases. Absolutely no one wants to have this happen to him or her because of where they are living. These companies need to realize that they are hurting these people with their work. Then you have the people who say, “ they are a bunch of hillbillies and no one cares about them.” The people of Appalachia get this negative stereotype about being useless people who live in these shacks. Jill Fraley puts this into perfect words,

“Appalachia is no place to go on vacation. Appalachia is a place to avoid, and even fear. Appalachia is dirty, ugly, unkempt, and decidedly different from the rest of the country.... Dirty children, moonshine bottles on the porch, collapsing shacks. Appalachia is a place to escape from, not a place to live.”

Because of this environmentalists believe that it would be easier to gain support for whales then for saving the Appalachian Mountains. Because of these negative stereotypes, the people don’t get has much caring as they should. Since the people of Appalachia have this negative stereotype, companies continue to mine there and destroy human communities and life around the mining areas. Streams are polluted with acids and mercury, making it impossible to eat fish without endangering one’s health (McQuaid). This makes it impossible for a boy and his father to go fishing like most people want to do. That special bonding time cannot happen because the companies neglect for human health. If the companies continue with their trek of terror through Appalachia, humans will have a lesser life span then people who live elsewhere. For companies, I believe hurting humans would make me want to stop doing whatever I am doing.

In conclusion, the path of destruction that the companies have set on Appalachia destroys the environment, violates rules and regulations, and affects humans and animals in a negative way. Replacing the free mountains are flat, bare and terraced plateaus that look like mesas of the Southwest (Motavali). For people that are used to huge, peaking mountains this is very emotional for them. As for the companies, hopefully the government overlooks them more to make sure they are abiding by the law and not flying under the radar. As the companies continue to rip through areas, they leave the people getting sicker than the normal person. Hopefully one day we come up with a better way to get this coal for cheaper and easier then blowing up mountains and giving the area an ugly makeover.

Works Cited

Fraley, Jill M. "Appalachian Stereotypes and Mountain Top Removal." Peace Review 19.3 (2007): 365-370. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2010

Hendryx, Michael. "Mortality from heart, respiratory, and kidney disease in coal mining areas of Appalachia." International Archives of Occupational & Environmental Health 82.2 (2008): 243-249. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.

Huffman, Randy. "West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP)." Congressional Digest 89.5 (2010): 149-159. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.

Marris, Emma. "Mountains into molehills." Nature 453.7192 (2008): 158. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2010

McQuaid, John. "MINING THE MOUNTAINS." Smithsonian 39.10 (2009): 74-85. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.

Motavalli, Jim. "Once There Was a Mountain." E - The Environmental Magazine 18.6 (2007): 34-39. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 201

"Surface Coal Mining Guidelines." Congressional Digest 89.5 (2010): 133-160. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.

"U.S. Cracks Down on Coal Mining Pollution." World Watch 23.4 (2010): 3. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.

Ward, Jr., Ken. "From Mountaintop to Moonscape." Planning 71.8 (2005): 28-33. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 201

An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth Rhetorical Analysis

As one looks around the world, they may see different laws being passed by different governments about this thing called global warming. Global warming is when the atmosphere lets in light but keeps heat from escaping. We all know that when heat is trapped then things start to get hot. That “thing” is good ole planet earth. This is a big concern because the change in climate is becoming so fast that some living things may not be able to adapt (National Geographic). Also, climate change brings more intense storms and then followed by a long drought where no rain will fall. In Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore discusses the issue of global warming. Some people believe that global warming doesn’t even exist while other people are die heart supporters of Al Gore’s view. The way Gore uses scientific evidence throughout his movie to persuade the people that global warming is an issue in society, has lead me to take the side of Al Gore on this issue.

