My current book is about coal production in the US. The story is mainly in West Virginia. I love geography but always find the States a puzzle as to what is where. I went to Wiki, to read all about, not knowing if the novel may be just pure fiction. It was not.
The very very large coal companies (some of which are actually owned by Russians). Obtain most of the coal by taking the tops of the mountains to expose the seam and dig out from the top. What is removed from the mountain is then dumped in the valleys. This is turn causes major flooding etc etc. Their waste products are turned into huge toxic lakes, which then leeches into the ground. Many people get something called "Black Lung Disease" which is an accumulation of the poisoned dust which coats everything as far as you can see. The water is also unfit to drink as it is poisoned by the sludge lakes.
The people there are poor, and mainly live in trailers or cabins, and cannot afford medical insurance.
Reading and thinking about this has made me think about all the controversy around the scenarios surrounding these situations.
I don't know what the answer is, perhaps there isn't one, but it made shocking reading. Mrs Bouquet
