In starting off the book, Lost Mountain, I noticed that the author Erik Reece describes the mountains and the nature surrounding them as such beautiful landscapes. He really enjoys being around the mountains and you can see how important they are to him. To me this shows passion and for him to care about something so much, you can really see where his argument is coming from. Erik Reece is very upset that the coal mining companies are just destroying this land and the environment around the mountains with no feeling of regret. They remove the tops of the mountains to collect the coal but just waste the things they remove. They do not see what he sees. Erik Reece offers many reasons to why this area needs to be saved and why mountain top removal needs to be stopped. For one, he mentions the animals. The cerulean warbler, is one animal he talks about which is a bird who is almost extinct because of mountain top removal. This bird used to sing great melodies and now can hardly ever be heard because hardly any are left. Another reason he mentions mountain top removal should stop is because it destroys the habitat. To me this is a main reason why I think this should stop. Most of the environment is destroyed and never really returns back to normal. Animal’s homes are demolished and the land is not strong enough to hold up new habitats that are formed because it is so loosely packed. The last reason Erik Reece offered was the fact that this area is so diverse and rich. Letting coal companies comes in and destroy it is just environmentally wrong. This area should be untouched and preserved so people can admire its beauty.
Looking at all these reasons the author provides, I do agree with him. I feel that mountain top removal should be stopped and another solution for mining coal should be used. I think that these first few chapters provide a good argument and almost anyone could be persuaded to have mountain top removal stopped.
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I'd like to mention that Reece represents the opposing view in various ways. Mainly he criticizes the view that nature is there to be exploited for our convenience and the profits of corporations. Seems like he does deal with some economic issues, like jobs.
ReplyDeleteI do indeed agree with you in that we need to find another way for extracting coal from the mountains. But on the other hand, Reece does not give a full argument for the people who are for mountain top removal. Therefore, he gives you no choice in deciding the side you want to fight for. If we were to read a book by another offer that only talks about the positives of mountain top removal then we would be easily persuaded. I stand in the middle of the debate.
ReplyDeleteIn your post you mention that perhaps the coal miners "do not see what he (Reece) sees." Or maybe they see it and don't care because it is not directly hurting us right now.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me wonder how coal miners go on day to day without feeling bad about what they are doing. Moreover, what are the OWNERS of coal mining industries thinking? They must feel some sense of guilt.
I think that the companies do see what Reece sees. I think they chose to ignore it. They are only worried about making money, even though they don't go about it in maybe the smartest ways. They are strictly worried about getting the coal and they don't care who they hurt in the process, whether it be a animal or a human.
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