The main point in Gore’s video is that the people of the world are the cause of the “greenhouse effect.”This warming happens when certain gases in the earth’s atmosphere trap heat. As Gore explains in his movie, this causes the ice caps to melt which means the sea level will rise causing the shorelines to go deeper into land. Consequently, this would cause a lot of damage to cities and countries around the world. Parts of Italy would be overrun by water along with probably the most disturbing fact of the new World Trade Center Memorial in New York would be completely covered by water (Gore). To those families who lost loved ones this would be a major decision to try a stop the effects. In Gore’s presentation, he explains three factors that he brought to the World Meeting. The factors were population, technological revolution, and the world needs a jolt. With more people now, all the hard work for industries and farmers have doubled and more gases are being put into the atmosphere. Then with technology, the world is coming out with different inventions like hybrid cars and solar panels to try and lessen the harmful chemicals put into the air. The last one, which I think is the most important, is that the world needs a jolt to finally do something. I compare this to 9/11 when intelligence knew something could happen, but they waited until something bad happened like plane crashes to finally do something. In this case I hope we don’t have to wait until something very bad happens to finally get a response from the people on how the world is changing for the worst.

Al Gore is successful in getting his point across that global warming is a huge issue in society. He is starting to get the point across to younger generations so they can try to stop it in their life. Nick Gourley of Eagle, Idaho said, “Oh, they showed his movie here and we all liked it and realized how big the problem really was. We’re recycling in our room now in a grocery cart” (Huffington Post). Without Gore actually being there and talking about it himself, the movie basically speaks for itself. Gore is also getting across to some Republicans. Nick, who’s whole family is Republican, said, “Once you see the movie, it’s a no-brainer.” The movie has to be pretty good to get a Republican family to believe in what he is saying. In his movie, Gore explains how the World pulled together to stop O-Zone depletion. He then challenges the people to rise up and try to stop this also. This is relevant to Gore’s point because this shows him that the world is capable of pulling together to stop these big problems like global warming.

Since Gore was “almost” the President of The United States, he obviously is a really good public speaker. In this movie Gore is no different. He is very good at trying to persuade people to think the way he does with evidence. Where Gore got me was when he started stating all these facts that he has researched and facts that top scientists in the world have told him. 10 of the hottest years on record have occurred in the last 14 years (Gore). The hottest year on record happened only 5 years ago!Some skeptics may think that is just a coincidence, but in fact the world is getting hotter. Some people believe that the earth is cooling and not heating. According to Ker Than, “ Now, according to three new studies published in the journal Science, it turns out those conclusions based on satellite and weather balloon data were based on faulty analyses. The atmosphere indeed warming, not cooling as the data previously showed.” The world is getting hotter because of the greenhouse effect. Gases are blocking the heat from getting out of our atmosphere thus redirecting it back down to our planet. Another part of the movie was when Gore had a chart on his power point. It showed gas emissions throughout the years and how they keep increasing. He then went onto a cherry picker to rise up to the point where emissions will be in the future (Gore). The evidence there was mindboggling.

Throughout the movie, Gore uses ethos in his movie a lot to play with the audience’s emotions. When Gore is introduced, he walks on stage and announces himself as the “should have been” President of The United States (Gore). It was a good tactic because it gets a laugh out of the audience. It also makes the audience feel like this is a normal person talking to them and not this huge political figure. Gore fluctuates between humor, sad, and serious tones. He illustrates a sad tone when he talks about his sister dying from lung cancer. He tells a story about how when he was younger, his family owned a tobacco farm where he lived. His family would always be working at the farm. His sister went to the hospital and was diagnosed with lung cancer. After a couple of years his sister died and his family closed down the farm (Gore). He used this to make the audience feel bad for him and therefore pay more attention when he goes back to talking about global warming. In between Gore talking to the audience using his graphs, the movie would cut into Gore thinking or talking about global warming at a meeting or visit. This gives the audience kind of an insight on his life and all of the meetings that he goes to. In the final scene is where Gore gives his “call to action” speech. The video shows the world from a photo from space and the tone of the music changes to a very serious one. He then shows earth as a little speck on the screen. He explains how everything we do happens on that speck and says, “It’s our time to step up to the plate” (Gore).

Although many people dislike Gore as a person, you have to be with him on the global warming issue. He has basically devoted his whole life trying to tell the people of the effects of global warming. He is very knowledgeable and he has the top scientist working for him on this issue. Gore knows how to use persuasive techniques to have people join his side and he knows how to play with the audiences’ emotions as well.

