The coal industry tries to call it "mountain top mining" instead of
mountain top removal and "surface mining" instead of strip-mining. The
timber industry and forest service use "over-mature" and "decadent" instead of old growth. And here is a doozy-- "Temporary meadows" for clear cuts. There is the old stand-by "harvest" instead of cut. The milk people use
"somatotropin" for bovine growth hormone. "Somatotropin" is Latin for growth hormone. During the war against Iraq [this was the first Iraq war] there were "KIA's". Never did the military public relations briefings use the word kill. I suppose they discarded "harvest" early on. The Gazette and other news media use "environmentalists" instead of concerned citizens.
The coal industry does its best, along with other industries to
demonize the term "environmentalists". The news media cooperates with
the industry, helping them in their effort to isolate concerned citizens by
calling them "environmentalists", of course their favorite is
"environmental extremist”.Visit a strip-mine and you will see who is being
environmentally extreme. If the PR firms working for the coal companies
succeed in making "environmentalist" a dirty word then everyone who
cares about what happens to the mountains, the water, the air, the trees and
the scenic beauty of West Virginia will be descredited.
So far the PR campaign isn't working. In a recent visit to a rural
high school 146 students defined environmentalist in very positive
terms, nine students gave negative definitions.
It ought to scare the polluters and destroyers of our state to know
that the massive resistence to their pillage is done by people from all
walks of life and a wide variety of occupations. I know of only three or four
people in West Virginia who get paid to help concerned citizens organize
to defend the earth and most them are paid half-time for a double-time
job.
The people who most consistently represent the coal company view
are public relations people who would spout whatever line the boss pays
them to spout. If we concerned citizens could double their salaries they
would work for us, they believe in nothing and their talents go to the
highest bidder.
Fanny Seiler's article in the March 10 Charleston Gazette was a
pleasing exception to the rule. She reported on the strip-mine
mitigation bill without once using the word "environmentalist". To identify
people who wanted a stronger bill she used terms like "private citizen", "members of the West Virginia Organizing Project", "lobbyist for the West Virginia Citizen Action Group", "a member of the Environmental Council", "a representative of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition". However, the
headline for Seiler's report reverted to the coal industry newspeak euphemism of "surface mine" instead of the uglier, more accurate and publicly named “strip-mine.” And the report just below Seiler's, on the conflict of interest lawsuit against Michael Miano*, uses the term "environmentalists" in the second paragraph.
Mind you, I am happy to work for the environment but I have a life
besides that. I like basketball very much and played full-court until I
was fifty years old. So if you quote me and think you have to call me
something other than citizen just call me an ex-jock.
*Miano was a former coal company operative who became boss over the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
Doug Waldron
The Lincoln Journal, April 14, 1999
The following letter from the late Doug Waldron appeared in the April 14 issue of the Lincoln Journal. Doug and I were allies a few years ago in opposition to schoolconsolidation in Lincoln County. His daughter was a student of mine at Duval High School.
Dear Editor
Julian Martin, a well-respected Lincoln County resident, stated that
all people who support Mountain Top Removal were just doing what their boss was telling them to do, and that they were for sale to the highest
bidder.
Now let me set the record straight, sir, and explain, the cold hard
facts of West Virginian life.
First, we have loyalty and pride, being employed by coal and coal
support companies, but no one tells us what to say. We are much more
professional than the members of the environmental organizations operating in WV.
Years ago, we were going off to basic training at Fort Knox, while
others were going to Canada and Africa to avoid the draft. After being in the service, we came home to work on our fathers' farms, raising corn and
tobacco, while others were raising marijuana. Upon finding a job and
working hard, we received a pay check while others received a welfare
check.
We worked hard day after day because we were taught that the world
owed us nothing. While others protested, demanding society freely give them everything, at no charge. We were called hicks and hillbillies-they
were called hippies and flower children.
Thirty years later, these social lines are still drawn. All people
have the right to their own views and opinions, but likewise all people have
the right to work, prosper and support their families. And yes, we take the responsibility very seriously. But, on the other hand, a small minority of people do not have the legal or moral right to direct the majority of the people and their actions.
I believe we have a breakdown of communication between these two
groups. I believe all those who feel the same as Mr. Martin should visit a
present day surface mining operation. And, likewise, I believe every coal miner support employee and anyone connected to the coal mining industry should Immediately join and be a voting member of the WV Highlands Conservancy, the High Seria[sic] Club, or any other environmental organizations operating within the state. These organizations are of non-profit status, and open membership is guaranteed by state and federal laws.
Let's all get involved, let the voice of the majority rule, no
justice, no peace. Our great state of West Virginia belongs to us, the people,
not out of state environmental extremists. We can and will make a difference.
Doug Waldron,