Works Cited

"Global Warming Interactive, Global Warming Simulation, Climate Change Simulation - National Geographic." Environment Facts, Environment Science, Global Warming, Natural Disasters, Ecosystems, Green Living - National Geographic. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .

Henneberger, Melinda. "Melinda Henneberger: HuffPo's Melinda Henneberger: Gore Sells Out Idaho's 10,000 Seat Taco Bell Arena "Faster Than Elton John"..." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 23 Jan. 2007. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .

An Inconvenient Truth. Perf. Al Gore. 2006. DVD.

Than, Ker. "Key Argument for Global Warming Critics Evaporates | LiveScience." LiveScience | Science, Technology, Health & Environmental News. 11 Aug. 2005. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .

Formal Response

Cory Maddocks

Samantha Mudd

October 18, 2010

Formal Response

Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was a pretty interesting video about Al’s view on global warming. The documentary beings with Al Gore giving a brief description on what global warming is and also his political journey through the ranks from small politician to almost the next President of The United States. After talking about the presidential campaign, he starts going into more detail about global warming. The next hour of the documentary is Gore sharing scientific studies and other very intriguing evidence. At the end of the video, Gore slows everything down and becomes more urgent in his talk. He becomes more persuasive in his speech and wishes for people all around the world to step their game up and realize what is happening and to do something about it.

The films central claim is to inform people about what global warming is and how to help stop global warming. The evidence that Gore provides is very astonishing. He has been looking into global warming since college when his professor mentioned some things about it to him. He then ran for president and ever since not being elected he has been going all over the world trying to tell as many people as he can about global warming. And if Al Gore is saying these statements of global warming they have to be accurate because he has hired the top scientist in the world to go over the world to see the effects on global warming all over. He is also a well-known political figure and if he were to like then it would hurt his reputation a lot.

Al Gore intended this film to open the eyes of Americans to actually pay attention to what he has been seeing for years and finally he has riveting statistics to back up his work. He tried to hit the emotions of the viewers by explaining that if global warming melts the glaciers that the water level will increase, therefore flooding some of New York and destroying the World Trade Center Memorial. He also talks about how his family’s tobacco farm closed down because his sister died from lung cancer. This really doesn’t have to do with global warming, but the viewer kind of feels bad for him and wants to help him. Now the actual effect it had on me is mixed. I really haven’t paid attention to global warming, but seeing the statistics and some scientific evidence has opened my eyes to it. When hearing Gore talk about the plan to stop global warming is very good, but I don’t think he will be able to wipe out global warming completely. A lot of his ideas are all based in the future and I just don’t think he will be able to figure it all out.

Al Gore took on various roles as the main actor in this documentary. For most of the beginning he took the role as an informative actor. He informs the audience about his life and about what global warming is. He also has some moments where he makes the crowd laugh a little. For example, in the beginning he announced his name and he said “should have been” president. This steams from when he lost against George W. Bush in the infamous Presidential vote. Then towards the end of the film he becomes a persuasive actor in trying to persuade the audience to believe in global warming and support changes to help stop it. Gore’s quote, “ It’s our time to step up to the plate,” means he is giving us a challenge to be serious in global warming and to act.

promotion essay

Cory Maddocks

Samantha Mudd

English 151

September 30, 2010

Promotional Brochure

As our class walked along the streets of Ohio University we stopped at certain buildings on campus. As we stood there and looked at each building I was thinking to myself how no building seemed interesting to write about. Then we arrived at the Baker Center, the Grand Central Station of Ohio University. As I stood there I realized how many people come through this building. It seems like everyone comes through this building once a day. So I decided that the Baker Center would be a good idea to do my brochure on. In my paper I will be talking about how my brochure appeals to a certain audience, the purpose of making this brochure, and how my brochure appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos.

I decided to pertain this piece to either students that are planning on coming to Ohio University or new students that do not know what all the Baker Center has to offer. I didn’t discriminate on any race, gender, or ethnic background. I tried to pertain to all people. I broke my piece into 5 sections and broke the Baker Center floor by floor. I decided this would be a good idea so it would give the person who is reading it to get a sense of the different things in the center. I then wrote little descriptions under each place I put to give them a little information about that certain area. I also made each floor color coded to make it easier to differentiate one floor from another. I did this because people coming out of high school and people still in high school like colorful things and I thought this would be the best way to break it down for them. For the audience I believe I made it simple enough for them to understand what goes on in the Baker Center other than riding the elevators up and down.

The purpose of making a brochure of the Baker Center was to inform students about the Baker Center. When first time students enter the center all they see is the sets of elevators that bring students to the top and bottom of the big hill that Baker sits on. This piece gives the person an idea of what all Baker has to offer. I believe I fell short on going into more detail about each area. It only touches the surface on what each place does. For a student who has just arrived and for a student who is looking to come to OU I believe it gives them the opportunity to see what is in Baker and I hope they decided to come here so they can see for themselves what all Baker has to offer and to explore each place in more detail.

Aristotle, the father of rhetoric, came up with three main forms a rhetoric piece: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. Ethos means the credibility as a writer. I believe I am a credible writer because I used all proper grammar and I have cited the website in which I received my information. Logos, as described by Aristotle, means appealing to logic. All of my findings came from Ohio University’s Baker Center website. This is the best source to find out this type of information because it’s the official website. Also, all the places I mentioned are all in the center and none of them are made up. The last form is Pathos. Pathos means how as a writer do you make you audience feel. I made the brochure very colorful and made them in fancy font so the reader can effectively read it and want to read it because of how it looks.

In conclusion, I picked to do a brochure of the Baker Center because it has so many options that students don’t really know and I believe students should know what this great place has to offer. Places range from eating options to clothing options to looking at art to conference rooms and beyond .I believe the center is a great recruiting tool to use when an incoming student is looking to choose between Ohio University and another school. The Baker Center is definitely an important place to both students and faculty members.

Works Cited

"Baker Center." Baker University Center. Ohio University. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. .

Mason,Ohio

Cory Maddocks

Nestled away about 30 minutes north of Cincinnati is town named Mason. Back in the day Mason was known for their farming since the land layout was mainly flatland. The town was founded in the early 1800’s. Now, Mason is a thriving, industrialized suburban city. Mason, as a city, is a growing community and the education at Mason is second to none.

The biggest business that the city has to offer is Proctor and Gamble. This industry makes hygiene items that sell around the United States. Mason has also grown because of local businesses and local restaurants. Also, franchises like McDonald’s and Burger King have arrived in Mason. There are also three movie theaters throughout the city. All of the malls are really spread out. There would be a long stretch of road then a strip mall would show up with a whole bunch of different stores. If one decides to go into downtown Mason, one would see that it is a poorer neighborhood. If a person ventures out of downtown, it is more middle-class and upper class people. Most of the citizens of Mason, Ohio are white. There are very few African-Americans, Latinos, and Chinese citizens. The community does have a lot of burglaries. The upper class community has reported a lot of break ins the past couple years. Mason has grown from a majorly farming lifestyle to a big industrialized suburb of Cincinnati.

The Mason School District is an excellent school to attend. The Ohio School Board has been rated “Excellent” for three years in a row. Their nickname is the Mason Comets. They are green and white. The girl’s athletics are second to none. Their girls cross country, track, golf, softball, and basketball were all rated number 1 in the state of Ohio the past couple years. The boy’s sports programs are also very good. The football team and baseball team have advanced to the playoffs the past couple of years. There is always a negative side to a school. The school not only is known for their sports programs, but also for drugs and alcohol issues. The school is very famous for drug trafficking. The upper class students who are able to buy the drugs sell a lot to the middle and lower class kids in the school. There have also been huge alcohol problems. The school has had a student die from alcohol issues for ten straight years in a row. Mason High School is a very good educational school and sporting school, but has struggled over the years with drug and alcohol abuse.

Just like the average high schools all across the state of Ohio and beyond, Mason High school struggles with drug and alcohol abuse by teenagers in the school. But don’t let that negatively affect the way one looks at the school. The city itself has grown from a small farming community to a very large industrialized city. There are plenty options to keep yourself happy in Mason, Ohio.